I've been revisiting all of the early Windham Hill Records releases as part of a project detailing the Windham Hill Discography (you can see the site at http://windhaming.wordpress.com )
In my project I reprint all of the original liner notes and credits, and I've recently interviewed Harn Soper and Russell Bond of The Music Annex in Menlo Park where many of the classic Windham Hill albums were recorded (George Winston's Autumn, to name one.)
A typical Windham Hill album from 1980 to 1986 was: - recorded direct to two-track, with minimal or no reverb at 30 inches per second - Mastered by Stan Ricker at Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs - Matrixed and pressed at RTI - Record Technology in Camarillo, CA - Pressed using Quiex vinyl.
What do you think? Are any Windham Hill albums an important part of your audiophile collection? What are your observations on the sound?
(As an aside, I've also heard that they released original reel-to-reel recordings recording in "real-time" directly of the masters, and were a leader in chromium cassettes. Interesting details.)
Michael Hedges (RIP) Live on the Double Planet. Makes you appreciate what this guy could get out of a single guitar. Probably a different recording technique being a live album. Saw him 6 times in Portland. Amazing every time. There is a video from Red Rocks I saw once. Worth checking out.
I was in college during most of the period you referenced and had the following on vinyl:
WH-1014 - Passage - William Ackerman [1981] WH-1017 - Breakfast in the Field - Michael Hedges [1981] WH-1030 - Southern Exposure - Alex De Grassi [1984] WH-1032 - Aerial Boundaries - Michael Hedges [1984]
I was just starting to get serious about my gear during those days. I had an Onkyo TA-2090 that was a highly regarded cassette deck at the time and had transferred most of my vinyl to tape, as I refused to bring my gear into the dorms. Enjoyed listening to mix tapes of many selections from these albums as study music.
Yes, they were well recorded albums at that time. The importance to me was that they were selections I used in my learning process while experimenting with quality source reproduction.
Listening to all of the releases again has made me appreciate the music anew. Most of the albums sound great, and I've found all but one or two very worthy musically.
I've found that listening on vinyl and turning up the volume makes for some fairly intense listening. My wife, on the other hand, loves Windham Hill, but does treat it like background music.
Some standouts:
Michael Hedges, Aerial Boundaries - One of the great albums of all time. Hedges redefined acoustic guitar. I believe this is up there with Kind of Blue, Dark Side of the Moon and Sgt. Pepper as a must have for any music lover.
Alex de Grassi - Turning: Turning Back and Slow Circle. Terrific solo guitar.
An evening with Windham Hill Live - Various Artsts. Great cross-section of music, well recorded, and upbeat.
Shadowfax - Shadowdance. Fusion - with an eastern touch.
Liz Story - Solid Colors. If all new age piano were like this, it would be redefined as modern classical compositions.
George Winston - Winter Into Spring. I know, Autumn is the favorite, and may be the better album, but I've played it too death, and Winter Into Spring seems to hold up better.
I've also had a few surprises with the catalog - Robbie Basho is awesome and intense. His vocal album Visions of the Country was never re-issued, but is worthy, and unlike anything else on Windham Hill. David Qualey's Soliliquy is a classically-influenced album that still sounds fresh and thoughtful.
In short, if it's been a while since you've played your Windham Hill albums, take them out for a new listen.
My sisters boyfriend used to own a house in Belmont CA which his parents will'd to him. He built a recording studio in the house which a few Windham Hill recordings were done. The place became so popular that he got bought out of the house he grew up in.
Yes, Mark Isham is one of my favorites, particularly Tibet. I also love his work for David Sylvian on Brilliant Trees and Alchemy. Of course, he's also gone on to become a first-rate film composer and scorer.
@Justlisten - I'd love to have more details about the studio at the house in Belmont. Not everything was recorded at the Music Annex. Different Fur, Mobius Recording in San Francisco were used. Shadowfax recorded in LA, two albums were recorded in Seattle, and so forth. Now Will Ackerman has an awesome recording studio called Imaginary Roads in Vermont. He continues to win Grammys as a producer.
It's funny though. Over the years the label has lost the artistic credibility it once had. The songs have been recycled time and again on compilations, but the original albums are long out of print, and so if you weren't into music at the time, you could easily confuse Windham Hill with any of the imitators.
Because I so clearly remember the original vision of the label in the early 80's, I tend to think of Windham Hill more in the vein of ECM or MA recordings - not Narada or the Environments series.
Windham Hill faced a problem of success - they created a genre which could be done badly - and the competition watered down the vision and distracted listeners from the artists. I remember that by the early 90's Narada's less artistically significant catalog was handily outselling Windham Hill.
Also, Will Ackerman, who founded the label, became more removed from the label over time, and not all of the later works had his distinct musical imprint.
Nonetheless, I think the first 50 or so albums truly represent a great moment in American music - and there are several gems in the next 50 as well. That's a lot of good records for one small label.
Yes, some of the Windham stuff is sleepy, but "An Evening with Windham Hill Live" is anything but. IMO, it's their best album. From an audiophile perspective, it's superb. I don't know any other acoustic album recorded as well. It captures subtle details that are lost in most recordings. There's a distinct feeling of being in the room with the musicians. I highly recommend this gem on vinyl.
The mention of Michel Hedges here has made me feel good today as i read through this thread. Thanks guys!! I must try and find that Red Rocks DVD as i have tried to find the "Artist Profile" that was available on VHS but never printed to DVD. That is such a shame. I spoke with Michael Manring (who was Hedge's bass player often and a great person) about this matter one on one and he told me it was down to one individual making all of these decisions and he kind of shook his head about it all but didn't go much further. So i am surprised to hear that there is a Red Rocks DVD out there of Michael Hedges. I will be trying to find that one now!
Yes, Shadowfax sure counts in my book. I just posted the details for their first album - I've been replaying it and the detail and atmosphere on that recording is superb. Bassist Phil Maggini has been very active lately posting lots of links to music.
Yes, these recordings in my opinion are "Audiophile" quality (and I have quite a few). The musical content is another matter, however. The last time I listened to any WIndham Hill release had to be at least 20 years ago.
I counted 25 lp's on one shelf. Every now and again I get in this mode where I'll play many of them one after the other. I agree with others that they are of very good quality.
@ Russelrcncom -- you should dig them out again. First, of course, I've found that almost any music I loved once, I'll love again after laying off of it for a long time. Secondly, the music more than holds up, much of it is just as vibrant today as it was 25+ years ago.
Cool project & great posting's. Have to agree, certainly many of the WH are of audiophile quality and ahead of their time in some regards. I was on a spiritual quest to the east back in 80 and many a WH cassettes were copied & passed around. Many of those discs still take a spin in our house to this day. Winston's "Plains" in HDCD is one of the best recordings I've heard.
I used to listen to Winter into Spring when I was in graduate school. Went through some pretty miserable times back then, and I used to listen to that album on cassette (on a Walkman) at night to help me fall asleep. So it has kind of mixed associations for me...
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