Review
Darol Anger and Barbara Higbie’s Tideline is a foggy windswept day at Stinson Beach, or rather time spent sipping coffee inside a weathered redwood beach house near Stinson, warm and rich, but with an undercurrent of cool tumult always nearby. From the rolling sea rhythms of Tideline to the Japanese music box references in “Onyame,” the album flows effortlessly through moods and moments. The closest analog to Tideline may be another classic, Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage.”
Technically impressive while putting the music first, the album stands on its own as a must-have for any Windham Hill collector. It is even more important as a development in the ensemble sound of Windham Hill at the time, and also as the kernel for the Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie Quintet which would come to be known as Montreaux.
Samples
True Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0aCtDww5vM
Track Listing
SIDE ONE: 20:32
Tideline ◊ (4:34)
Movie ◊ (1:47)
Above the Fog ◊ (3:50)
Keep Sleeping 0 (4:22) octave violin and piano
Onyame ◊ (5:49) violin, mandolin, piano
SIDE TWO (20:38)
True Story ◊ (4:22)
Fortunate ◊ (4:22)
Gemini 0 (1:02) mandolin and piano
Gualala 0 (5:41) piano, octave violins, cello
Lifeline ♦ (6:13)
◊ Written by Barbara Higbie and Published by Slow Baby Music (BMI)
o Written by Darol Anger and Published by Fiddlistics Music (BMI)
♦ Written by Barbara Higbie and Darol Anger and Published by Slow Baby Music (BMI)
Credits
- All Publishing Administered by Windham Hill Music (BMI)
- Alll selections are violin and piano unless otherwise noted.
- Darol Anger: violin, octave violin, mandolin, octave mandolin, cello
- Barbara Higbie: piano
- Mike Marshall: madnolin on Onyame
- Produced by Darol Anger
- Co-produced by Barbara Higbie
- Executive Producer: William Ackerman
- Recorded Frebruary 14-16, 1982 at Different Fur Recording, San Francisco, CA
- Engineered and mixed by Howard Johnston
- Assistant Engineer: Anne de Venzio
- Half-Speed Mastering by STan Ricker Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs
- Matrix and Pressings by Record Technology, Inc. Camarillo, CA
- Cover Photo by Alan Levinson
- Liner Photo by Irene Young
- Design by Anne Ackerman
- Manufactured by Windahm Hill Records
- A Division of Windham Hill Productions, Inc.
- Box 9388, Stanford, CA 94305
- (c) (P) Windham Hill Records, 1982
Liner Notes
This recording was made as a multi-track on a Studer A 80 MK III recorder at 30 inches per second, through a Harrison board and mixed onto a Studer A 80 VU KMIII half-inch two track recorder. The Yamaha C-70 piano was miked with a matched pair of Neumann U67 microphones and a single Neumann U47 microphone. The violin was miked with a single Neumann KM 84 and a single AKG 414 microphone. A single AKG 451 EB microphone was employed as an ambient source.
Thanks to Tom Paddock for the use of his U 67 tube microphones; Stephen Gilchrist, and John Monteleone for hand-built mandolins; Will Ackerman, Anne Ackerman, Marin and the Windham Hill Family; Susan Skaggs; Doc Howard and Queen Anne; Tom and Pat of Different Fur; Katrina Krimsky, Irene Young; Mike Marshall; David Dawg; CM; Dave Balakrishnan; Dix; our parents, ancestors, and the big bang. Support new acoustic music.
- Darol Anger and Barbara Higbie
- Tideline
- WHS C-1021
- WH-1021
Another great album. Even though out of print (of course), I ordered and got a copy from Barbara Higbie’s website last year and it’s absolutely great.
A completely unique masterpiece. I’ve probably listened to this 1000 times over the last (almost) 30 years… god, I wish these two would get back together for more of this kind of music.
Tideline is one of the first Windham Hill albums I bought. I have this vinyl LP in like-new condition and just played it last week. I have always loved this album and I second the comments above about wishing that Darol Anger and Barbara Higbie would have done more albums with just the two of them.
I also found and bought a near mint LP with the promo marking on the back. It remains a true audiophile recording and one of the best of that era. I wish I had found this when it was first released (in addition to the WH guitar albums). A true classic.