Former TV host and current New Age musician John Tesh turns 55 today, and I have to confess, I’ve always thought of his music as just a punchline, even though I’ve never actually heard any of it. To make amends, I decided to give the gift of an open mind (and two open ears) to the one-time Entertainment Tonight presenter.
Over at Tesh’s MySpace page, I found the tracks "Avalon" and "Bareclona." Aside from a jarring mid-number breakdown complete with pan flute and rattlesnake percussion, the former track is the sort of midtempo froth that would be best paired with the opening credits of a mid-80s sitcom, or perhaps with the sound of a dentist’s drill as it connects with one’s screaming teeth. "Barcelona" is an altogether different story. It opens with the cheers of a moderately excited crowd, and then swiffers its way magically across the musical floor, using tinkling piano lines and an enthused string section. If this had been available back in Midori Ito’s time, girlfriend would’ve taken home the Olympic gold. It’s awful, yes, but energetically so.
Still, neither song prepared me for Tesh’s video, "Emerald Bay," from 2000’s One World DVD. There’s a fiddler in leather pants! Tesh sporting some roguish facial hair, pointing dramatic commands at a group of sprightly Irish step dancers! There’s even a castle so enchanted, I half expected to see Enya and an army of faeries descend from a nearby mountaintop in an effort to claim it for themselves, and along with it, the crown of New Age supremacy. Whether it’s good, bad, or heinous, I won’t say. It’s the dude’s birthday, after all, so view the clip for yourself, after the jump.
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We actually own Tesh’s romantic Christmas CD, and it’s not bad. It’s actually kinda of a soothing, calm relief after hearing “grandma got run over by a reindeer” a hundred times at the grocery store.
Well, that effectively ruins any sneering I might do about him in the future. Not bad. I sorta enjoyed that. Sigh…
The Pussycat Dolls
Make me yearn for Tesh’s old
NBA theme song.
(If anyone finds the one with the Peanuts Christmas Special, please post it, it’s way funnier)
Well, the scenery is very pretty.
avalon reminds me of employee meetings or night shows at Sea world. I thought Emerald Bay was ok
In the last month or so, I saw a Tesh infomercial. It was on Saturday morning, I think. Boy, it wasn’t the way I needed to wake up on a Saturday morning. Does anyone take Tesh serious?
Didn’t watch the video (hate them) but just listened. I like this genre of music. Of course if you’re not into it, you’ll end up being critical. It wasn’t great, but it was enjoyable. But to state ‘Whether it’s good, bad or heinous, I won’t say’ leads me to believe that Slezak is putting this tune on the chopping block.
To each his own.
Speaking of Olympic gold, does anyone remember Mr. Tesh’s stint as a color commentator for the 1992 Olympic gymnastics competitions… in Barcelona? Coincidence? I think not! His fluff pieces were dripping with cheese. I swear they used some of his music to heighten the intensity of each Russian (i mean, Unified) gymnast’s story. Check it out:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ksAh1snw4IM
Good stuff.
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