Snows of Kilimanjaro

by Chris NicksonMedwyn Goodall has been making music for many years, and there's little doubt he has a sweeping sense of melody and an obvious infatuation with the pan pipes of South American music. But both those seem to somehow suit this meditation of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The grand vistas of "Journeys of the Heart" summon up images of wonderful views and snowy peaks and rich tribal voices. An excellent multi-instrumentalist, Goodall is especially adept at the textures and subtle colors that shade his compositions. For all those pluses, however, ultimately there's not a great deal of depth to the album -- it slides over the surface of consciousness without ever diving in. For listening it's sumptuous, like a cloud; for longevity, it just doesn't make it.