Conferring With the Moon [Original recording remastered]

William Ackerman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 25, 1998)
• Original Release Date: 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Windham Hill Records
• ASIN: B00000AF3G
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,036 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will Ackerman's Masterpiece, December 21, 2004

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conferring With the Moon (Audio CD)

Will Ackerman started the Windham Hill label in 1976, essentially to self-release some albums of "new age" guitar pieces he wrote (Ackerman detested any reference to "new age"). Much to his (and anyone else's) amazement, these early albums started selling beyond anyone's expectation. Soon Will signed other like-minded new age artists to his label, and before he knew what hit him, the Windham Hill label took off like a rocket. Being the label's CEO didn't stop Will from recording new music himself. And so on the 10th anniversary of the label, Will issued what would turn out to be his very best album ever.

"Conferring With the Moon" (1986, 11 tracks, 53 min.) continues the musical growth heard on the previous 2 albums, 1981's "Passage" and 1983's "Past Light". On "Conferring" it all come together just perfectly. On the title track, in which he is accompanied by piano, you can just "hear" Will talking to the moon. "Improv" is 'back-to-roots' Ackerman solo work. "Lago de Montanoas" finds Will accompanied by the pan-flute, you can just feel the "Inca-spirit" in your room! Other highlights include "Processional", "Shape of the Land" and the sweeping "Last Day on the Beach", with a great violin solo over Will's guitar work.

Will Ackerman has issued only 10 albums in his 28 year career to date (2001's "Hearing Voices" being the most recent). "Conferring With the Moon" stands the test of time, and is in my opinion his best work ever. Highly recommended! (Please note that the original vinyl album was replaced by CD in 1990, which in turn was reissued in a remastered version in 1998 that sounds miles better than the 1990 release.)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars essential, April 24, 2003

By 

Robert J. Bruce (Angola, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conferring With the Moon (Audio CD)

I first heard this album over 14 years ago when I was stationed on an aircraft carrier. I would put on my headphones and drown out the stress of the day and the noise of my environment.
Now 14 years later I am sitting in my kitchen in a much different world and it sounds just as good as it did then.
If I were to be stranded tomorrow on a desert island and have 10 albums to choose, this would be one of them.
The feelings and mood this album invoke are hard to describe, but are completely necessary to my being. This may sound extreme, but when you find and album you never tire of and can always return to, it is important.
Close your eyes, listen and make your own judgement.
.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intense, November 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Conferring With the Moon (Audio CD)

In the liner notes to this release, Ackerman writes of trying to understand love with the moon's help: "Now I remember clearly that I knew, but I have no memory of what I knew." This sums up the way I feel after listening to this album. I learn something, but I cannot place my finger on just what that something is. This is the single best work of William Ackerman's career thus far. It was also, luckily enough, the first one I heard.
I discovered this album at my local library, attracted by the title, the gray cover (of the original CD release) and the stark forest photograph on the front. Listening to it changed my life. The title track is seven and a half minutes of "unrequited love and misery," as Ackerman writes. Guitar, bass, violin, and the amazing sound of the lyricon mix to create something completely fresh, familiar and yet distant. The musical theme of this song is so deeply stirring. The rest of the album continues this mood, but in many different ways. There is nothing weak about this album.
The original vinyl release, which I also have, is missing (for space reasons) two tracks: "Processional," Ackerman's third and best recording of this piece, and "Garage Planet," a minimalist, multilayered effort. Buy the CD for the full experience. This music will carry you to so many different places. From the tranquil pan-pipes of "Lago de Montanas" to the soaring heights of "Climbing in Geometry," which features a memorable contribution by pianist Ira Stein, each piece is something new, but tied in to the recurring theme of love and loss and sadness and mixed emotions. Another personal highlight is "Singing Crocodile," which Ackerman admits he subconsciously drew from a Creole lullaby. Original or not, the piece is hauntingly beautiful. The album ends with a solo reprise of "Conferring with the Moon," which is not gratuitous but in fact a perfect ending for this watershed of an album.
Once heard, this album will not leave your memory.