Michael Hedges - Oracle

Michael Hedges's last album before his untimely death is one of his best. The 1996 album opens with "The 2nd Law," a quietly intense and introspective piece, and moves on through the percussive "Ignition," the sprightly "Gospel," and two variations on the same piece, "Jitterboogie" and the playful "Jitterboogie (Family Version)." The sole vocal piece on the album is a nice turn on the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows," with Hedges backing himself on guitar and fretless bass. There are two other interesting cover choices, Henry Mancini's "Theme from Hatari!" and Frank Zappa's "Sofa No. 1." Oracle won the 1998 Grammy for Best New Age Album, and the award was richly deserved. --Daniel Durchholz Amazon.com essential recording

Beyond mere music

Who was Michael Hedges? One of the greatest acoustic guitar players ever, for sure, and a brilliant composer, but much more than that. His total mastery of technique enabled him to transcend the boundaries of his instrument and to speak with a direct connection to his soul. Not a striving to reach such a state, but the outpouring of a true master, of one who has attained it. I hear his music and no longer wonder about the reason for existence. Not to say that all of his music attains this lofty level, but a great deal does. Oracle might not be his best work, (although it is my personal favorite) but it's definitely in the top three. December 16, 2005

Michael Hedges - Oracle....BRILIANT

Always wondered how you would answer the question "if I were stranded on a deserted island, what music would you take?" This one is without a DOUBT at the top of my list. Michael's untimely death STILL wracks me to this day. The man was just beginning to blossom. I can say without hesitation that this CD is the single most important piece of modern acoustic guitar ever made. The emotion laid forth on each and every song is unmatched. Strong enough review for you? Buy it, and if you do not like it, I WILL BUY THE COPY FROM YOU!!! If I had 100 copies of this album, I would be fine with that!
(...) November 14, 2005

A beautiful album with hippie twist

I live in Santa Cruz, CA, and it's hard for me to listen to this album without thinking of the extremely artsy young hippie types that one used to frequently see wandering around the ocean front or downtown on Pacific Ave. I'm picturing the kind of young white person who wears his hair in dread knots and usually has a long thin face and colorful loose fitting clothes.

I realize that such an introduction is likely to put a lot of people off, but that simply is the persona that Hedges projects on this wonderful acoustic guitar album. I never really know whether those young men and their long skirted women really are as creative as they so desperately want to appear, but there is no question that Hedges had an abundance of inspiration flowing freely when he made this album.

The songs are generally melodic, and can be used if not for background music, then for a quiet accompanyment when puttering around the house. However, the album is so moody and introspective that it is best appreciated in a darkened room where the focus is on the music.

Hedges strikes me as a very good, but not quite superb, guitarist who is especially conscious of the resonance of his instrument. As a result, hearing this album on a very good stereo system straight from disk, or in a very high quality MP3, is probably best. You need to be able to hear the way his wooden acoustic guitar echoes to fully appreciate these songs.

As I've already implied, there is something very quirky about Hedges music on this album. The "Theme from Hitari," for instance, is not exactly a likely choice in music for most musicians. But Hedges makes this Henry Mancini song his own by giving it a lonesome, introspective air that is full of lush melancholy.

Ignition is another type of song. It is an obvious riff on the sound of a car starting up that has a sharp edged percusive energy to it that is at once humorous and somehow emotionally evocative.

Hedges doesn't have George Winston's great melodic gift, or Alex di Grassi's extraordinary technical felicity. Nevertheless, this is a good album straight from the heart of the best of the Windham Hill tradition. This is not likely to be considered the best disc in your collection, but it is one that people who have a little bit of the new age hippie in them are likely to enjoy. February 18, 2004

No wonder this won a grammy!

This was the first Hedges cd I heard and I went on to get most of the others afterwards. The first three tracks are simply gorgeous as is "Gospel" and "Sofa No. 1" a nice addition for the Zappa fans...

But by far the stand out track is "Baal T'shuvah", an absolutely warm, well-rounded, fingerstyle song that is beyond description. Essential. February 7, 2002

Hedges Returns to finger-style.

This album marks a return for Hedges in finger-style technique. Known for his earlier efforts, "Ariel Boundaries"/"Breakfast in the Field", that demonstrated finger-style playing....Hedges followed up with some collaborative efforts and non-finger-style albums.

This is a return the the original techniques.....AND ITS BEAUTIFULL! May 29, 2000

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