Sun Dance: Summer Solstice, Vol. 3

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Third in the Summer Solstice series, Sun Dance is an elegiac meandering into longer days, warmer nights, and the kiss of festivity that lingers for the season. Featuring pianists Jim Brickman and Liz Story, harpist Lisa Lynne, guitarist William Coulter, and ensembles such as Angels of Venice (covering the Rolling Stones' "As Tears Go By"), Sun Dance dips into the well of New Age talent, spilling forth a liquid dream-time soundscape. George Winston and Keola Beamer collaborate on the Hawaii-inspired "Shaka Slack Key," and Will Ackerman's finger-picked "Just Dancin' Like Fools," elegantly supplemented by violin, bass, and percussion, is a lovely ditty of light and willowy grace. A word of caution: beware the lazy-making properties of this collection! It's quite likely that listening will bring on a hankering to nod off in the sun or ditch that big meeting for an impromptu berry gathering. --Paige La Grone

Sun Dance: Summer Solstice, Vol. 3,Various Artists,Windham Hill Records,Adult Alternative,Chamber Jazz,Contemporary Instrumental,New Age / Meditation,New Age Collections,Pop,Popular Music,Solo Instrumental

Tracks:

Siempre Conmigo - Sean Harkness
Callisto's Sky - Tracy Silverman
Serenade - Liz Story
Shaka Slack Key - George Winston
Just Dancin' Like Fools - Will Ackerman
I Will Walk With My Children - William Coulter
Cancion' De Amour - Lisa Lynne
Circles - Jim Brickman
Summertime - Jay Beckenstein
As Tears Go By - Angels Of Venice
Don't Worry Baby - Paul McCandless
Reflections On The Pond - David Arkenstone

Amazon.com

Third in the Summer Solstice series, Sun Dance is an elegiac meandering into longer days, warmer nights, and the kiss of festivity that lingers for the season. Featuring pianists Jim Brickman and Liz Story, harpist Lisa Lynne, guitarist William Coulter, and ensembles such as Angels of Venice (covering the Rolling Stones' "As Tears Go By"), Sun Dance dips into the well of New Age talent, spilling forth a liquid dream-time soundscape. George Winston and Keola Beamer collaborate on the Hawaii-inspired "Shaka Slack Key," and Will Ackerman's finger-picked "Just Dancin' Like Fools," elegantly supplemented by violin, bass, and percussion, is a lovely ditty of light and willowy grace. A word of caution: beware the lazy-making properties of this collection! It's quite likely that listening will bring on a hankering to nod off in the sun or ditch that big meeting for an impromptu berry gathering. --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews:

Buy This CD. Now........2004-06-01

This CD is one of the few I've bought in the last few years deserving of my $16. Really, it's extraordinary... I had never fully realized the potential of New Age music until I heard this. I've listened to it until I know every note of every song; by all rights I should be heartily sick of it. But "Just Dancin' Like Fools" remains one of my all-time favorite songs.
This CD captures the spirit of a season in a way I've never heard done before. The richness and fullness of the music in all of the tracks is quite incredible. Very frankly, anyone who doesn't like it can suck it up. (So buy it, and like it.)

Guitars and pianos to enhance the summer spirit...........2001-09-07

I was expecting this to be maybe just a sampler, and was pleasantly surprised to find it a very well put together compilation where the cuts seem to blend in perfect sequence. I found Will Ackerman's "Just Dancin' Like Fools" with the violin blending with Ackerman's guitar and the vocal ending especially fitting the idea of celebration of the solstice. Lisa Lynn's "Cancion de Amor" featuring her on the celtic harp with cello and percussion backup also seemed especially fitting with the theme. Other highlights were "Shaka Slack Key" (first time I've heard George Winston on the steel string guitar rather than on piano), Jim Brickman's "Circles", and David Arkenstone's "Reflections on the Pond". Heck, I even enjoyed Jay Beckenstien's soprano sax on "Summertime", even if the Gershwin tune is old hat in comparison with the rest of the CD.

The music is OK, but I have something to say about the sound.......2000-05-08

The reviewer who gave this CD only one star is quite right, the older Windham Hill recordings are better, not only artistically but also soundwise. Although this CD may appear to sound pretty good, to me it does not! It has been compressed up to the hilt. For non-technical listeners this means that all the dynamics (the difference between loud and soft) have mostly been taken out. Therefor it sounds unlistenable to me. This is not the kind of music one should compress the living daylight out of, that is for Rock & Roll. Hey, it might sound good in your car, but I listen on a home system worth (more than) a couple of thousand dollars. I think most people listen to this kind of music on a good system. If this trend continues, I am sure I will no longer buy "new" new age, and stick with the older, more dynamic and interresting recordings (whether 16, 20 or 24 bits: what's the point if the dynamic range is less than 10 dB! ). Windham Hill, please tell your recording and mastering engineers to treat this great music as classical and not as R&R, thank you!

Accoustic Music.........2000-04-05

I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this CD. I bought it for the David Arkenstone track, which I hadn't heard. Turns out to have a very accoustic feel to the whole thing. It's mostly stringed instruments and piano. Quite cool as background music. Not really to sit and listen to attentively, but for when you're doing stuff, this is great to have on. Angels of Venice do an awesome version of "As Tears Go By", and track 4, "Shaka Slack Key," which you can hear in the song samples above, is almost worth the price of the CD. On the whole, the CD doesn't really stand out, but it's worth getting.

Just Relax!.......2000-03-24

I have listened to this in my car and while I am cuddled up with a good book at home. It is a great mixture of musicians. It helps clear your mind and really relax. It is a favorite of mine.

Pop Music:

Pop Music

pop music

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