2005 November 18
THE IRISH TIMES
"OREGON Prime"
by Ray Comiskey
Oregon, 35 years old, still has multireedman Paul McCandless, guitarist Ralph Towner and bassist Glen Moore from the original quartet, while drummer-percussionist Mark Walker joined in 1997. Impossible, then, not to admire the sheer vibrant unity of the group, and the virtuosity of its front line, especially McCandless’s awesome command of the oboe. Both he and Towner, hand-in-glove, conjure up one melodic felicity after another, one adding to the tonal palette with bass clarinet, soprano and sopranino, the other with 12-strings guitar, piano, keyboards and synth guitar. Some listeners may find the impeccably manicured and well-absorbed world music influences ultimately as exciting as clean living, but fans will love it.
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