I thought the name of this artist sounded familiar when he first contacted me. It turns out that he's a descendent of the 30th President of the United States, though music is his forte rather than politics. Calvin has recorded albums in different styles and genres, the earnestly titled Meditations on God and the Meaning of Life fits into the new age ambience niche occupied by the likes of Liquid Mind and R.D.Jansen. Depending on where you stand regarding religion the title of this album could be welcoming or off-putting, but even if you're an atheist like me the important thing should be the music itself. Be prepared to be gently swept away by billowing synths and airy chorales for nearly an hour into a resplendent realm of angels sitting on clouds. Well, that's one of looking at it, comparisons to Liquid Mind are apt for the calming nature of this music but what distinguishes it is the spiritual quality. Indeed, some tracks, "Benevolence" for example, could be mistaken for a hymn and bring to mind Jonn Serrie's Epiphany: Meditations on Sacred Hymns both for the religious aura and the airy synth lines with occasional hints of a church organ. Tones vary in degree of intensity and sheen throughout the album. On the opening track "Entrance" they're hushed and heavenly, rather like the stately synths on Karl Weaver's piece "Genteel" on the album Ambiend. The tones and heavenly choir vocal effects are sometimes melodic like on the track "Entrance", or other times more like a sequence of chords as on the track "Awe" which compares to some of R.D.Jansen's amelodic work. One of the highlights in my opinion is the penultimate track "Mystery". Shiny synth lines light up the soundscape like rays of sun light beaming through clouds out towards the horizon, and the breathe like stretched out chorales add an angelic touch. If God exists maybe this is where he opens up a chink of heaven for us to get a tiny glimpse of his realm. Any time you want quiet time for reflection turn down the lights and put on Meditations on God and the Meaning of Life. At the end you may come away with a sense of sameness - the album does have an amorphous nature that one also finds in other similar works. It is soothing though, and it can help one ponder on the spiritual side of life.