Ocean Of Dreams

Mayesa Dasa

Independent release, 2001

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 12/14/2000

Listening to Ocean Of Dreams, the independent release from St. Louis-based musician Mayesa Dasa, I sometimes wonder how our now-resigned CCM reviewer Mike Ehret would have handled this disc.

The nine songs on this disc are very spiritual in nature, though for the most part, the listener can take whatever meaning they wish from Dasa's words. On first listen, I would have had no problem pegging this disc as Christian music, even though the listener was not being hit over the head with references to God every 20 seconds.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

But, no, this is technically not a Christian release - and, seeing there's not a lot of information on Dasa's site (translation: there's no background info), I have to go out on a limb and say that this music centers around Hare Krishna. (This judgment is based on the Krishna chants at the end of "Prisoner".) And while some of the arrangements are a bit limp, Dasa does manage to create a disc which is peaceful and thought-provoking, no matter what you believe in.

Musically, imagine David Gates of Bread singing Cat Stevens songs. There - you've just pictured Dasa's music. Dasa's vocals could have been brought up in the mix, especially on songs like "Rain," "Morning" and "It's Alright," but he does prove he's a capable singer and musician for the bulk of Ocean Of Dreams.

And if you put any preconceived notions about Dasa, his belief system and his style of music aside, you'll find that many of the songs on Ocean Of Dreams are actually pleasant. "Break The Chain" and the title track stick out for me; the former has a very pleasing instrumental section at the end which is almost new-age in feeling.

Where Dasa needs to improve is actually simple. The overall mix needs to be spruced up a bit; it's hard to form an impression when you can't tell what Dasa is singing as on "Morning". And, he needs to stick to either a light-rock/pop style of music or go for more of the acoustical vein. I'd choose the former.

Ocean Of Dreams might scare some people off at the mere mention of Hare Krishna, but Dasa, despite a very slow start, proves that beliefs are what you make of them, and musically he shows how much people of different faiths have in common.

Rating: B-

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