This is a concept album; a collection of different artists furnishing music to accompany famous orations. I liked it so much that it took me a long time to write a review, I've been listening to it all week.

Firstly, there's no question this is full of substance. Presidents, Prime Ministers, despots, visionaries, leaders of change and even cult figures all get their turn.

The music varies from non-rhythmic soundscapes, to hip-hop, to pure sonic experimentation, definitely never overtaking the text but never sitting meekly in the background, either.

First is Nick Robinson, accompanying Winston Churchill. The repeating and the vocal treatments point out the musical value in speech, the rhythms and pitches suddenly making sense when presented in a context. Statements like "we shall go on to the end" take on an even more immense gravity when isolated and repeated. The discordant pitches that emerge towards the end belie the horror that awaited many of those who heard these words in their original time. A masterful start.

Next is Giuseppe Farinella, with Benito Mussolini (!). The cheers that follow the statements are pretty creepy, then nicely become part of the gentle tonal bed. When an overdriven, aching guitar solo emerges through the shouts, it sounds like a wordless voice of reason above the din. The baby cries at the end are an unexpected surprise and a great addition. It would be interesting to have heard even more of the rhythmic "Muss-o-lin-i" chants.

Then, a touch of humor from Michael Moore over a stark hip-hop background from Michael Frank, which fits perfectly with the melodramatic declarations. I love the guitar commenting in between his phrases, sometimes hinting at the dark reality behind the funny statements, sometimes chuckling along. (However, I'm pretty sure the powerful voice is Lewis Black reading Moore's text; if I'm correct, it should be noted as so).

Event organizer Fabio Anile is next, providing a beautiful background for Mahatma Gandhi. His accompaniment adds strength to Gandhi's voice which on its own is almost humorously thin, and sometimes a butt of jokes. The distant, minimal drums are wonderful. Really matches the title, "Mysterious Power".

Mike Fazio takes on the unenviable task of dueting with Reverend Jim Jones. The atmospheric, watery background is a great complement, and the well-timed chords, as well as the spacious use of the voice, are very effective. It's quietly terrifying, especially the cries. "If you'll be quiet..if you'll be quiet...". Whew. It's brave to tackle this one.

Back to another great figure, with JFK (and then NASA ground control and astronauts) backed up by Michael Peters. Some crazy vocal treatments here, probably the most unusual use of the voices as raw material. Hearing a spoken word seemingly turn into the sound of a liftoff is astonishing...! Having heard that, it may be that much of the music comes from the voice, I can't really say but it's a bold and otherworldly piece.

Milco Montagna provides a highly "composed" musical passage, with two accounts of the Challenger tragedy superimposed on each channel. Instead of necessarily supporting Reagan's attempt to inspire and encourage the nation with an uplifting soundtrack, the music itself mourns, gravitating more towards underscoring the dry radio commentary with a reading of the true drama. The radio voice covers the event from liftoff to explosion, beginning with the standard liftoff announcements. But then there's a musical pause and strange thump partway through, after which the voices begin to describe the problem - "Obviously a major malfunction. We have no downlink...", and finally, calmly, "The vehicle has exploded". Very moving.

Anders Östberg generates a screaming wash of what seems to be white noise, a real wake-up call, which soon reveals its tonal qualities before subsiding to allow Dr. Albert Hofmann to espouse. The music then returns, bookending the speech, its impossibly high, overtoned flood of sound like a chemical rushing through the cerebral cortex.

Norel Pref then gives us the only multi-voiced piece, a free-wheeling intermixing of presidential quotes, over a flowing, portentous rhythmic background with chordal stabs that sometimes seem to be triggered by the voices themselves, a great effect I'd have liked to hear even more of. It's a rich blend of hilarity and deep thoughts, rather broad in its focus but fascinating.

Anile then returns again, delicately ushering in possibly the most powerful text, taken from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech (interestingly avoiding the most commonly-heard phrases). It's a great touch to have a long introduction to establish the music and to insert long spaces between statements. The balance of voice to music is excellent, the speech becomes part of the music, as opposed to a film documentary soundtrack that would place the music clearly in second place. A gorgeous piece that works wonderfully with the vocal.

The only suggestions I'd make for improving this concept in the future is that on some tracks, the noise between words, combined with quick cut-offs after a phrase, can be distracting when listening closely. If there is tape hiss from an old recording, it would probably help consistency to find a way to include and integrate it over the whole piece. Also, the inclusion of applause sometimes works, becoming part of the music, and other times seems like an intrusion.

But these are minor quibbles. This is a fully-realized, ingenious project. Kudos to all.

Best of all, it may be downloaded free in its entirely.