Though
Spirit into Sound does not break much new ground creatively for
Mickey Hart, it does feature some nice elements.
Hart's new age sort of blend of melodic elements and percussion are here again, centering around a very spiritual sound with heavy South American and African tribal influences.
Rebeca Mauleon provides lush vocals which are reminiscent of
Zap Mama's
Marie Daulne. Zakir Hussain provides percussion with his trademark complexity, making use of a world full of instruments.
Bob Weir provides fine acoustic guitar, and
Hart is in full force, giving the whole project a backbone of drums and other percussive lines. While
Hart fans are not likely to be disappointed, some of his recent material on Ryko shines more brightly. ~ Stacia Proefrock