Cloud Eleven - Terrestrial Ballet - 2004

As far as winsome, winning psych-pop goes, you can't do much better than Rick Gallego and Cloud Eleven. The 23-track Terrestrial Ballet is a collection of tribute album offerings, previously unreleased goodies, demos and other rarities, all wrapped in a soft, pleasant, acid-dipped gauze. Muscular pop rock ("Serendipic Wheel," "Apricot Ash"), '67 Beach Boys-cum-Tommy James fare ("Clover"), sprightly singer-songwriter acoustic stuff ("Waiting There Without You"), sitar-laced moodiness ("Glistening"), Shoes-like power pop ("It Does"), synthed-out grooviness ("Tuesday Letter"), Beatled-up cheeriness ("The One"), covers of Shoes, Teenage Fanclub and The Who---it's all here and it's all flat out wonderful, graceful and often poetic. As good as Cloud Eleven's albums proper are, this one's even better, and I'm not sure I'm prepared to say exactly why that is; perhaps it's due to the sheer variety of styles on display (as well as Gallego's ample songwriting skills). One of the lyrics from Gallego's homage to his musical heroes, "Sound on Sound," goes a long way towards describing Terrestrial Ballet : "Every move that you make sends me reeling when I hear that sound on sound." Believe it. -John M. Borack

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