Saturday, April 17, 2010

Michael Hedges - Taproot


Verble: Most people who know Michael Hedges are going to say "Breakfast in the Field" because that was his first album and it truly blew away most other acoustic guitar players. Came out in the 80's, more than just a fingerpicking style, more than just using alternate tunings, he was perhaps the first to use all that and also incorporated tapping fingers against the strings, smacking the fretboard, popping flat-handed against the body, I mean, really used the acoustic guitar as a percussion instrument rather than just a melodic or rhythm instrument - I mean, he kind of took the guitar to a whole new level . . .


But then, while for many years I had a love/hate relationship with his first vocal album Watching my Life Go By and really appreciating Oracle, I have to say that my absolute alltime favourite has to be Taproot.


Taproot apparently is a story in song-cycle, but since there are no words I've really no idea what the story is - I think it's hidden in the song titles themselves, and the only vocal composition is the last one, in which he sets an e.e. cummings poem to music, one of his best poems, actually, "i carry your heart with me" (which, by the way, I once tried to translate into Spanish in order to woo the woman who would one day be my wife, but that's another story)


Actually, though, now that I think about it, we took that CD with us on our honeymoon. Didn't play anything else but that . . . hm . . . that might be why I love that album so much.


Well, you sit here and think it over.


I'm gonna run home for awhile.


Hope she's back from the mall . . .



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