ROOTS IN THE SKY

What a talented and unique sounding band OREGON are. As i said when reviewing their "Out Of The Woods" album, if i gave my rating based on objectivity this is a 4 possibly a 5 star record. Again i have a hard time getting past the fact that it's an all acoustic album. My loss i know. Once again acoustic guitars,aboe,piano and percussion lead the way. I must say i do prefer this one over "Out Of The Woods" but not by much. If you can get the re-issue with both of these paired together i wouldn't hesitate.

I read where someone refered to this music as "acoustic jazz chamber music". Or something like that. "June Bug" kicks in quickly to an uptempo pace with percussion,aboe and acoustic guitar. Just a great sound with so much going on. "Vessel" is the longest track on here. Percussion of some sort to open as piano comes in gently. Some dissonant horns join in around 3 minutes. Bass clarinet too then the piano takes over. Percussion becomes the focus again in this laid back tune. "Sierra Leone" is very quiet with some sparse aboe until we get this World music sound around a minute. It's building.

"Ogden Road" opens with piano as a horn comes in and other sounds. Percussion around 1 1/2 minutes. The tempo continues to change. Acoustic guitar before 3 minutes. Horns 3 1/2 minutes. Aboe before 6 minutes with piano. Excellent track. "House Of Wax" opens with piano as sitar joins in. It seems out of place to me. "Hungry Heart" opens with percussion as aboe,bass,acoustic guitar and other sounds join in. "Orrington's Escape" is led by aboe but i don't like it. Thankfully it's very short. "Roots In The Sky" builds with horns,percussion and other sounds. It settles right down then builds a lot more slowly this time. "Longing,So Long" sounds like sounds from the jungle to open. Percussion and aboe follow with acoustic guitar. Some bass and piano too as the tempo continues to change.

So an impressive release that i need to be in the right mood for. I found this more jazzy than "Out Of The Woods" and that's probably why i liked it more. 3.5 stars.