Calling Transcendence Shambhu's first "greatest hits" album only tells part of the story. Yes, the ten tracks are soothing and uplifting favorites from five of Shambhu's previous releases, but they have also been remixed and remastered in Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio and expertly crafted by engineer Todd Boston. The sound quality of Shambhu's recordings has always been exceptional, but with Transcendence and a decent set of speakers, it's very easy to imagine that Shambhu and his guest musicians are in the same room with you - the sound quality is that good! Four of the tracks on Transcendence are from Shambhu's debut album, Sacred Love (2010), two are from Dreaming of Now (2013), two from Soothe (2017), one from Lilac Skies (2019) and one from the 2021 EP, Heart Awakening. So even if you have all of Shambhu's previous recordings (as I do!), Transcendence takes his music to new heights and provides an exceptionally immersive listening experience.

The album begins with "Heart Awakening," which was the most-recently released track in its original form. Released in 2021 as a single as well as part of an EP with the same title, this beautiful piece is a solo with Shambhu playing acoustic guitars and synthesizer, creating a mood of serenity and peace. "Edge of Eternal" was on Shambhu's debut album, Sacred Love, and features guitars, cello (Eugene Friesen), English horn (Jill Haley) and Noah Wilding (wordless vocals) - a classic from Will Ackerman's Imaginary Road Studios! "Soothe" is the title track from Shambhu's 2017 album and is mostly a duet with Shambhu (guitars, synth) and Michael Manring (fretless bass) - so peaceful! "Revelation" returns to Sacred Love and is absolutely hypnotic, featuring guitars, bass (Tony Levin), cello (Friesen), English horn (Haley) and percussion (Jeff Haynes). Next up is "Nirab Amare" from the same album - a duet for guitar and flute (Premik Russell Tubbs) that includes the sounds of birds as well as the soulful musicians. "Imagine" is also from Sacred Love and is a trio for two guitars (Shambhu and Will Ackerman) and fretless bass (Manring) - perfect for letting your mind wander and taking a deep breath. "Pondering When" first appeared on Lilac Skies (2019) and is Shambhu playing guitar, synthesizer and bass - the perfect accompaniment to a daydream or watching the clouds drift by. "Knowingness" is from Soothe and features Shambhu on electric guitars and synthesizers, Manring on bass, Kristin Hoffman's wordless vocals, Tubbs (sax), Frank Martin on piano, and Haynes on percussion. The last two tracks are from Dreaming of Now. "Windows of Time" has a full but subtle band with Shambhu on guitar and synth, Martin on piano, Charlie Bisharat on violin, George Brooks on sax, Kai Eckhardt on fretless bass, Celso Alberti on drums and Haynes on percussion. The smooth, easy groove makes this one a favorite! "Dreaming of Now" is a second duet for guitar and flutes (Tubbs) with lots of open space and a slow, dreamy tempo - a great closing for a great album!

Transcendence is available from Shambhu's website, to stream and download from Amazon and Apple Music/iTunes, and from many streaming services including Bandcamp, Spotify and Pandora. Bandcamp also has limited-edition signed CDs available. Very highly recommended!