Search - Dr Didg :: Out of the Woods

Excellent didgeridoo-oriented music

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 04/12/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not a world music buff. I'm a prog rock fan, and generally get my dose of world music from bands like Gong and Ozrics Tentacles (both explored Oriental, Middle Eastern, and East Indian styles with their progressive space rock sound). I mostly bought Dr. Didg's Out of the Woods just to hear some didgeridoo, and I was actually quite surprised. Dr. Didg was a British band lead by an American named Graham Wiggins. He played didgeridoo and a little reed organ you blow in to called the melodica. The band also consisted of Ian Cambell on drums and Mark Revell on guitar, as well as outside help, like percussion, horns, and much more. Basically this is a band that grooves and jams. There are a few surprises on the way, like "King Tut", which is an odd one incorporating Egyptian styles with didgeridoo. "Under the Influence" is a real treat for those who like '70s fusion bands like Weather Report. The music has a rather obvious Weather Report-like rhythm, but instead of sax from Wayne Shorter, you get didgeridoo, as well as a horn section. "Sun Tan" features Graham Wiggins playing a keyed didgeridoo. This didgeridoo has keys like on a sax and you can actually play notes on it, instead of the single-note drone you usually expect from a didgeridoo. "Brolga" is a version of a traditional Australian Aboriginal tune, and the song even gets help from real Aborigines: Litalita Ganambarr on vocals and Dhakalin Burarrawanga on didgeridoo intro. The CD very obviously shows what kind of music Graham Wiggins been influenced by: rock, jazz, world (particularly Australian Aboriginal, of course, thanks to the didgeridoo), psychedelia, you name it. And Mark Revell really knows how to give us some excellent and inspired guitar work to go with the grooving rhythms. My only real complaint of the CD is while there is some diversity on this disc, several of the cuts just sound too samey and gets a little tedious in places. The band's obvious emphasis is on rhythm, but overall, this is still a fine CD, and well worth it if the thought of rock, jazz, and world with didgeridoo sounds great to you."

Just try to keep your feet still

Phat Phriend | Anchorage, AK | 01/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A marvelous album. Beautiful tones and unique sound. This dude's lungs could power a small town. If you enjoy tight rythems and good quality sound, this album hits the spot. It will fill that void in your collectin that craves something different."

Same Tempo

Jason Salamone | 08/16/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I used to enjoy this album a lot for it's deep groove sensibility. I had a chance to see them live where they played pretty much all the songs on this cd. The crowd consisted of real dirty smelly college hippy wannabes that danced in a circle with no sense of rhythm. Very annoying. Also, I began to notice that every song was exactly the same tempo as the last. Because of this experience I became disenchanted and Dr. Didg didn't redeem himself because his next solo releases became even worse. Just full of synthetic processed & programmed techno beats. A true musician will use that stuff to adorn the music & not as the backbone of it.

Dr. Didg now leaves me with no other choice but to fall back on the music of his original band called, Outback. You can't go wrong with Outback.

So my suggestion to people is this album is enjoyable but only once or twice a year. I wouldn't purchase any of his other solo releases. The Outback cds are worth every penny.

Disclaimers: This opinions are my opinions only. The only difference is that this time my opinion is based off of fact."