Customer Reviews

Remembrance-A Memorial Benefit

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

 

 

This music, to me, is perfectly in tune with the remembrance of that tragic event in our history which occured almost a year ago. I find the sound of a voice in each of the instruments that George Winston & the other guitarists play, a gentle voice which without words tells of our feelings about the lost lives and the resulting emptiness that was a result.

I was surprised by the comments of others about cut 5, the harmonica medley. To me, this was the high point, the nucleus of the CD. The harmonica has a voice all its own, one which can perhaps be likened to bagpipes. This instrument is capable of expressing a deep feeling of loss, and it seems to me that it does so here. Maybe that cut needs to be listened to more than once by those who made the comments, until they are in tune and receptive to the very emotion expressed. Or maybe it is just that some can not like the poignant and sad sound of the instrument. I was absolutely caught up and enthralled by this cut, but I will warn you that it might sound differently to you than to me.

This recording was made less than a week after the tragedy, and you know that Winston's heart was in it all the way. It is a very short CD, less (by seconds) than half an hour. If you insist on quantity, regardless of quality, this will displease you.

However, its shortness makes it suitable for my purpose of sharing it with a group on 9-11, either at noon or else coincidental with the time of the first attack.

If the harmonica section doesn't annoy or irritate you, I'm sure you will be affected by this entire record.

This is about as laid-back as one can get with New Age music. I have all of his other CDs and have seen him in concert several times. This CD has the classic George Winston sound. I was a bit disappointed that the CD was less than 30 minutes long (29.08 min). I would have liked a longer visit with him. A very relaxing, but sad feel to the music....like a Remembrance..

WOW! I am blown away by this performance.

I've been a fans since Plains, & now have all his CD's. This performance just may be his most sincere. No one can have a dry eye listening to 'Farewell/Kindness Emerging/America, My Country 'Tis Of Thee'.I don't understand how anyone who loves music could give this a poor review. It's so easy to be negative. Some folks just don't get it.
Too bad, their loss.

the unitiated will cringe that this is not a carbon copy of Decemeber, and has the nerve to feature other instruments besides piano, but folks, this CD has more soul than anything I've heard in years. The mix of solo piano, guitar, and harmonica tell an amazing tale of passion and emotion. The guitar work invokes comparisons to John Fahey, while the harmonic mimics a bagpipe band. George's piano work speaks for itself.

This cd IS George Winston at his best, and I am grateful for his gift.

I have to agree with the other listener in saying that track #5, which is the "Farewell, Kindness Emerging, America, My Country 'Tis of Thee and Taps" has got to be the most annoying song I've ever heard. I bought this CD because Amazon gave me the opportunity to listen to all tracks, but this one. The rest of the CD is absolutely beautiful. The music that I have always recognized as George Winston to be, is heard throughout "Remembrance", except this song with the harmonica that last nearly 9 minutes! I believe this CD is worth buying, because the other songs are lovely, but I guarantee you will skip right past track #5.

I bought this CD partly because of the harmonica piece, not in spite of it. I didn't particularly like George's other harmonica piece on other CD's, M.M.'s Dunk, though I could never quite figure out why, other than perhaps I'm an oldster with a closed mind to new types of harmonica. (I've always liked the Blues style of harmonica.) I wondered what I might think, given the several very negative reactions of other posters here to the harmonica piece.

I like the entire CD, and would recommend it to anyone who is happy with an instrumental CD that doesn't just feature a single instrument. I'd also recommend it to anyone who likes harmonica music generally, even if you don't like piano and guitar music; you could learn a lot of harmonica technique by listening to this one harmonica track.

I'd rate the harmonica piece lower in terms of the frequency with which I'd want to listen, but only because I don't always want to be around great sadness; I do actually like the harmonica music here. It's expertly played and not at all unpleasant to listen to. George has expressed great sadness with it, and shown great technique with his harmonica en route to doing that. I once thought that hearing "First Loss" on the piano played very slowly might be the ultimate expression of great sadness, but this harmonica piece is even sadder, perhaps because it clearly expresses sadness for the entire nation, not just a single individual.

There's a reason that the harmonica piece comes as the fifth out of six tracks. It's the focal point of the CD in remembering 9-11, which it points so strongly to. The last piece on the CD comes back from the shock expressed on the fifth track, making for a gentle reminder that life goes on, and pulling the listener out of the deep mood of track 5 before letting go. I'd guess that the order of the tracks was very carefully considered in creating the CD; the fourth track is a perfect preparation for what follows in the harmonica piece.

If you mostly buy George Winston's stuff because it's beautiful, then five out of the six are just that, whether it's piano music or guitar. George plays a beautiful, beautiful guitar, as well as the beautiful piano music that you've come to expect. I think this CD is among George's best, though I can't exactly think of any that aren't among George's best, either. (I have a great many of his piano music CD's and love them all.)

One thing I think I might have seen in George's music is sometimes a piano influence in the way he plays the guitar, and sometimes a guitar influence in the way he plays the piano. Most musicians are pianists or guitarists, and don't usually show an influence of the techniques and styles common on other instruments... but it's yet another reason to listen to George Winston and his compositions, in as many different kinds of his CD's as possible. George Winston isn't just another guitar player any more than he is just another piano player. I'm really glad I bought this CD.

I agree with some of the other reviewers about track 5 (the dreaded harmonica track!) that it really doesn't belong on this CD. For just some reason, it is kind of like grating fingernails on a chalkboard compared to the other tracks. I for one like GW playing guitar. I have seen him in concert many times, and I have always enjoyed him playing slack key. If you are one of the die hard fans of George, you still should invest in this CD. If you are new to him, December, Autumn, Summer, Winter into Spring, or Forest are great first time intro CD's to GW. Still, this is a good effort and for a great cause. I don't regret purchasing it, but he has done better.

*** Please don't "flame" me until you have read and considered my entire review - Thanks! ***

As diffifult as it is to gain any perspective regarding the tragic attacks of 9/11, we must, in my opinion, seperate the events from the music that was offered up in their honor. I applaud George Winston (whom I love like an incredibly gifted pianist brother) for making a tribute album, with profits I assume going to support worthy 9/11 causes. However, we must seperate the music from the charity, and the charity from the event.

The music is indeed wonderful for 2/3 of this very short album. It is important to note that almost 1/3 of the album (9 minutes out of 29) is dedicated to a solo harmonica solo, that simply put, should not be. Yes, it evokes an aura of quintessential Americana - but after that passes in the 1st 15 seconds, it simply becomes annoying to all but the most ardent harmonica lover. And for all his talents, George Winston is not best suited to present us with classic Americana (sorry, George).

From a musical perspective, as wonderful as the remaining 2/3 of this short album are, it is simply a bad value. You can get far more minutes of Winston's wonderful stylings on his other CD's (limited though they may be - come on George, get back in the studio!) - and without the harmonica interlude. And at 29 minutes, it is roughly 1/3 the length of a normal CD - at the same price!

I recognize that some may come to love this album for what it perhaps was intended to be - Winston's tribute to 9/11. If so, then I cannot argue. However, as a body of Winston's better works, I cannot recommend this album until you have every other Winston album and all of the more prolific and equally poetic Jim Brickman's albums.

P.S. - For the record and to forestall some "flames", I am a "true, blue American", perhaps most significantly including a signficant portion of Native American blood, and I, too, lost neighbors and associates in 9/11, as all too many of us did - and it was far, far worse for so many more, I know. And I am devoted to the cause of justice in their name. United We Stand!

I am ordering this album today.. Why?? My wife and I recently saw George Winston live in our city.. He played piano, guitar, and the harmonica.. This album has that harmonica track on it and it will bring goose bumps to any one who here's it..

I was a bit disappointed as there was too little piano and too much other. The music was beautiful, just not what I expected.