Short Reviews [Carl Weingarten - 2023 - "The Simian River Collection 1980-2020"]

This three-hour-long, 41-track 3-CD collection covers Carl Weingarten's solo produced releases from the early 1980’s through to the ‘Ember Days’ album in 2020. It also includes previously unreleased, out of print, remixed and live recordings. The result is a fascinating set covering multiple different styles and genres which makes it something which can be really enjoyed. For much of the time it is relaxed and also most New Age with some nice acoustic guitar noodlings, but “Pandora’s Garage” sounds like Kraftwerk combined with Tangerine Dream in a synth-driven belter with electric guitar over the top which sounds as if surely should have been a massive hit in the clubs and could have damaged some charts in the process. I have heard some of Carl’s work before this, but I can honestly say this set has given me a much better appreciation of his output. To be faced with an album of this length is always something of a challenge, as unlike some reviewers I feel it is important to listen to every song all the way through and hear it as it was intended as opposed to dropping in and out. However, this was in no way a hardship as Carl worked through multiple different genres in different musical setups, so much so that one never knew what was going to come next but was always excited at what it might bring. We can be belting along with “Romance & Evolution in B Minor” one minute, and then listening to the Anthony Phillips-inspired “Lost Guitars” the next, so if one doesn’t like the song which is playing don’t worry too much as there will be something else quite different along in a minute. Forty years is a long time to be involved in the underground scene, but Carl is still there, working away and producing music which should be discovered by a much wider audience. This set can be heard on Bandcamp so why not seek it out and give him a try?