Customer Reviews

The Color of Sunshine

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"The Color of Sunshine" is guitar wizard Lawrence Blatt's third acoustic guitar album. "Out of the Woodwork" (2006) and "Fibonacci's Dream" (2008) were extremely impressive self-produced solo guitar efforts, but this time Blatt traveled to Will Ackerman's studio in Vermont to record and collaborate with Ackerman and some of the musicians who work with him. The production qualities in "The Color of Sunshine" are flawless and the sound is exquisite. Several of the fourteen tracks are solo acoustic guitar, and others include wordless vocals, flugelhorn, bass, violin, piano, percussion, and ukulele. Most of the additional instrumentation is subtle, giving Blatt plenty of room to work his finger-picking magic.

The concept for the album is that light/color and sound/pitch are functions of vibrating waves that are similar and related. Music and moods are often described using the metaphor of color. From Blatt: "Given this natural relationship, I used colors as the inspiration for different moods and emotions on an entire album. I composed one piece after another working sequentially through the colors represented in the light spectrum which include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. I then ordered the music on the CD in the sequence imposed by the light spectrum." What a fascinating idea and what a great album!

Blatt begins with "Look to the Sun," a quiet, gentle prelude that sets the tone of the album. The title track follows with warm shades of sound that include Jeff Oster on horn, Ackerman on additional guitar, and Blatt on baritone guitar, piano, and Hopi drum - a rich but soft-spoken piece. "Gray Salt Marsh" is pure contentment, and features Blatt on steel string guitar and T-Bone Wolk on bass. "InFrared - The Abyss" joyfully picks up the tempo a few notches and features vocals by Noah Wilding, Ackerman, and Blatt behind the guitar and light percussion. I especially like "Alhambra (The Red)," which is slightly mysterious and eerie. Steve Schuch's violin adds very effective atmospheric touches. I also really like "Orange Blossom Honey," a ukulele piece that almost dances out of the CD player! My favorite track is "Jaune (Yellow)," which is slow and graceful with an air of mystery. The violin again adds all the right touches, setting this piece soaring, while the gentle percussion grounds it with a mildly exotic flavor. Great stuff! "Mar Azul" has a lively Spanish style. Rock rhythms and a country attitude make "Black Rock Beach" a lot of fun. It's a toe-tapper, but won't jar you out of the relaxing mood.

Lawrence Blatt was New Age Reporter's 2007 "Best New Artist" for good reason, and "The Color Of Sunshine" should put him back on the top of the charts. Check it out!

Contemporary New Age composing artist Lawrence Blatt, who emerged number 1 in the NAR Best New Artist and Independent Music Award finalist, paints a beautiful artist's interpretation through a color spectrum metaphor. His album is inspired from a description of color relating to physicist Isaac Newton's color circle titled Opticks. Newton had compared colors of the visible spectrum to musical notes centuries ago. Almost as if holding a brush and an artist's palette of paint, Lawrence defines his own present day theory in a representation of the audible color spectrum in an adaptation of Newton's principas through his own vivid musical compositions.

Lawrence Blatt has his most recent album titled The Color of Sunshine, on the Blue Pie label 2009, displaying 14 songs as artistic strokes in a colorful exhibit of his music, visualized from his home in San Francisco California. Many music influences are represented including New Age Classical, Latin, Folk, and World, blending primary genres in this masterful rendition. Lawrence paints a beautiful artist's interpretation through a color spectrum metaphor. Holding a brush and artist's palette of paint, Lawrence defines his own present day theory in a representation of the audible color spectrum.

Grammy Award winner Will Ackerman, founder of Windham Hill Records, lends his talented hand as producer of this vibrant album, also taking part during song recording sessions in guitar, vocal, and percussion roles.

The Color of Sunshine can be defined as intricate acoustic guitar melodies fusing with orchestral instruments and numerous percussion roles, in a unique companionship, portraying a warm and pleasant atmosphere. Lawrence plays the guitars like a pro, easily certifying his abilities, having over 30 years of playing guitar.

The song Mar Azul begins with a serene moderate paced beginning and quickly advances to a faster tempo where Latin and World emerge near the outer edges of the color spectrum. Inspiration for this song was drawn from the Pacific Ocean, where the shade of deep cobalt blue waters contrast beautifully with the lighter pastel blue sky. The rays of lighter tones shine brightly by guitar strumming full of abundant runs and bounding rhythms. The characteristic warm sounds of Charango guitar and accordion announce their presence, while violin soon converge in perfect harmony, capturing the dramatic ending.

Violet Blue is a song that caught my attention from the very start, having a simple yet well defined ukulele tone melody full of emotion. The multiple classic instruments of South American Charango, acoustic, and nylon guitars, mix with piano and cello, lending to a heart felt melancholy touch to the piece. The rich sound of the exotic Charango captures the primary melody as each note lends itself to a memorable upbeat rhythm that includes light, perfectly times hand clapping that I found quite interesting and added the ideal touch to the overall effect of the theme. As it turned out, I ended up doing a little hand clapping of my own.

The Color of Sunshine is a beautiful album put to an audible canvas. Full of interest and creativity by the many talents put on display in this exhibit it shows, and it truly shows well.

The Color of Sunshine has quickly become one of my favorite cd's to listen to. The melodies are all very beautiful, and it is very clear how much talent Lawrence Blatt has with the guitar. Each piece is different from the others, each has its own mood. Listening to it is a pleasure, and very relaxing. This is one of those cd's that touches your soul with beauty.

The Color of Sunshine is the third instrumental guitar album on CD by performer Lawrence Blatt, produced by Grammy winner and founder of Windham Hill Records William Ackerman. Blatt's finger-picking style is highlighted by a beautiful flow of sound meant to acoustically represent colors of the rainbow. The inspirations for each color range from the wondrous deep red sands of the Moorish desert for the song connected to red, to the difficult ordeal of people afflicted with jaundice for the song connected to yellow, to happy memories of growing up in agricultural Indiana for the song connected to green. An emotionally enthralling music album that guitar lovers are sure to enjoy. The tracks include Looking to the Sun (1:34); The Color of Sunshine (4:13); Gray Salt Marsh (4:33); Infrared: The Abyss (3:18); Alhambra (The Red) (3:41); Orange Blossom Honey (3:32); Jaune (Yellow) (5:09); Green Corn and Spring (3:23); Mar Azul (3:39); Violet Blue (3:56); UV Radiations (4:26); Black Rock Beach (2:28); White Light (2:45); and Reach for the Rainbow (3:11). Highly recommended.

The Color of Sunshine by Lawrence Blatt

Lawrence Blatt is a very good acoustic guitarist with two previous recordings. On this album he is produced by another good guitarist, Will Ackerman, who years ago made a name for himself by founding Windham Hill Records, one of the first new age record companies. Besides putting out his own albums, Ackerman built his own studio in Vermont and became a respected producer (dozens of chart-topping acts including his old Windham Hill pals George Winston and Alex deGrassi). To get the best idea of how good a guitarist Blatt is, go right to the two solo pieces on this new album -- "Green Corn and Spring" and "White Light." This is where you get that special treat of getting to hear an acoustic guitarist, without using overdubs, play his instrument so that you hear rhythm and bass simultaneously, then the lead melody and bass, then what sounds like a rhythm guitar with the lead melody over the top, and occasionally all three aspects going at once. If you cannot figure out how he does it, you will have to go see him in concert or wait for a DVD. The other instrumental pieces on the album feature a few musicians here and a few others there. Blatt himself switches off on various guitars as well as picking the ukulele (which is so often strummed) making it sort of sound like a mandolin. There's a piano on one piece and a horn on another. Violinist Steve Schuch adds a real gypsy feel to three numbers. Another couple of songs have drums on them and there is lots of gentle percussion. But the focal point, as it should be, is the acoustic guitar playing. Blatt keeps it lively and interesting throughout. None of the tunes sound the same which is quite a feat in the world of instrumental music. For inspiration or at least to make this somewhat of a concept album, Blatt took the colors of the spectrum and made each one into a tune for this project and titled them after sunshine, the rainbow, white light or the various pie-slices of the color-wheel. It's interesting, but less important than the fact that musically this is a very successful album in entertaining and holding the attention of the listener. Keep your ear listening to this hot new guitarist because he obviously has a lot of good things to play.

it's nice, clean, tuneful, relaxing, and towards the end branches out into a wider variety of musical styles. if you like new age guitar, it's a winner