Oh shit, I love this stuff.

I'm sitting here with goosebumps rippling over my entire body.

I have just about the world's weirdest taste in music, but one thing I love above all else is that orchestral "wall of sound" of full string & wind sections ebbing and swelling to the point where you can almost feel the music pushing you deeper into your chair. The kind of music that absolutely begs to be played as loud as your system will handle without distortion. The kind of music that can blow the entire day's worth of shit right out of your head, that you listen to with closed eyes as it washes over you, leaving you with a physical and emotional release.

Right now the headphones (can't play this volume through speakers in an apartment!) are hammering Roch Voisine's I'll Always Be There, from the album of the same name. The song has the extra benefit of a big-assed choir added to the orchestra behind his vocals.

He's massively popular in Quebec and France, selling out 30,000 seat venues, and is also well known in English Canada. If you get a chance, give him a listen. He's got a terrific, clean voice with the power & range to carry over all the instrumental with ease. He writes his own stuff, and as a songwriter he's up there with my favourites too. He's probably best known for his ballads.

The Beatles Let It Be is another favourite example of what I'm talking about. I know there are many who feel it was over-produced, and I'd like to hear the "original" version, but I love the released version. Simon & Garfunkel are great for that 'wall of sound' too. (The Boxer) For more recent example, listen to Enya's Memory of Trees album.

Of course, when I really want to go for it, I reach for the left end of the CD rack - the classical section. If I'm looking for a quick fix, my disk of assorted Overtures is my drug of choice.

Most of the stuff released today? Drivel. Yes, I am becoming an old fart. Bite me.