Ask any in-the-know collector about the best Christian progressive art rock album and the answer is usually as toss up between Arkangel’s Warrior and this one. Beyond The Crystal Sea is the heavier and spacier of the two, plastered with what seems like layer upon layer of synthesizers. ‘March Of The Dead Souls’ pins your ears to the wall from the start with its hard space rock barrage and eerie banshee choirs. Hotz’s layered hard rock guitar is absolutely venomous on ‘Hand Of The Most High’ and the instrumental ‘Teton’, while ‘Vision Ships’, ‘Beyond The Blue’, and ‘From Love Life Did Begin’ are more reminiscent of the melodic lavish textures of Yes (though vocally Hotz brings to mind Peter Gabriel of early Genesis). Kemper Crabb is in here playing recorder on ‘Alpine Magic’. The production quality is superb as is the fantasy cover art. If you’ve got a good stereo you’re gonna wanna blast this up loud. It’s out of this world! (KS - Archivist)
Beyond The Crystal Sea (Vision VL-777) 1980For those who fell in love with Dawn Treader One album which opened with Beyond The Blues this is the rest of the Jimmy Hotz album. Ask any in-the-know collector about the best Christian progressive art rock album and the answer is usually a toss up between Arkangel's Warrior and this one. Beyond The Crystal Sea is the heavier and spacier of the two, plastered with what seems like layer upon layer of synthesizers. 'March Of The Dead Souls' pins your ears to the wall from the start with its hard space rock barrage and erie banshee choirs. Hotz's layered hard rock guitar is absolutely venomous on 'Hand Of The Most High' and the instrumental 'Teton' , while 'Vision Ships', 'Beyond The Blues', and 'From Love Life Did Begin' are reminiscent of the melodic lavish textures of Yes (though vocally Hotz brings to mind Peter Gabriel of early Genesis). Kemper Crabb is in here playing recorder on 'Alpine Magic'. The production quality is supurb as is the fantasy cover art. If you've got a good stereo you're gonna wanna blast this up loud. It's out of this world! (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition)Tracks: 01. Observations of a Larger Reality 08:30 A. MARCH OF THE DEAD SOULS B. HAND OF THE MOST HIGH 02. Night Passage 02:12 03. The Vision Ship 05:35 04. Teton 03:19 05. Beyond the Blues 04:52 06. Alpine Magic 01:30 07. From Love Life Did Begin 06:50 Jimmy Hotz has worked with many famous artists over the years including: Fleetwood Mac, NSYNC, MOBIUS8, B.B. King, Dave Mason, Leon Russell, Yes, Kitaro, Steve Winwood, Chicago, Bonnie Rait, Gary Wright, Paul Haslinger, Phoebe Snow, Kim Basinger, Dan Aykroyd, Patty Loveless, Becky Hobbs, the Association, ArkAngel, Petra, the Memphis Horns, Mason Williams, the Smothers Brothers, Ray Kennedy, Shock Therapy, Giant Killer, the Natives, Joe Savage, Maya, Speedy West, Memphis, Palamino, Dove, Vision, Scott Gershin, Haven and dozens of other artists. He is a Record Producer, Engineer, Musician and Inventor who has over 30 years of broad experience in a vast range of skills covering the entertainment and technical fields. Some of the major companies that have sought Jimmy's technical advice include Microsoft, Intel, Electronic Arts, Atari and JBL. Website = http://www.jimmyhotz.com CREDITS: Produced and Engineered by Jimmy Hotz Recorded and Mixed at Rivendell Sound Recorders in 1979 by Jimmy Hotz Remastered in 2007 by Jimmy Hotz Assistant Engineering – Brian Tankersley All Words and Music by Jimmy Hotz Bass – Brian Tankersley, Wayne Six, Jimmy Hotz Drums – Gary Ingram, Rocky Mountain, Russell Dunlap Guitars – Jimmy Hotz Keyboards – Phil Huston, Paul Mills, Jimmy Hotz Recorder on Alpine Magic – Kemper Crabb Vocals – Jimmy Hotz Vocals (Backup) – Bob Farrell, Carol Chambers Copyright 1979 Palantire Publishing Co. (ASCAP) Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved First Published in 1980 by Vision Records Published in 2007 by Jimmy Hotz Productions Cover Concept by: Jimmy Hotz Front Cover Art By: Bruce Eagle Most special thanks to Nancy Hotz my Wife, Best Friend and Assistant I also wish to thank those who helped make the very first release of “Beyond the Crystal Sea” possible - Craig Whitson, Dallas MacNeal, Rick Perdue, Danny Martin, Michael Miller, Wayne Donowho, Darrell Harris, and the entire staff at Rivendell and Star Song Records, Tim Gilliam and the whole crew at Rock World. To all of my friends who have been so incredibly supportive over the years may God bless you a hundred fold in this world and fill your eternity with rich adventure and Love unfathomable. God bless you all eternally! DEDICATION: Unto God Most High I am eternally grateful, for each breath and each moment of Eternity. I pray that the Love of His Son Jesus, might light and fill your soul as it has mine.
Ariz1967