Uneven
12/05/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"William Eaton is a southwestern guitarist and luthier who has done a lot of collaborative work with the Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai (including the excellent CD "Carry the Gift," which I highly recommend). On this solo effort he's joined by Nakai and a few other musicians -- percussion, European flute, violin. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the atmospheric quality of his collaborations with Nakai; a lot of the time, it sounds like rather aimless acoustic noodling. His unusual instruments add an interesting dimension -- various lute and harp guitars, and the astounding "ole'e'n strings" -- but it really isn't enough. There are a few high spots, especially the track "In the Queen's Garden," which is a really beautiful little gem of a piece. Mostly though, I could only recommend it if you were totally crazy about "Carry the Gift" and "Ancestral Voices." If you haven't heard Eaton's work, try those first."