This What I'm Talkin' 'boutReviewed by Reno J, 2010-01-10
I'm 53 years old & love jazz. I'd never heard of OREGON until I received a free MP3 album download promotion from Amazon & searched through the offered selections. I clicked on the "sample" button for OREGON & knew that I'd stumbled upon something good. I love groups like WEATHER REPORT, AZYMUTH, and SPYRO GYRA. This OREGON album has vaulted to the top with those others. Good stuff.
One for the ages.Reviewed by spiral_mind, 2007-08-19
With so much incredible material available and me having such a
fondness for genre-spanning jazz, I can't believe it took me so
long to discover what a musical treasure Oregon is. If I ever do
get my hands on that time machine I've always wanted, in addition
to giving my parents early tips about Microsoft stock and killing
American Idol before it's ever aired, one of the big priorities is
going to be finding my 16-year-old self and making sure he knows to
hunt down a copy of Out of the Woods ASAP (y'know, before bothering
with such other trifles as worrying about college). Not to overlook
the band's other masterpieces, but this is the one I never want to
live without.
Words of course are inadequate, but here's my best shot. Here's a
group of four stunning virtuosi, all composers and all
multi-instrumentalists, who came from vastly different musical
backgrounds and made all those elements - jazz, Indian, medieval,
chamber/classical, folk, African - blend and coexist so naturally
it's almost unnatural. Tabla and piano. Jazz bass and classical
guitar. Clarinet and sitar. It's acoustic, pastoral, gorgeous,
exquisitely executed with a compositional sophistication that never
fails to amaze and a group cohesion that's nothing short of
telepathic. It's not a matter of crossing boundaries; it's more
accurate to say that in this case the boundaries just don't exist
in the first place.
There are only three groups I know of* that have managed to
musically tap into our universal subconscious like this and create
something that sounds so intimately familiar yet perennially fresh.
Not only does everyone I've ever played OoTW for love it, they
don't see how anyone could not. It's one of those things. If you've
got any heartfelt love of music, do yourself a favor and don't wait
as long as I did. Give this a chance (the double package with Roots
in the Sky may be easier to find than the single CD) and your ears
won't regret it.
*the others being Shpongle and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
Beautiful, timelessReviewed by SP, 2007-06-20
Own the record and so pleased to find the CD at a reasonable price (under $10) from one of Amazon's "used" partners. In my opinion, this is Oregon's very best.
How can this be out of print?Reviewed by K. Swanson, 2006-05-23
Ears around the world are being denied intense joy!
This album is indescribably fresh, unique, and wonderful.
Witchi-Tai-To is one of the most spiritually moving recorded
performances I have ever heard...God bless you, Collin Walcott,
wherever you are.
Elektra MUST rerelease this! It is the best album from one of
modern jazz' most groundbreaking and underrated groups...if Spring
and Summer could play songs, they would sound like this
recording.
I have listened to Out Of The Woods for twenty-five years, and it
is still as thrilling and
satisfying as the first time I heard it.
A true classic, in every sense of the word.
Definitely the A-list of my "Stranded on a Desert Island"
recordingsReviewed by Shooshie, 2005-08-20
Out of the Woods is simply one of the finest albums ever committed
to vinyl. That it is apparently unavailable at the moment is a sin
against music and musicians, which I hope will soon be rectified by
a CD release. If we ever go to DVD or beyond as the standard
consumer format, this needs to be one of the first albums
remastered for that medium, because it can only get better with
higher and higher resolution.
These guys are all incredible musicians. There is no question about
that. But Oregon was one of those "greater than the sum of its
parts" groups. It was a synthesis that transcended its members
individual skills (which were immense), and transcends my ability
to describe it. The jazz is just the beginning. The improv explores
textures, rhythms, harmonies, and ensemble effects that just were
not familiar to Americans at that time, and which still would
enlighten the casual listener even in today's more diverse musical
soundscape. The tabla, sitar, oboe, piano, bass, soprano sax, and
other sundry instruments combine into something that occasionally
gives you a surge of other-worldliness, as though this group has
just broken the nirvana barrier and taken you with them. As a
woodwind player myself, Paul McCandless provides endless
inspiration. Genius is an over-used word, but I don't feel hesitant
to use it to describe him. Ralph Towner leaves behind his roots
with Paul Winter Consort to give us a performance that sounds as
though it comes from one mind with his fellow players. Repeat that
last phrase for all four players. This is an achievement in
ensemble playing that is not to be missed. It should be required
listening for all musicians.
Please, someone. Re-release this album.
Shooshie
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