''Oracle'' is a recording by guitarist

Michael Hedges Michael Alden Hedges (December 31, 1953 – December 2, 1997) was an American acoustic guitarist and songwriter. Early years The son of Thayne Alden Hedges and Ruth Evelyn Hedges Ipsen, Michael Hedges was born in Sacramento, California. His l ...

released on the

Windham Hill Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label was ...

label. It won the 1998

Grammy Award for Best New Age Album The Grammy Award for Best New Age Album is presented to recording artists for quality albums in the new-age music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several ca ...

. ''Oracle'' peaked at #7 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

New Age Album charts. The album was reissued in 2009 by

Valley Entertainment Valley Entertainment is an American independent record label and music distributor based in New York City, United States. The company was founded in 1994 by Barney Cohen and Jon Birge. In 2001, it acquired the prestigious back catalogue of space, ...

.Valley Entertainment reissue of ''Oracle''
/ref>

Reception

Music critic Jason Anderson, writing for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, wrote the album "On an album that is mostly instrumental and generally concerned more with melody than thematic cohesion and quirky technical breakthroughs, Hedges relies on his past offerings and simplest musical instincts for inspiration, and the results are splendid... this offering is consistent in its quality, and rare in its musical commitment."

Track listing

*All compositions by Michael Hedges except as noted. *"Greensleeves" was not listed in the liner notes. It was originally recorded for The Windham Hill sampler ''Carols of Christmas''. # "The 2nd Law" – 3:07 # "Ignition" – 3:28 # "Baal T'Shuvah" – 2:10 # "Dirge" – 3:29 # "Jitterboogie" – 2:37 # "Oracle" – 4:08 # "Gospel" – 2:22 # "

Tomorrow Never Knows "Tomorrow Never Knows" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released in August 1966 as the final track on their album ''Revolver'', although it was the firs ...

" (

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

) – 4:01 # "Theme From Hatari" (

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

) – 3:19 # "Aura Müünta" – 2:58 # "Jitterboogie (Family version)" – 2:09 # " Sofa No. 1" (

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

) – 2:42 # "When I Was 4" – 4:19 # "

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fol ...

" (Traditional) – 3:08

Personnel

*Michael Hedges – guitar, bass, harp guitar, synthesizers, harmonica, vocals, alto flute *

Michael Manring Michael Manring (born June 27, 1960) is an American bass guitarist from the San Francisco Bay Area. Biography Michael Manring was born in Annapolis, Maryland,Tom Mulhern, ''Bass Heroes: Styles, Stories & Secrets of 30 Great Bass Players : from ...

– fretless bass

Production notes

*Produced by Michael Hedges *Engineered by Rob Griffin + Michael Hedges *Mastered by Bernie Grundman

References

1996 albums Grammy Award for Best New Age Album Michael Hedges albums Windham Hill Records albums {{1990s-electronic-album-stub