Michael Hedges - Wndham Hill Presents: Pure Michael Hedges
ARTIST.....: Michael Hedges
TITLE......: Wndham Hill Presents: Pure Michael Hedges
LABEL......: Windham Hill
URL........: http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7112039
RIP DATE...: Apr-03-2007
STORE DATE.: Jun-27-2006
GENRE......: Acoustic
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 69,8 MB
Track Listing:
01 - Ragamuffin 03:15
02 - Because It's There 03:04
03 - Chava's Song 03:18
04 - The Streamlined Man 03:48
05 - Aerial Boundaries 04:43
06 - Rikki's Shuffle 03:11
07 - The Funky Acocado 02:08
08 - Bensusan 02:32
09 - Ursa Major 03:44
10 - Jitterboogie 02:37
11 - Rickover's Dream 04:47
12 - I Carry Your Heart 04:55
13 - Layover 02:31
14 - Java Man 03:44
15 - Hot Type 01:31
16 - If I Needed Someone 03:18
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53:06 min
Release Notes:
Though nearly half of the 16 tracks on Pure Michael Hedges are
found on another Windham Hill collection, Best of Michael Hedges,
the album is still a nice overview of one of the late 20th
century's most inventive acoustic guitar players. And as Hedges
was predominantly a guitarist, and not a singer, most of the cuts
are instrumentals, though the two vocal tracks that do make it on,
"The Streamlined Man" (from 1985's Watching My Life Go By) and "I
Carry Your Heart" (from 1990s Taproot, with help from Graham Nash
and David Crosby), are probably the best examples of how Hedges
sounded when he was singing his best. However, it's for the
incredible guitar that most people listen to his music, and Pure
Michael Hedges doesn't disappoint there at all. Popular pieces
like "Bensusan" and "Because It's There" are both included, and
are good representations of his unique, intricate style (it often
sounds that there's more than one guitar playing, though there
never is), and the two songs from the 1999 posthumous release,
Torched, "Java Man" and "Ursa Major," show that his skill and
innovation were still just developing before his untimely death.
The bonus track, a cover of the Beatles "If I Needed Someone,"
which was originally on the Windham Hill tribute to the Fab Four,
Here, There & Everywhere: The Songs of the Beatles, is a nice
addition to the already well-rounded set. Perhaps Pure Michael
Hedges is not as good as it predecessor, Best of Michael Hedges,
but it's still a nice release for someone looking for a
comprehensive introduction to the musician.