Andreas Vollenweider - Vergeletto
Aug. 5th, 2009 11:06 amToday's tune can be found as a live bonus track on the 2005 enhanced reissue of 1981's Behind the Gardens-Behind the Wall-Under the Tree
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While the tune Molly's Jig may (or may not) make an appearance here, this is May Green Be The Grass... from the 1997 album Kryptos
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:Andreas Vollenweider - The Glass Hall
Aug. 3rd, 2009 01:41 pmToday's tune is off of the first Vollenweider album I heard ~ still my favorite ~ 1984's White Winds
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The first time I heard this album was at my friend Ron's house. I met Ron through the music store where I worked. He came into some money, and he spent it at the store. Bought 3-4 guitars, a bass or two, 3-4 keyboards, sound equipment, and everything else you need for a home studio.
We played around and recorded a track where he messed around on the keys and I played a guitar. And then, as a joke, we put the first two tracks from this album (this tune was the second of those) on to the tape following our performance. And, at first, you couldn't tell where we ended and where Vollenweider began.
Well, around this tune, where some of the other instrumentation came in,![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
patrixa began to S - U - S - P - E - C - T something... =)
.The first time I heard this album was at my friend Ron's house. I met Ron through the music store where I worked. He came into some money, and he spent it at the store. Bought 3-4 guitars, a bass or two, 3-4 keyboards, sound equipment, and everything else you need for a home studio.
We played around and recorded a track where he messed around on the keys and I played a guitar. And then, as a joke, we put the first two tracks from this album (this tune was the second of those) on to the tape following our performance. And, at first, you couldn't tell where we ended and where Vollenweider began.
Well, around this tune, where some of the other instrumentation came in,
patrixa began to S - U - S - P - E - C - T something... =)Recently Heard: Breakfast in the Field
Jul. 22nd, 2007 09:33 pmMichael Hedges - Breakfast in the Field
It's funny, but I find this happening with other guitarists - a phenomenon that seems, perhaps peculiar to the instrument. Or, more particularly, to the musician generally considered brilliant on said instrument blithely ignoring all good sense and, instead of sticking with what they've done before, they... open their mouth.
With Michael, the talk often discusses his earlier instrumental work versus his later vocal work. After his early death in a car-VW bus accident, a collection of already released material came out - Beyond Boundaries
- which consists solely of "guitar solos", by which they mean "instrumentals", as if flute or bass don't count...See, what I find most humorous about this division of Michael's work into pre-vox and post-vox periods is that it really is a rather simple matter.
This disc, Michael's first, is the only thing he released under his name in his lifetime without a single vocal track.
A pretty easy split, that.
So all guitarists who complain at his vocals - often done in harmony with such small-time background singers like David Crosby
and one or two other guys (I actually can't remember if Stephen Stills or Graham Nash - or both - were on there as well...) - can rest assured that this is a Safe album. Not even a wordless vocal line amongst the bunch, just some Funky Avocados and amazingly brilliant fingerstyle guitar work, with tapping and harmonics. Michael Manring plays bass here and there, and George Winston jumps in on the piano once or twice, but other than that, it's all acoustic guitar all the time. You should give this a shot even if you enjoy his vocal work, which I do - expect reviews of the nearly-entirely-vocalizified Watching My Life Go By
and Road to Return
to show up some day!Recently Heard: Pacific Moon
Apr. 29th, 2007 08:21 pmGary Stroutsos - Pacific Moon
This is, for the most part, background music, but I say that in a good way. Relaxing flute music, with percussion, keyboards, koto, and - not as prominent as on some similar recordings - ocean sounds.
I suppose I should be disappointed that the oceanic bits are minimal, as I picked this up as a souvenir of my visit to Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium and the presence of the waves is what coaxed me to even consider this recording. You see, I used to collect forest sound recordings because I lived in the city, near the ocean. Now that I live in the forest, I'm good with those sounds, and I need to supply the oceanic thing.
Unfortunately, I'm simply not disappointed. Gary's a flute player - and a very good one - so that's what you get the most of here. Although the Pacific of the title is further clarified on liner notes as referring to the northwest coast of the United States, much of the soundscape has heritage in the other side of the Pacific rim. A notable exception to this is Nights of Quiet Stars, which has more of a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern influence.
Recently Heard: Spiritual Garden
Oct. 24th, 2006 02:51 pmSpiritual Garden by Kitaro
Kitaro was one of the first guys I heard doing new age music - along with Andreas Vollenweider and Ray Lynch.
I wasn't really expecting a lot of great guitar on a Kitaro disc - he and his wife play keys, and play with a variety of texture and sounds, and I expected the excellence that I found there, but there's also some really tasteful guitar gracing these tunes, played by Paul Pesco.
The music on this was influenced by the Butoh Dance of Koichi Tomano - I'm not familiar with the dance or the music behind it, but I believe it's a traditional Japanese form. There are some nods here and there that sound as if they are influenced by Japanese music, but it's not overwhelming. I think the music stands on its own, without the boundaries of tradition - if it touches on them more than I realize due to my lack of familiarity, than more power to the tradition.
While some may judge something on how faithful it is to its ancestors and all merit belongs to the historical lineage, I prefer to see it from the other direction: it's the way that the past is implemented and integrated that brings honor to the tradition through a strength of its own. And in this case, this is beautiful music, well played - and that is all that matters.
Johannes Linstead: Cafe Tropical
Given all the lessons recently on flamenco, one in particular mentioning nuevo flamenco in a derogatory sense, there should be some additional clarification. I differentiate between the two because they are different beasts. Distant relations, maybe, but not identical or even fraternal twins. Neuvo flamenco is not quite as pure - "watered down" would be accurate, although it's not such a bad thing.
For one, neuvo flamenco is more accessible - as it tends to leave the vocals behind, and often mixes in non-traditional instrumentation (acoustic or electric), it appeals to a much wider audience. While traditional flamenco can be used as background music, neuvo flamenco excels at it. There is still a high quality of musicianship required, it's not that the guitar parts are easier, less involved, or less interesting. Think "smooth jazz" vs. "avant garde jazz" as comparable to the difference between neuvo flamenco and flamenco.
I came across Linstead's stuff maybe four or five years ago, and it blew me away. This release - his sixth, if I recall correctly - has a number of tunes that really grab your attention melodically. He seems to be maturing as a songwriter, branching out a bit, but remaining true to his format. When I make and serve Mexican food, I like to use his material as the soundtrack.
Recently Heard: Aion by Dead Can Dance
Jul. 6th, 2006 12:56 pmI'm writing a handful of these reviews in reverse-order, so I've got two under my belt which will appear at some point after this one shows up, and each one is just another attempt to prove what a lousy critic I am.
Then again, I never claim to be a critic. I tend to listen/watch/read stuff I like, so I'm biased from the start. Even if I didn't like something, I'd probably still give it a decent review, because even in total crap, there's always something good. Takes a while sometimes, but it's there if you want to find it.
Of course, I'm also a terrible reviewer because nothing so far has anything to do with the music allegedly under discussion.
So, anyway - Aion. This just may knock Into the Labyrinth out of the top slot in my unfortunately small collection of DCD material (Toward the Within and Spiritchaser complete the rather incomplete list.)
I'm pretty convinced this shouldn't have been filed under rock - it would probably get a wider audience under World Music or somesuch. Can't see the rock crowd experimenting with it. No matter where it gets filed, this spans a whole world of influences - Celtic, Arabic, a variety of folk, and Gregorian chants. All of them are well done, with a depth of musicianship and passion that few other ensembles can match.
Then again, I never claim to be a critic. I tend to listen/watch/read stuff I like, so I'm biased from the start. Even if I didn't like something, I'd probably still give it a decent review, because even in total crap, there's always something good. Takes a while sometimes, but it's there if you want to find it.
Of course, I'm also a terrible reviewer because nothing so far has anything to do with the music allegedly under discussion.
So, anyway - Aion. This just may knock Into the Labyrinth out of the top slot in my unfortunately small collection of DCD material (Toward the Within and Spiritchaser complete the rather incomplete list.)
I'm pretty convinced this shouldn't have been filed under rock - it would probably get a wider audience under World Music or somesuch. Can't see the rock crowd experimenting with it. No matter where it gets filed, this spans a whole world of influences - Celtic, Arabic, a variety of folk, and Gregorian chants. All of them are well done, with a depth of musicianship and passion that few other ensembles can match.
