Acoustic New Age Review: Trevor Gordon Hall-This Beautiful Chaos

Release Date: September 14, 2021

Label:  ‎Independent

Website

I am familiar with Trevor Gordon Hall and his work from previous albums Mind Heart Fingers (2014) and Late Night With Headphones (2016). Here we are five years later, and now I am listening to his latest release from this September, This Beautiful Chaos.

A title like that deserves some thought before listening to see if it matches well with the presented music. Straight away, I thought this was going to be some complex picking and strumming, which can be chaotic to one person yet beautiful in every way to another, or both. But that is my thought process, and each listener will find their way to explain what they hear and what it means. Trevor said that life can be crazy and chaotic but beautiful at the same time. I read into that as an indication of a complete life with many experiences.

The album features six different guitars, including a Standard Acoustic, Baritone Acoustic, Nylon String, High Strung Guitar, Electric Guitar, and a Portuguese instrument named Viola Amarantina. Guitar enthusiasts and those who appreciate various acoustic guitars will find this album well stocked with all flavors of ear candy for audible consumption.

Based on past experiences, I awaited a gratifying experience again, which I received. Trevor’s style of playing is a thing of beauty. What I have found to be exceptional is the ability to take one instrument, in this case, several types of acoustic guitars, and make so much music without any accompaniment. His abilities reach far and wide into his area of expertise. What people may find interesting is that This Beautiful Chaos is a culmination of experiences the artist has had over the years with concerts he has played, the people met along the way, lessons learned, and all the foods enjoyed. The beauty of a fast-moving life becomes a reality for a successful musician grateful for everything he has experienced within the music. Now you can hear all of that interpreted through the tracks on this recording.

“Know Thyself” is an excellent title with many layers of playing, including precise notes plucked with a nice flowing strumming rhythm beneath for those the notes to float over. It is life expressed fully through one composition. You can feel the joy, emotion, and movement of life within that song. I felt some good energy, and it made my heart smile. Such honesty on an internal level can be expressed externally by a person then amplified by the music. That is what Trevor accomplishes with the track and throughout the entire recording.

Some of the track titles are prolific, like “The Presence of Absence” and “Resolution in Tension” is a slow burner, systematic, and for a good reason. Now that is something everyone can use! Just saying the title is an affirmation or confirmation of that state of emotion you could be in and how to resolve it. I like to take in a breath and count to 4, then release it counting to 8. That helps; however, music always opens doors for me into different states of consciousness. With this album, I felt gratitude knowing what the artist has shared, its importance, and how communicating with listeners can help lead the way to change in a positive direction.

This Beautiful Chaos is relaxation, meditative, reflective, friendly, and easy going, like a sunny day with nothing but blue skies. Life is fast and complex, and it certainly can be chaotic, but we have artisans like Trevor Gordon Hall and his music to slow things down and show us a different way. I found myself once again amazed at this man’s talent and ability to mesmerize me with one instrument.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews Founder
November 23, 2021

Tracks:
01. Chase the Chills (2:49)
02. This Beautiful Chaos (6:02)
03. Momentum and Meaning (5:18)
04. Know Thyself (3:54)
05. The Presence of Absence (4:30)
06. A Daddy and his Daughter (3:57)
07. Saudade (5:02)
08. Resolution in Tension (4:31)
09. Ontic Blues (5:25)
10. At Peace with the Struggle (4:03)

Progressive Instrumental/Ambient Review: Trevor Gordon Hall-Late Night with Headphones Vol. 1

Release Date: August 1, 2016

Label: Independent

Website

Trevor Gordon Hall is a prolific guitarist.  His legacy will continue to grow long after the release of Late Night with Headphones Vol. 1.  His sound reminds me fondly of some of the California Guitar Trio’s work I used to enjoy so much. The variety of sounds and tones afforded the listener make this recording a real keepsake.

“Roots and Branches” is quite a finger picking workout. The sound has a definite jazz flavor to it and is very progressive, shifting and changing every few minutes. The title of the track is a perfect explanation of where the song goes from beginning to end. The focus is the ever changing progression of chords presented by the artist.

“The Comfort of Doubt” is a fast moving track, the drums kick it in to push it all along right from the start. What I can picture in my mind’s eye is a train rolling down the tracks and finally reaching its destination. The slide work is a thing of beauty and the lightning fast fingers of Trevor keep it going nonstop. It sounds like a real country barn burner that gets you in a very uplifting mood even though the subject is about living on the edge and being comfortable in that frame of mind, at least that is how I would interpret it.

“Embracing the Lack” is a beautifully done tasteful instrumental, the kind that I always love to hear. It reminded me of the phase I went through in the 90s with instrumental surf music (although it does not sound like surf) then moving on to the more complex pieces from the likes of Danny Gatton and similar artists that caught my ear. The melodicism and rhythm in the track is amazing and it’s the kind of music that makes you want to keep hitting repeat. It has a magical aura to it that is irresistible to my ears and I am sure it will be for many others. Again Hall provides some incredibly diverse guitar playing that would grab any aficionado’s ear and hold on until the song was finished.

The closer is “Himinn,” which steps away from the flow of the album and presents another side of the performance with an ambient new age sound that serves as a nightcap. It is that final relaxing number that pulls you into another state of consciousness just before going to sleep. The music is light and airy and it kind of floats you to another place. All of this happens after hearing more upbeat tracks with precise guitar work that got all the good endorphins flowing, then it sets you up to call it a night. It is the perfect ending to an all too short venture into instrumental paradise. I certainly did not want it to end but I guess I will have to wait until Volume 2 arrives.

4.5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Roots and Branches, The Comfort of Doubt, Embracing the Lack

Tracks:
1. Uthaf   
2. Roots and Branches
3. Cerebral 3.0
4. She's Almost Here
5. The Comfort of Doubt
6. Embracing the Lack
7. Himinn

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

September 8, 2016

Founder of:

MuzikMan Productions

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Review Provided By Prog Rock Music Talk

New Age Instrumental Review: Trevor Gordon Hall-Mind Heart Fingers

Release Date: September 15, 2014

Label: Independent

Website

Some albums don’t need words. This is one of them. Mind Heart Fingers is Trevor Gordon Hall’s newest album and one that resonates through the soul of the listener. Produced by Windham Hill Records Will Ackerman and production whiz Tom Eaton at Imaginary Road Studios, this album is as deceptively simple as a rising soufflé. Light and airy, it soars over your taste buds in a melody of flavors and experiences.

Gordon’s fifth album, Mind Heart Fingers shows just how talented this artist is. Mellow guitar and intricate finger work bring to life a thoughtful time in “Blue Hour.” Staring off into space, the mind whirls and clicks, taking the machinations of the day and breaking them down into slower moving parts to dissect and understand. This piece is a breath of silence and inner searching for those times when you just need to be introspective and solitary.

“Surviving Ordinary Days” is a mantra for the rest of us. Quirky and light guitar movements accompany the soundtrack to my day…not always graceful in action or thought, but bumbling towards a hopefully successful outcome with hope in my heart and a plucky soul to keep me going. This music says it all. We all want that perfection. We want to get through the ordinary to find the extraordinary so we can breathe it in. Just for a little while before the grind of everyday reaches back up and pulls us under. This piece is a machination of that. Quirky…bopping along and then swimming with the stream to make it where you need to go. Because there is always tomorrow. Because we choose to survive for the ones we love.

“Short Story” is the last track on the album. Just as the title suggests, the piece reminds me of opening a book while you’re curled in a window seat, eager to start a short adventure while you have a moment in between life and car pools. Tentative and well composed, this tender composition brings to life the peaceful joy of a quiet moment in a world that just won’t sit still.

Trevor Gordon Hall is an artist to watch. His work with the wizards of Imaginary Road Studios shows him for what he is—a man who speaks his passion through his guitar. With a few sprinkled instruments and percussion throughout the album, the essential sensation remains the same. Emotion of the everyday expressed through a pluck of string. Mind. Heart. Fingers. Play on.

4.5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: The Blue Hour, Surviving Ordinary Days, Short Story

Tracks:
01. Intro
02. Morning Sidewalk 3.0
03. The Blue Hour
04. The Meeting At the Window
05. Almost Spring
06. The Shining Barrier
07. My Dearest
08. Surviving Ordinary Days
09. The Discipline of Curiosity
10. Midnight and Raining
11. Turning Ruts Into Grooves
12. Short Story

DanaWright, Sr. Staff Writer

October 19, 2014

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews