Slider- Ambient Excursions for Pedal Steel Guitar

Bruce Kaphan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 28, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wiggling Air Records
• Run Time: 57.0 minutes
• ASIN: B000BWDUCM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,030 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The label and graphics have changed, but the recordings are exactly the same as the 2000 Hearts Of Space release "Slider- Ambient Excursions for Pedal Steel Guitar". "Slider" is Bruce Kaphan's solo debut album. Known for his pedal steel work with artists such as Sheryl Crow, REM, David Byrne, Chris Isaak, Jewel, The Black Crowes, Jellyfish and American Music Club, and for the underscore to Bob Dylan's feature film "Masked & Anonymous", "Slider" contains all original compositions and performances featuring the unique sound of Bruce Kaphan's pedal steel playing. "Zen music... sweet dreams of light and flight in which Kaphan's licks ring like prayer bells across an open Texas plain." - Rolling Stone Magazine. "An ambitious and groundbreaking effort... langorous, soulful expressivity." - The San Francisco Bay Guardian. "Kaphan pioneered new territory for the pedal steel in the'90's with alt-rock cult faves American Music Club... where he quickly liberated the instrument from Nashville stereotypes. SLIDER is an extensive rethinking of the pedal steel, with its silvery liquid tone refracted through Kaphan's harmonic vocabulary, skillful arrangements and wide-ranging stylistic compass." - Backroadsmusic.com. CD Now Top 10 CD of the Year

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Pedal Steel Music, November 10, 2005

By 

Bob Lee (Cloverdale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slider- Ambient Excursions for Pedal Steel Guitar (Audio CD)

Modern music fans recognize Bruce Kaphan's name from his work with American Music Club, Chris Isaak, REM, Black Crowes, John Lee Hooker and David Byrne. It's a rare treat to get an instrumental album from such an accomplished sideman. This collection of instrumental "new age" music was originally recorded for the prestigious Hearts Of Space label, and its tone is consistent with the sound of their popular radio show.

The tunes are dreamy, multi-layered steel tracks, dripping with echoes and punctuated with diamond edges. Bruce Kaphan combines his double-neck pedal steel, the recording studio, and a few tasty acoustic instruments to create beautiful ambient tapestries. This CD is on the leading edge of steel guitar art music. It's one of my personal favorites.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't think Country and Western, or Hawaiian music!, April 21, 2006

By 

Dennis G. Williams "Gonzo" (Sharpsburg, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slider- Ambient Excursions for Pedal Steel Guitar (Audio CD)

If you've never heard 'Clouds', you're in for a treat. I stumbled upon this song on my cable station's Soundscapes channel, and fell in love with it the first time I heard it. Bruce's music is pure magic. I never knew the pedal steel guitar could produce such a full and sensuous sound until I heard this album. He is a master of the pedal steel guitar.

Like a true pioneer, Bruce takes you down several paths, ranging from a couple of eastern-style tracks, to more traditional 'new-age' compositions. Not to leave country & western totally ignored, his 'High Desert' explores the lost art of western music. 'Outpost' conveys a sense of loneliness and isolation that its name implies.

Don't take my word for it. You can listen to every track on this CD from his website - www.brucekaphan.com. Then buy it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Country & Eastern And All That Stuff, March 4, 2006

By 

Gordon Danis (Eastchester, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slider- Ambient Excursions for Pedal Steel Guitar (Audio CD)

When Bruce Kaphan's "Slider" came out in 2000, as one of the last official releases on the Hearts Of Space label, it made quite a splash-besides the English pedal steel player B.J. Cole and the equally obscure but still immensely talented Chas Smith, not much ambient/space music had been heard from the steel guitar as a source instrument.

"Slider" changed that in a big way: The track "Country & Eastern" substituted a slide guitar where a sitar or esraj might have been; "Clouds" and "Big Brain Small Brain" went off into Jeff Pearce/Michael Brook "infinite guitar" territory, but using the slide as opposed to a heavily processed six string or e-bow. Six years later, "Slider" sounds just as fresh. This is an essential purchase.