Customer Reviews

Pure Shadowfax

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Shadowfax recorded four albums for Windham Hill during the first half of the Eighties and they are all sampled here (along with two tracks--"Oasis" and "Changing of the Guard"--from their 1990 album THE ODD GET EVEN recorded for Private Music).

Shadowfax (named for Gandalf's horse from "The Lord of the Rings") incorporate jazz and world music into their ensemble playing with the key sound of the group provided primarily by Chuck Greenberg and G.E. Stinson. Listen to Greenberg's lyrical playing on "Angel's Flight" and "The Dreams of Children" where he employs lyricon and sax. Likewise, Stinson plays fluid guitar on tracks like "Kindred Spirits" and understated piano on "Move the Clouds."

By the release of 1983's SHADOWDANCE, they expanded to a quintet with the addition of a keyboardist and a violinist. Jamil Szmadzinski's violin and Stinson's electric guitar add to the raga-influenced "New Electric India."

[Note: Shadowfax released their debut, WATERCOURSE WAY, on ABC/Passport and was later reissued by Windham Hill, but it is not sampled here. Neither are the three other albums Shadowfax recorded after leaving Windham Hill. The group disbanded following founding member Chuck Greenberg's untimely death of a heart attack at age 45 in 1995.]

PURE SHADOWFAX duplicates eight tracks from 1991's equally excellent WHAT GOES AROUND: THE BEST OF SHADOWFAX. But for the uninitiated, this is an excellent place to start [Running Time - 62:15] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This is, on one level, a great sampler CD of a group that dis-banded in the mid 90's due to the untimely death of the band leader.

Considering that BMG has done nothing new with the new Windham Hill label, except to continue to re-issue much earlier albums and various compilation CDs, I can't recommend this CD exactly as BMG doesn't support any new New Age artists.

However, I would recommend searching and buying the original LPs and CDs of this group, Shadowfax, if possible.

Barring that, I can understand, and would suggest that people unable to find the original albums, buy this one before it goes out of print as well.

This CD has a good sampling of Shadowfax songs and better yet the sound is excellent! Unlike most recently released CD's the sound on this CD actually has good dynamic range and is pleasant to listen to.

Shadowfax was an incredible band blending new age with interesting songwriting and this is a good overall introduction to Shadowfax, though it is missing some songs I really like, but it does include Angel's Flight which has always been a very special song for me and is hypnotic to me.

I will often simply put Angel's Flight on and close my eyes for a few moments and just listen. The song is so aptly named. Hopefully there will be a more comprehensive release of their music.

Anything Shadowfax has produced great, it will be a band long remembered for it's eclectic assembly of great music.