Search - William Ackerman :: It Takes a Year

An Excellent Release

12/24/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I consider William Ackerman to have two almost distinct musical styles he's worked in during his career. His first few releases, including this one (which I believe was his second release), fall more into the realm of instrumental folk guitar, than his later releases which fall into the "new age" (how I hate that term) category.This excellent CD features solo guitar arrangements of songs both soft and aggressive. The guitar work is excellent (though perhaps not quite as technically challenging as Windham Hill recording artists Alex de Grassi and (the late) Michael Hedges). The opening track, "The Bricklayer's Beautiful Daughter" is one of the softer tracks, as is "The Impending Death of the Virgin Spirit" (which may be the single most beautiful melody William Ackerman has ever composed, and which would get a duet arrangement on the later "Passage" release). "The Search for the Turtle's Navel" is another soft, introspective tune with a memorable melody.The more upbeat songs include "The Townshend Shuffle" and "The Rediscovery of Big Bug Creek, Arizona". The melody of the latter recalls the melody of a John Fahey song, though Ackerman's song is faster paced (indeed, the thumb-thumping and finger-picking on this one are almost amazing). An interesting note about "Big Bug Creek" -- I saw Ackerman perform this song in concert, and right before he played it he said when he first recorded it someone suggested he contact John Fahey about it to make sure he wouldn't get sued; so he said he went to Fahey's house, played it and asked him what he thought, to which Fahey replied simply, "You can have it." I guess you could take that either of two ways -- Fahey was impressed and didn't want to hold it back, or he was not impressed and simply didn't care. Either way, the got a few chuckles from the audience that night; the song itself got a healthy round of applause.This CD was the best of Ackerman's folk-oriented arrangements. Another predominantly folk-oriented release, "Childhood and Memory" followed a couple of years later, then the "Passage" release after that in which Mr. Ackerman began working in a predominantly New-Age arrangement style, and when he started working in duet and eventually ensemble arrangements as well.If you like folk-oriented solo guitar work, you'll probably like this CD. If you are a William Ackerman fan but don't have it, it is definitely recommended."

One of the most beautifully played acoustic guitar albums.

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 10/31/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had never heard of William Ackerman or his Windham Hill label until I heard this album being played in a record store. I was mesmerized. "The Bricklayer's Beautiful Daughter" is one of the most emotive pieces of music I've heard. My record collection has increased to more than 6,000 titles over the past 35 years, but this is one album that I return to time and again. Call it new age music if you like, but any music that can still move the soul after repeated listens demands to be heard by a wider audience. Granted, Ackerman's guitar playing may be more introspective and less challenging than that of labelmate Michael Hedges, he nonetheless posseses a grace and beauty in his playing. This is an excellent starting point into the world of William Ackerman."

Further Development

Marc Ruby? | Warren, MI USA | 08/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Ackerman's second album and already shows considerable development as Ackerman continues to carve his own niche next to Basho, Fahey and Hedges. He still stays in the mainstream of steel string fingerstyle work but he has started to soften, shifting to the lighter jazz work that is yet to come.



Perhaps the best example of this is "The Bricklayer's Beautiful Daughter," a superb composition, played in an alternate tuning, with a new focus on the movement of chordal components against a melodic refrain. "Balancing" continues this approach, followed by "The Impending Death Of The Virgin Spirit" and "It Takes a Year," all exploring this new jazz-like idiom, which will come to be called New Age.



The "The Townshend Shuffle" jumps up like the devil and we are whisked back to Ackerman's roots. That Ackerman can work back and forth between fingerpicking and fingerstyle with equal effect is one of the early indications of his genius, as the rest of the album turns into a display of some of the most surefooted steel string work to come out of the seventies. In terms of real command over his instrument and a strong sense of musicality, Ackerman is really on a par with Alex DiGrassi, another of my six-to-seventeen stringed heroes.



Take the opportunity to investigate one of the U.S.'s most fertile musical idioms and spend some time inversigating William Ackerman. You won't regret it.

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