RELEASED ON DECEMBER 17, 1996

The Daily News, McKeesport, PA

Celestial Orchestra Airs Heavenly Tunes

By David Sallinger, Daily News Entertainment Editor

It's great to be able to jump up and down about a local album, and the current round of jumping was inspired by "An Hour A Day" by Celestial Lite Orchestra.

Don't let "Lite" fool you. One's ears don't feel aurally underfed by this instrumental collection produced through Mifflin Hills Music Co. and played by Vito DiSalvo and Evan Broman. It's not fair to categorize it as easy listening, because that connotes certain criteria, but the 17 tracks indeed are easy to listen to. And if you have an affinity for inspirational tunes , so much the better.

Lineup of religious/pop standards offers a quiet, restful soundtrack for life, especially in these last, hectic holiday rush days. It provides an enjoyable instrumental backdrop for when you're working on something tedious or for when you just want to lay back.

Titles -many of which have been done too often by too many people, but here given new life with well-considered orchestrations- will give you an idea: "Let There Be Peace On Earth" (with celestial tinkling); "Faith of Our Fathers" (orchestrally uplifting); "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" (sound of solitary woodwind sailing over a sea of keys); "The Old Rugged Cross" (mournful, in a country-westernish way); the wistful "Abide With Me"; "Wind Beneath My Wings" ("Feelings" for the 90's); "On Eagle's Wings" (restrained, yet purposeful); "Amazing Grace" with its sound of distant piper; "How Great Thou Art" (sense of hand bells); "Fairest Lord Jesus/God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength" (along with a collection of Latin hymns, what church music should sound like); "Rock of Ages" (it's been parodied so much, it's good to hear it done straight); the expectant "Somewhere in Time"; the spooky, voice in the wilderness-like "Adoration"; "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" (another example of a song given new legs); "Nearer My God to Thee" (wasn't that the one supposedly played while the Titanic sank?) and the upward-reaching "The Lord's Prayer."

Reads like a program from a revival meeting, but you don't get that impression from your speakers. If the musicians are trying to save your musical soul, they're soft-selling. So buy...