Category: (Music)
22 new, starting at $11.99
6 used, starting at $11.98
Two masterpieces on one CD packageReviewed by E. Minkovitch, 2010-03-10
They could not have picked better Oregon albums for a two-CD
package. In their long catalog, these are the most perfectly
crafted, most listenable, most accessible and most inspired
recordings, representing the band's communal spirit, their amazing
talent for group improvization.
Also notable is the fact that these two records contain the minimal
amount of the dissonant, if not atonal noodling, that Oregon
sometimes gets lost in on many other recordings. After dozens of
spins, the music still sounds fresh and new. As another reviewer
said, the cover art represents the music perfectly, you get a
feeling of walking through the woods as you listen, and feel
uplifted and refreshed. This is not mainstream jazz, but an
acoustic fusion of the most original variety, no other band sounds
like Oregon, and it's as impossible to describe their sound as it
is to describe the taste of orange.
Not surprisingly, the two albums came out roughly around the same
time, during the most fruitful and inspired fusion years, the
mid-70's, but managed to maintain their originality of sound - they
express the utopian spirit of fusion, yet in their own inimitable
way. If you are an electric fusion fan, and have never tried this
band, this is a great place to start. If you love acoustic fusion,
you will wonder how you even did without these two classics.
Thank youReviewed by M. Blackwell, 2007-12-02
I 1st heard of these guys in the early 70's from listening to Paul Winter. As an acoustic guitar player starting in the early '70's I was amazed at the sound these guys made. To me, Raplh Towner is one of a kind...and this band as a whole is unsurpassed in their creative and groundbreaking work with their respective instruments...My 1st album from Oregon was "Out of the Woods" followed shortly thereafter with "Roots in the Sky". A recent trip through my album collection lead me on a search for those 2 albums released as a cd but that search led me into a dead end as far as digital Oregon...I'm sooooo happy to have found these cd/s last month and will be ordering more tonight.
Own This!!!Reviewed by J. Polak, 2007-11-20
This is some of the greatest music ever made! If you are looking for a description I can only say that this is acoustic music that should not be forced into a particular bin. It's just somthing you have to hear.
Great news: Oregon's Finest 2 albums re-released in a single 2-CD
set.Reviewed by J. Winokur, 2007-08-07
Knowing almost nothing 25 years ago of this most interesting vein
of jazz, I bought Out of the Woods leafing through an jazz LP bin
just for fun. as an LP based on its beautiful cover, thinking "If
this sounds like how it looks, this will be a find!" It did, and
was!
Oregon's musicians are each virtuosos in their own right, and the
combination is exhilarating. This group combines Ralph Towner's
classical guitar/piano, Collin Walcott's sitar/tabla, Paul
McCandless' oboe and other winds, and Glen Moore's fine bass. Their
disciplined, complex music shows better than anything I've ever
heard that passionate and cerebral are hardly mutually exclusive!
Don't dare confuse this with tepid "new age"! This music has far
more complexity and fire.
And these two albums, released in close sequence those many years
ago, are among Oregon's finest work. Witchi Tai To, from Out of the
Woods, is my favorite. Like some other Oregon pieces, it has a
rootsy element, and a touch of the sacred, drawing from Native
American music, and then stoked by these players -- and especially
Walcott's sitar and tabla. Both albums are full of other
highlights, strikingly original, challenging and compelling. It was
no surprise when, some years after the release of these two albums,
Oregon released some albums on the ECM label, which has become the
epicenter of so much of this burgeoning, more abstract, cerebral
yet passionate "chamber jazz that does not swing." (Perhaps the
most celebrated of ECM's early, path-breaking releases in this
idiom is the Gary Burton-Chick Corea classic, Crystal Silence.
Crystal Silence has spawned a lovely recent release, The New
Crystal Silence)
The late Collin Walcott's Sitar/Tabla added intrigue to many
earlier Oregon albums. Trilok Gurtu (e.g., Izzat: The Remix Album)
subbed, adding a special fire for a few years after Walcott's
untimely and tragic death. In 2000, Oregon's music was given an
enthusiastic orchestral adaptation in a memorable two-disk
collection performed by Oregon with the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony
Orchestra. Oregon in Moscow (The Burton-Corea, New Crystal Silence
release, noted above, resonates with this unique Oregon release in
using the symphonic setting for one of its 2 discs.) Otherwise,
while lacking the eastern cast Walcott and then Gurtu injected with
sitar and tabla, Oregon has become an extraordinary quartet with
the addition of drummer percussionist Mark Walker. All Oregon
albums are thrilling, but for me these are the best of the
best!
Excellent combosReviewed by Luc Archambault, 2007-07-12
These albums are a superb value for Jazz amateur. I discovered Roots in the sky which is as great as Out of the Wood. It's a Must to Have!
