Water Music - Windham Hill Chill (2003) 2CDs

What's surprising about this collection is not that they did it, but that it took them so long. Windham Hill records, and the label it swallowed, Private Music, wrote at least a chapter or two on chill-out music. But they've never targeted that audience before. This double CD draws from the usual Windham Hill-Private Music suspects and creates a seamless listening experience, ambient on disc one, acoustic on disc two. Disc One: Ambient features some of the pioneers of ambient music: Mark Isham, Tangerine Dream, and Patrick O'Hearn. But most of the disc draws from the melodic, bucolic, and orchestral side with State of Grace, David Arkenstone, and even Yanni. None of them are ambient by any stretch, but they do fall into an elegant flow that's more evocative than chilled. Disc Two: Acoustic has all the Windham Hill pioneers, including George Winston, Will Ackerman, Michael Hedges, and Philip Aaberg. Together, they create a pastoral flow from solo guitars to small chamber ensembles. I wouldn't bring this disc into a chill-out room, but for elegant atmospheres and pastoral moods, Windham Hill Chill has more than enough charms.

Disc: 1 (Ambient)
1. Vol De Nuit - The Paul Schwartz Project
2. To The One Who Knows - Yanni
3. Raffles In Rio - Mark Isham
4. Cool At Heart - Tangerine Dream
5. One Night In Vienna - Schonherz And Scott
6. Ragas In Minor Scale - Ravi Shankar
7. Glamorous Glennis - Philippe Saisse
8. Malevolent Landscape - Patrick O'Hearn
9. Marooned - Balligomingo
10. Miserere - State Of Grace
11. Shadowdance - Shadowfax
12. Door Is Open, The - Oystein Sevag
13. Into The Dreamtime - David Arkenstone
14. Time And The River - Fred Simon

Disc: 2 (Acoustic)
1. Morning With The Roses, A - Richard Dworsky
2. Rickover's Dream - Michael Hedges
3. Cloudburst - George Winston
4. After The Harvest - Angels Of Venice
5. Western - Alex De Grassi
6. Dream Of Taliesin, The - Jeff Johnson/Brian Dunning
7. Marias River Breakdown - Philip Aaberg
8. Sheila's Pictures - Will Ackerman
9. Prelude In C With Ave Maria - Gayle Levant/Tommy Morgan
10. Wedding Rain - Liz Story
11. Coming Home - Sean Harkness
12. Sunlight In The Water - Phil Coulter
13. Pavanne - Steve Erquiaga
14. Night In That Land - Nightnoise
15. Having A Good Time - Samite
16. Alone - W.G. Snuffy Walden

Click Here to Download Part - 1

Click Here to Download Part - 2