Search - Michael Hedges :: Pure Michael Hedges

Ken S. from BELMONT, MI
Reviewed on 9/25/2009...

Love his music style.

+ 1/2 stars...A Gifted & Innovative Guitarist

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 01/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Michael Hedges was an astonishing musician, who died too soon in 1997. While his primary instrument was his guitar playing, to give this release a two-star review because of a couple of vocal tracks ("The Streamlined Man" and "I Carry Your Heart") is a classic example of throwing out the baby with the bath water. In addition, Hedges possesses a fine singing voice, but it's his guitar playing that truly amazes. Especially haunting is his use of harp guitar on "Because It's There" and "Chava's Song."



This is a wonderful collection of tracks beginning with his Windham Hill debut BREAKFAST IN THE FIELD ("Layover" and "The Funky Avocado) through the posthumously released TORCHED ("Ursa Major" and "Java Man"). The latter two were works in progress, but as with all of the songs on that album, they were released as Hedges left them. The beauty of those songs only hint at where his muse may have taken him.



In addition this collection includes a cover of George Harrison's "If I Needed Someone," a track which first surfaced on 1992's GUITAR SAMPLER and later on 1999's HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE. In 2000, Windham Hill released THE BEST OF MICHAEL HEDGES. PURE MICHAEL HEDGES repeats six of those tracks (seven if you count the live version of "Because It's There"). So why this new collection? Part of it is marketing--Windham Hill has put out numerous PURE releases to mark its 30th anniversary, but it's also to commemorate a gifted guitarist. PURE makes for a satisfying overview of an innovative guitarist. [Running Time - 53:29] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Snapshot of a gifted man

Big Shrike | LA | 08/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An incredible instrumental guitarist. An amazing musician. One of a kind. And don't be swayed by the guitar snobs regarding his singing. (And I am a guitar player.) Michael Hedges writes and sings wonderful lyrical songs. Most solo musicians wish they could capture the magic and beauty of his voice combined with his guitar to create such beautiful works. He consistently demonstrates his incredible guitar technique woven amongst his words. There are only a couple of lyric based songs on this disc, but you wish you could hear all the others. The rest is pure instrumental bliss. Anyway...this is decent best-of, but I recommend listening to his entire catalogue. Enjoy. RIP MH."