The twangy sounds of the pedal steel guitar are regularly associated with country music, but like fellow musical adventurer Chas Smith, Bruce Kaphan takes the instrument into outer space with blissful ambient excursions pe... more »riodically tempered by keyboards, bass, or percussion. Kaphan is known for session work with the likes of R.E.M., Jewel, and Chris Isaak among many others, and he has toured with former Talking Heads front man David Byrne. The luxurious atmospheres of Slider are instantly intriguing, including the trance-y, Indian-flavored "Back to the Light," the ghostly "Outpost," and the uplifting "Arc of Flight." Kaphan displays a wider range of sonic approaches for pedal steel guitar than many listeners may have thought possible with the 11 tone poems on Slider. --Bryan Reesman« less
The twangy sounds of the pedal steel guitar are regularly associated with country music, but like fellow musical adventurer Chas Smith, Bruce Kaphan takes the instrument into outer space with blissful ambient excursions periodically tempered by keyboards, bass, or percussion. Kaphan is known for session work with the likes of R.E.M., Jewel, and Chris Isaak among many others, and he has toured with former Talking Heads front man David Byrne. The luxurious atmospheres of Slider are instantly intriguing, including the trance-y, Indian-flavored "Back to the Light," the ghostly "Outpost," and the uplifting "Arc of Flight." Kaphan displays a wider range of sonic approaches for pedal steel guitar than many listeners may have thought possible with the 11 tone poems on Slider. --Bryan Reesman
""Slider" by Bruce Kaphan is one of the most amazing records I've ever heard. The first two reviewers captured the essence of this CD nicely. I would add that the music has an emotional quality absent in much of today's music, ambient or otherwise, which is due in part to the artist's mastery of the pedal steel guitar and numerous other instruments.The fluid, echoing drones created by Bruce's pedal steel go right to the heart, particularly on tracks like "Big Brain Small Brain", "Arc Of Flight", "Undeserved Ending" and "Shinn Pond". He also uses the pedal steel to a quasi-harp-like effect on "Clouds", the album opener and one of my favourite tracks. "Outpost", which clocks in at over 8 minutes, creates an atmosphere of vastness and desolation, without leaving the listener feeling "cold". For me, the artist has created a work that evokes a response bordering on the "spiritual", a perfect soundtrack for relaxation or reflection. Truly a sublime aural journey."
It doesn't take synths to be ambient
William Merrill | San Antonio, TX United States | 03/26/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"While the category of ambient music nearly always involves electronics, Bruce Kaphan has created a new kind of ambient with his steel guitar. The album's subtitle is "Ambient Excursions for Pedal Steel Guitar," and that says it all. The steel guitar is used to make nearly all the music on the CD, but not in a style typically associated with that instrument. A track such as "Outpost" is as spacious (and space-y) as anything by Eno or Serrie. The effect of listening to the piece is like quietly floating high above a calm but endless sea; utter serenity. The CD is not just a homogenous block of spacey atmospheres, however. Kaphan mixes it up with oriental or near eastern textures on some cuts, and also begins "Back to the Light" with a techno-ish swirl of grungy, chopped-up backwards guitar loops. "Slider" is a highly intriguing disc that I will undoubtedly return to many times in the future."
Slip sliding away
Ian Mccausland | Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada | 08/20/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The more ambient tracks on this album seem to work for me. The first couple tracks seem to meander. If you like this stuff, search out some of Ry Cooder's soundtrack work, specifically the Johnny Handsome ST. As well some of the work of Michael Brook."
Deserves to Stay in Print
Bill Tyler | 12/20/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is not your father's ambient music. No whooshing sounds of astral wheels colliding. Instead this is a masterful soundscape of steel guitar that is plainly easy to listen to over and over like a great jazz record. In four years we have not once tired of it.
We were looking to give this album as a gift and were surpised to learn it was out of print. This is one record that deserves to stay in print. So come on Hearts of Space. Release this jem once again."
It works well
L. Fowle | north carolina | 11/23/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"if you have listened at all to AMC cuts over the years, you'll know what i mean about the spaces in the music. the wonderful thing with this CD is that you get innumerable spaces, the break in the song, with a sense of gentle repetition. I can't listen to this without thinking of american music club songs, though at the same time it stands and sounds something like its own. It works. It needs to be purchased, and listened to. Works perfectly in the fore or background."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
