Although
Relationship Suite ended up in the new age bins,
D. Richard Lewis' music is more energetic than one ordinarily thinks of new age as being. "Energetic," of course, isn't a word that one often hears in connection with new age -- the adjectives that usually apply include peaceful, tranquil, and calm. And parts of this CD are calm, but much of it is energetic and exuberant. So, arguably,
Relationship Suite isn't new age in the traditional sense -- at least not if you think of traditional new age as people like
Yanni, Kitaro, and
Suzanne Ciani. But if you have a broader definition of new age,
Lewis fits in. One thing is for sure:
Relationship Suite is influenced by classical music as well as pop-jazz. No,
Lewis isn't trying to be Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, or Bach, but orchestral classical music has influenced his composing.
Relationship Suite often sounds like the soundtrack of a movie -- specifically, a romantic comedy or a love story. If you were a filmmaker getting ready to hire Meg Ryan to play a leading role in a romantic story and you wanted an instrumental soundtrack (as opposed to, say, a lot of adult contemporary vocals by
Celine Dion or
Gloria Estefan),
Relationship Suite would probably work.
Lewis, in fact, has done some composing for films, and while this CD isn't actually a film soundtrack, it never fails to remind listeners of one. ~ Alex Henderson