Search - Oregon :: Roots in the Sky

Unique and ageless

Doc Holliday | Great Northwest | 11/05/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Another Oregon Classic!

Doc Holliday | 07/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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)."