Nearly Perfect Sound QualityReviewed by Fritz Gerlich, 2009-08-06
This is a review of the sound quality, not the music.
This disk sounds fantastic. Really, there is nothing wrong with the
way it has been recorded, mixed, and mastered. No distortion,
clipping, or compression here. All in all, I give this disk top
marks.
I should note my disk is from the 1990's, I don't know if it has
been remastered like some of Oregon's other albums. If it has been
remastered, I'd recommend getting the 1990's version, as the
remasters have been spotty.
Another Oregon Classic!Reviewed by Anonymous, 2003-07-26
This album is the 1979 companion album to the earlier Elektra
release, Out Of The Woods, and has a similarly outstanding
high-fidelity sound. All four musicians are in top form. Glen Moore
gives perhaps his best recorded performance on bass on songs such
as the self-penned "Roots In The Sky". Highlights are:
"June Bug" (fast-paced classical guitar line with bouncy
oboe),
"Vessel" (starts out with a low-pitched drum that sounds like lava
bubbling to the surface, then adds a laidback, slow-paced
samba-style piano motif, then a jazzy bass clarinet
midsection),
"Sierre Leone" (energetic acoustic percussion preluded by an
atmospheric flute and flugelhorn passage),
"Ogden Road" (a very 'wavy' tune with several crescendos, has a
descending 4/4 line with a latin piano/tabla mix, it first works
towards a climax at the 2 minute mark, then after 3 minutes into
the song changes to a flugelhorn interlude, then crescendos until
the 5 minute mark, and after one last flurry, ends with the piano
softly reprising the melody),
"House Of Wax" (bass and sitar interaction, also with some
spiraling woodwind),
"Orrington's Escape" (short 49-second piece with an angular
rhythm),
"Roots In The Sky" ( my favorite, has excellent bass and flugelhorn
lines),
"Longing, So Long" (tabla/percussion fest with bass and 12-string
guitar interspersed).
Unique and agelessReviewed by Doc Holliday, 1999-11-05
I became an Oregon fan in the early '80s and used to love to catch the group at Fat Tuesdays (now closed) and The Bottom Line. I still get real sad about the death and loss of late Collin Walcott's virtuosity and sound on tablas, sitar and percussion. You'll understand why, after listening to "Out of the Woods". In this CD, "Yellow Bell" and "Waterwheel" are Oregon classics, along with "Witchi-Tai-To" which creates their very special eastern/jazz mix that is so unique and ageless. (Unfortunately, their live "Oregon in Performance" album with some of these cuts was never transferred to CD. But, "Aurora", another Oregon classic can be found on "The Essential Oregon" CD recording.