Customer Reviews

Quiet Revolution: 30 Years of Windham Hill

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sixty-seven tracks spread across four discs and nearly five hours of music provide a thorough look into the vision of Windham Hill's founder William Ackerman. Windham Hill, which began in 1976 with the release of Ackerman's SEARCH OF THE TURTLE'S NAVEL, became the leading proponent of new age music.

The first CD (entitled "Elements") begins with Ackerman's enchanting "The Bricklayer's Beautiful Daughter," one of his most gorgeous melodies. The earliest track is from Disc 3 (entitled "Artistry"): the energetic "The Townsend Shuffle," from Ackerman's second album released in 1977. The most recent track is "Calling You" from Joan Jeanrenaud & Paul McCandless' 2005 release CINEMA.

All of Windham Hill's major artists are here: Ackerman (4 tracks), Alex de Grassi (3), Jim Brickman (4), Liz Story (3), Michael Hedges (4), Nightnoise (4), and George Winston (5). There are also four previously unreleased tracks (all live recordings): David Arkenstone's "Dessert Crossing," Jim Brickman's "Open Doors," Barbara Higbie's "True Story," and Alex de Grassi's "Inverness."

The first three discs present a clear picture of the "Windham Hill sound." However, For listeners who have been drawn to the Windham Hill label for its instrumental new age ambience, Disc 4 will be an eye opener with all but five of the tracks featuring vocals. The music on this disc ranges from the blues of the Subdudes' "(You'll Be) Satisfied" and Tuck & Patti's jazzy take on Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time" to the Latin rhythms of Ceseria Evora's "Vaquinha Mansa" and the country balladry of guest vocalist Martina McBride on Jim Brickman's "Valentine."

Overall, this is a welcome and satisfying addition to any music library for collectors who enjoy relaxing music. And the 48-page booklet includes an extensive history of the label, an informative timeline, as well as photos and complete information for all tracks. [Running Time - Disc-1 74:25, Disc-2 69:24, Disc-3 78:45, Disc-4 74:40] VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

1st, I could care less if this 4 disc set is missing a few of other "best" contenders (i.e. single pieces) from Windham's long and excellent history.

Here's why I give it 5 stars:

1. Knockout CD sound! Among the best sound of my best CD's.

2. Knockout mastering! Sound on these 4 discs is as if it were done recently, with excellent track to track volume matching; and has decent dynamic range.

3. It's a mix, where each successive track is generally a different instrument. 1st 3 discs have few if any vocals; 4th disc has more than a few vocals.

Cheers

This is a great way to tone down all the frustrations of driving. It is so enjoyable listening to it you don't even mind having to slow down in traffic jams. This was a lot less expensive than in some of the mail order catalogs you get. About half price.

Nice packaging, and it's good to have (mostly) instrumental music for relaxing/projects, but there are a few lyrical pieces in there (one jewel: That Kind of Man by the Nylons,) but these are mostly not wanted. And finally, the instrumental music itself, though nice, is too repetitive and boring. Still, it's good to have some 'filler' music for reading.

Only about half of the music is "Quiet." I expected something a little more melodious and restful. It's good music though, and well-executed.

Enjoyable listening for most of the tunes on CDs. Few tunes grate on the nerves somewhat. Not entirely easy listening.

For those of you that appreciate this type of music, this is a wonderful compilation of the artists throughout the years. I ordered this because most my my Windham Hill collection is on tapes! This set gives a broad review of thing I've heard and pieces I haven't heard before.

I've been a WINDHAM HILL fan since their early works and this box set is the best. Great artists and music compilation and inside staff information from the early years.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this one for truly Early Windham Hill followers.

Having discoverd Windham Hill in 1983 when I met my husband. I have been a died in the wool fan since then. This was an amazing and wonderful trip for the memory of my husgand's and my 23 hears together. Even had our falling love song on it. Arrived very soon after order and in perfect condition. What more can a customer ask for?

One of the benefits of modern technology is to remaster the musical works of the past. This collection is one of them. Once people hear this CD series, if they have heard it in the past, it will bring back pleasant memories. I myself, still own some the vinyl recordings of the music in this series. but, now I have a CD version of them, so I can stop trying to find a turntable to play them.