Marc Jungermann – The Piano Collection
Marc Jungermann – The Piano Collection – EP Review
Advantage Marc!
I honestly don’t remember being able to share this secret with any of you yet…this might be the first time this has come up actually…does anyone out there know about just how much I truly love the piano? Doubtful if I haven’t previously mentioned…you all look at my beard and assume I’m a rocker; in some respects I suppose that’s true, but if that’s the case of your perception I’d love to be able to modify that to ‘rocker with a MASSIVE soft-spot for well-played piano music.’ We all cool with that going forward? Awesome.
In a true-twist of irony, my own father’s name is actually Marc as well, spelled entirely the same way and yes, he’s also a piano/keyboard player and has been my entire life. At an extremely early age, probably around 3-5 years old I was taught piano by my dad though I’d eventually give it up entirely between the ages of 8-10 years old after my biologicals made their split from each other. I was given a keyboard when this happened…but I never pursued playing another key after that. I never fell out of love with the sound itself, only my own connection to playing them…I was still quite young and I never could maintain the focus required to learn ANY skill 100% at any point in my life before OR after; the simple fact that I can string together a sentence with any sort of proficiency whatsoever is nothing short of a modern day miracle.
I remember many times waking up to my dad playing piano first thing in the morning, going through his routine and practicing with the opening line of Supertramp’s “Bloody Well Right.” Some of my best memories of him take place on that piano…I can still hear his own version of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” in my mind…it’s probably the highlight in our time together in my mind, the most special performance he’s ever played for me personally. I think you all get it by now…I absolutely adore the sound that echoes beautifully from the piano…and I’m here to talk about Marc Jungermann today…so I should probably get to that…
With the opening tune of “Tears Of Stone” starting The Piano Collection from Marc, I instantly know we’ve found another winner here. He plays absolutely perfectly, beautiful tones and style…there’s a real world-class musician within these songs and he expresses emotion fantastically through his playing. As it begins softly, the music pumps-up quickly with an additional beat effectively adding to the piano and strings subtly added to the mix bringing this one way-up higher than you might originally think it’ll reach. “Tears Of Stone” heads into interesting directions all the way throughout the song as it plays; with twinkling keys providing a sweet sensation and emotionally-laden tones – this track sets the mood perfectly for the music to come and really opens up our hearts quickly to the sound of Marc Jungermann and his tremendous skills & style.
“The Note” is simply gorgeous. At times it almost feels comparable to something like the music from Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose,” but remains completely his own by never dipping too strongly into anything that might have been an influence. With theatrical dynamics that really allow this song to range from the quiet/beautiful combination to more bold & upfront sounds; it’s the genuine & authentic emotions that Marc is able to incorporate into his music that make it truly spectacular. People can often have trouble with instrumental songs as there is no place for them to sing-along…but I can’t imagine anyone having the pure gall it would take to refuse these melodic & beautiful creations from Jungermann.
I definitely dig “Lunar Love,” which reveals itself in a tiny, isolated, understated way for how powerful & strong the emotion and skill present itself in this song. Jungermann is masterful here on this tune…he makes the tiniest sounds enormously effective through his smart song-writing and carefully precision; space itself is a major player in his music and he uses pauses and silence just as incredibly as he does the piano. Truly a fantastic tune; it’s quiet, sweet and direct to the heart.
Though I’m not sure that even if I was pinned down with my life being threatened I could explain exactly WHY the following track, “Beyond,” brings me back to the old Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves soundtrack…for some reason my brain took me there. I can potentially hear someone out there telling me I’m wrong, and that this would be a closer fit on the soundtrack for Titanic…but the point I suppose remains the same – Marc has created an unbelievable masterpiece on “Beyond,” that could raise up the quality of any scene this music could play behind. On its own this is a very, very strong melody that will certainly captivate your mind and take you to all kinds of beautiful memories & imagery simply by closing your eyes and allowing Marc’s music to take you there.
Closing the EP with perhaps the most gorgeous display of emotion to grace The Piano Collection – “Stay” is about as beautiful, haunting, emotional and spine-tingling as instrumental music can get. I mentioned Jungermann’s incredible use of space within his writing…this song displays that mastery more than any other and really puts a spotlight onto the music as it drifts in and out of the quiet. It sounds pleading…it sounds raw…it sounds REAL; it sounds like someone communicating the importance of another to their own life…like someone desperately hoping they’ll “Stay” included in the years to come. It’s a very sweet sentiment and this song really ends the EP on fantastically beautiful musicianship and song-writing.
So consider me in Marc Jungermann! With undeniably powerful emotion and real skill presented second-after-second as The Piano Collection plays though – these songs are the melodies that have the rare ability to breakout from the background of television & movies to become a true highlight on any stereo out there. Marc’s understanding & relationship to the piano truly translates into a beautiful experience through and through – The Piano Collection is a seriously gorgeous EP.
You can check out all kinds of songs and styles this amazing musician takes on weekly through his official YouTube channel right here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Marcizen
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