- Audio CD (Oct 23 2001)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Import
- Label: Windham Hill Records
- ASIN: B00005OW52
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Track Listings
| 1. Before We Left This All Behind |
| 2. From The Song Of Songs |
| 3. Briars Above The Well |
| 4. For The Asking |
| 5. Fear Not Mary |
| 6. Walk With Me |
| 7. In The Valley Of Moses |
| 8. Somewhere In All This Green |
| 9. A Koan From Hugh |
| 10. Illumina |
| 11. Beneath The Tree |
| 12. His Old Eyes |
| 13. As Stars Fell |
| 14. River |
| 15. Happy Ending |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
The founder of Windham Hill Records, Will Ackerman has stretched his sound occasionally with different instrumentation, but Hearing Voices is an entirely new approach. Picking up on his uncredited production of Samite's Stars to Share album, Ackerman enlists a group of singers that includes Samite, Happy Rhodes, Curtis King, and Heather Rankin to intone his quiet meditations, sometimes with English lyrics, other times with Native tongues and imaginary dialects. As a result, Hearing Voices has a hymnlike quality on tracks like "Somewhere in All This Green" and "Fear Not Mary." Rankin gets to do some ecstatic Gaelic chanting on "Walk with Me," which also features Ackerman's only electric guitar lead on record. Ackerman tosses in a couple of wistful acoustic guitar solos, but it's the vocal tunes that continue to haunt on this quietly daring departure. --John Diliberto
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Road Less Traveled,
By Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hearing Voices (Audio CD)
It is an affirmation of my over all opinion of Will Ackerman's work that, after something of an artistic hiatus, he can branch from instrumental music to song writing, and manage to capture a Grammy nomination with his efforts. I only recently realized that Ackerman is recording again, after a period of 10 years that saw only one new album. Now that I've listened to Hearing Voices, I can report that it is surprisingly compelling, while being quite a bit different than what I expected.Why unexpected? From what I have seen of Ackerman's work I anticipated that the music would have strong folk overtones, similar to what he does as a soloist, and even in an ensemble. What I found is that, while he continues to use melody over a rhythmic chordal architecture, he has reduced the amount of arpegiation that marked his work and turned his focus to the intermingling of thematic voices. The catalog of languages that the performers use is extensive - Luganda, Gaelic, Arabic, Hebrew, Italian, Hindi, Sanscrit, English, and even invented. Obviously the intent isn't to produce an 'international' album, but to emphasize the importance of the sounds of the words aside from lyrics. The result, however, is quite a bit different thant that of other musicians who have investigated this form (such as Vas and Wim Mertons). The selection presented is self-consistent - they play against each other smoothly, and it is very easy to approach this album as a work in its entirety rather than just a collection of works. As usual, Ackerman demonstrates his ability to get musicions to work together to create something that is more than a brilliant solo performance. That, coupled with the usual perfection we expect from Windham Hill productions, makes this one of the must have albums for those of use who like soft jazz and new age work.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply --- great!!!,
By
This review is from: Hearing Voices (Audio CD)
I have been a Will Ackerman for a few years now and when I saw this CD in the store, I snatched it up right away. It is definitely a departure from his previous work but still maintains the acoustic style that is defines his style. This CD has a prominent place in my collection and makes for some great driving music.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ethereal voices blending with soulful guitar,
By
This review is from: Hearing Voices (Audio CD)
Unlike most of the reviewers hear, I am new to William Ackerman's music, and this doubtlessly helped me appreciate this album because I didn't have anything to compare it with. This is uplifting music, suitable for meditation, going to sleep by, or just sitting and imaging. The non-English lyrics serve to let the music and the sound speak for itself. The voice of the guitar is quite distinguishable here, and is not drowned out or even diminished by the voices. There is a blending. Nor is the music monotonous. Some is strictly Idyllic, but some has more of an upbeat. This isn't to say that it's envigorating, but it is deep and ultimately satisfying. There are those who prefer Ackerman without voices, or only his own. But for those who enjoy an Enya type quality with expert guitar blending in, this is for you.
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