Lee Underwood‘s name may not be on everyone’s list of greatest guitarists, yet without him such Tim Buckley albums as “Happy Sad” would have never attained sonic grandeur. Add to those platters ones by Essra Mohawk, and Lee’s place in popular music history could be secured even before he began editing “DownBeat” and contributing to “Rolling Stone” while also writing and publishing poetry. Underwood’s solo discography has been rather short, though, with a single six-string record, “California Sigh” issued on cassette in 1988, and two piano collections, “Phantom Light” and “Gathering Light” from, respectively, 2003 and 2009 – and it was the first of these that his fans wanted to hear again for a long time.
And now, finally, “California Sigh” is out again on hard media – unfortunately, only on vinyl at the moment – and Lee’s acoustic lace interspersed with co-producer Steve Roach’s synthesizers are back in all their spiritual glory. Not unlike new-age yet gorgeous.
1. Gentle Rain
2. Seaview
3. Portals Of The Heart
4. California Sigh
5. Lady Of The Streams
6. Venice, ’68
7. Quietude Oasis
8. Little Desert Cat Feet
9. The Other Side Of Sunny
10. Midnight Blue
11. Aspen Trails