Compassion

Jim Becker, a Chicago-based musician, and Lama Lobsang Palden, a Tibetan yoga teacher and healer now living in the US, were brought together when Becker sought treatment for various illnesses. Part of their treatment involved making music together, and over time this resulted in this collaborative album.

It’s well produced and mixed, and tracks like ‘Tara’ and ‘Calling the Spirits (Emptiness)’ have an atmospheric element to them that is evocative. The Buddhist chants, gongs and drums can, at times, enchant the listener. But most of the album is repetitious and, while likely very therapeutic to create, I found myself quite bored halfway through the second listen. Buddhist chanting in a mountain temple, overnight while high up in the mountains, can be a transcendent experience. But on CD it’s hardly (as the liner notes state) ‘… a spiritual experience captured with rock studio techniques, an immersive dreamscape to carry listeners forward and help them use Tibetan mantra to transcend and relax their minds.’ Sincere, but not really one I’d look forward to hearing again.