Desert Vision

November 5, 2015 9:41 AM

In 1987, guitarist Paul Speer and pianist David Lanz teamed up with videographer Jan Nickman to create a video album inspired by the Southwest of the United States. Desert Vision is instrumental music that feels influenced by Vangelis, Trevor Jones, and Pat Metheney coupled with video that soars dramatically across the landscape or introspectively ponders nature from the ground. Eagle's Path Seguaro Desert Rain Sculptures Canyon Lands Carlsbad White Sands Stormlight Tawtoma [audio only]
posted by hippybear (3 comments total)

My personal taste in instrumental music runs a bit more to ambient, but the photography is amazing and I'm going to have to watch it when I'm not distracted at work. At about 1:19 in "Canyon Lands" they start flying over the Maze district of Canyonlands National Park. That dark rock tower to the left is Chimney Rock, and I think that's probably Water Canyon they're flying down, towards where it meets Shot Canyon and eventually the Green River just above the confluence of the Green and Colorado. It's amazing to see that from a few hundred meters up after hiking it many times. If I believed in reincarnation, and could choose, I would pick being a raven in that spot right there above anything else.

well played, sir - I swear I was trying to take a break...
posted by hackwolf at 1:26 PM on November 5, 2015

David Lanz's Christmas music is pretty nice. And he was nice enough to release the sheet music in the original form, and an easy version for noodlers like me.
posted by lagomorphius at 2:09 PM on November 5, 2015

My parents loved Lanz & Speer and growing up I thought that was just one person's name. But their music helped foster a deep appreciation of New Age music in me, and I've always loved their work.
posted by Metro Gnome at 4:36 PM on November 5, 2015