If you love beautiful, intricate acoustic guitar music you really must own these albums by William Ackerman ("Passage" and "Past Light" are essential, too). If you haven't heard of him by all means go to the record store right now or log in to your Amazon account and get these right now (all 4 of 'em').Ackerman is the man who discovered Michael Hedges (the two played together in concert before Hedge's death). His guitar style is more understated than Hedges. On the surface his music sounds pleasant enough...in fact, quite beautiful. But the closer you listen the more you notice the complexity of the various melodic lines that weave in and out of the songs.
Will Ackerman is also the man who founded the Windham Hill record label, so he had a lot to do with the genesis of the "new age" genre. From interviews I've read, he has never liked the term. It is true that for every really good new age album released there were at least 2 duds to dilute the genre in it's wake. The Windham Hill label, though, is for the most part, the apex of this kind of music. Artists like George Winston, Michael Hedges, Alex De Grassi and Ackerman himself are undisputed masters of their craft. Even if you hate "new age" there's still a very good possibility that you could enjoy these artists.
For a sample of his magic, download "The Bricklayer's Beautiful Daughter", "The Impending Death of the Virgin Spirit", "Processional" or "The Moment In Which You Must Finally Let Go of the Tether Which Has Held Your Hope Airborne". If you like any of these songs you might as well pick up his entire catalogue. It is consistanly excellent, the kind of stuff that makes for beautiful aural wallpaper as well as music which demands concentration.
If you DO decide to buy one of his albums as a starting poiint, let it be "Passage". The 8 songs on that album are, in my opinion, the very best he has ever recorded.
