I'm very late in writing a review of George Winston's latest album for the simple reason that I was very disappointed in his 1994 release, "Forest", and didn't expect much from "Plains". Lowered expectations can be very helpful at times, as I found "Plains" to be a very pleasant surprise. Winston isn't breaking any new ground here, but the selection of pieces is a blending of his original music and covers from a diverse group of sources including Hawaiian slack key guitar, Philip Aaberg, Chet Atkins, and Sarah McLachlan. Winston often claims to be a "folk musician", and this album seems to be more clearly in that direction than some of his previous releases. In keeping with the title of the album, many of the pieces have that open expansive feel that Winston is so good at without some of the repetition that drives me nuts on some earlier work ("Okay! We get it! Let's get onto another note! "). This collection also contains some bluesier work that Winston is noted for in concert but hasn't been recorded much.

Of the original pieces, I like "Rainsong (Fortune's Lullaby)" the best. The introduction sets an introspective tone, and then the flowing main part of the song comes in - gently rolling and easy-going. "Plains (Eastern Montana Blues)" is also especially nice with lots of open space between the phrases of the melody. Though not particularly bluesy, there is a melancholy mood. On second thought, maybe this IS the blues out on the plains with nothing and no one around.

Winston makes no bones about his admiration for Phil Aaberg's music (I'm a big fan, too!), and while he does an admirable cover of Aaberg's "Before Barbed Wire", Aaberg's wistful sadness and masterful subtlety aren't there. "The Dance" by Tony Arata was featured on Garth Brooks' first album. I`m not familiar with the Brooks version, but Winston makes this one his own.

While I'm not jumping up and down over "Plains", it is a very good album, and I've enjoyed listening to it a lot. Not terribly challenging or radical in any way, it's still a very pleasant experience and I can see why it was such a huge commercial success.

Few things are as pleasant as finding that that a source of enjoyment has more in it than you expect. Whether this is as profound as a new line of discovery or the simple pleasure of an album of music that you had overlooked is a moot point. In either case the rewards come as a great surprise. George Winston is one of America's musical treasures, combining folk with light jazz, making music that can delight and uplift at the same time. Somehow, this weekend, I found that I had missed an album, and the pleasure was worth the wait.

Plains is classic George Winston. Many of the tracks are landscapes or impressions. Winston seems to be visually inspired. Listen to the happy, folksy rhythm of Dubuque and compare it with the thoughtfulness of Aaberg's Before Barbed Wire. Of course, Winston isn't bound by his traditional Montana settings and music. There is also the melancholy romanticism of Frangenti and the delicate styling of Give Me Your Hand.

The surprise is his use of Hawaiian slack key music (No Ke Ano Ahihi and 'Ike Ia Ladana) once you listen, the influence on Winston's music is obvious. There is a tendency to write some of Winston's work as New Age when it is simply reworking of a mix of styles into something that is something of its own. Winston uses misic and influence from Aaberg, Chet Atkins, Hawaiian, Sammy Cahn (and even Sarah McLachan) with the adeptness of a polished musican.

But for me, it is still Winston's own work that makes me wish I had worked harder on keyboards. Graduation, Plains, and Rainsong are the best on this album, which is sure to see a lot of playing. Get it for your own rainy days, you'll love it.

I am a music professor at the University of Maryland, and I love this CD. I'm a big fan of George Winston music. The CD is great for background music or just to listen to help you unwind. I listen to his music when I'm working or reading. If you have a friend or relative who loves New Age music, I would suggest getting this CD. On a side note, the two fellows who are simply trashing George's album for entertainment are just being jerks. Don't listen to them. If you don't like New Age music, don't buy the CD. George has his own particular style, and if you don't like it, it is not necesscary to prove that you hate him, not is it necesscary to trash his CD. Those guys obviously have a lot of money to blow since George's concert tickets (especially for the first row) are not cheap. They should be ashamed of themselves.

I, and those that first discovered George Winston, some years ago, were mocked because Winston is so easy to listen to. I doubted my taste, at the time, and agreed with what a lot of people were saying, that if he's that polular, he can't be any good. In the last year or so, I've been listening more carefully to his work, and find that the large majority of it is just excellent. Once in a while a piece does lapse into loungeiness, but the great majority of his work shows a great deal of thought and attention, and will reward your close attention.

This not one of George Winston's better works but it still actually contains some very nice pieces. As usual though, Winston still has a way of giving his listener various songs with different texture and feel. He can move from something that is very simple, slow, and easy like "Before Barbed Wire" to something that is more complicated and upbeat such as "Dubuque."

Winston, in this CD, did several cover tunes from Garth Brook's "The Dance" to Sarah McLachlan's "Angel." I actually think that these cover tunes are some of the better tracks on the CD. Sadly though, there are a few songs that are so tedious and repetitious that you just want to skip over them. Some of the more tedious songs include "Cloudburst," and "Merry Go Round."

Some of the better tracks on the CD include "Dubuque," "Before Barbed Wire," "Plains," and the cover tune "Angel." My favorite track is "Waltz for the Lonely" which is a remake of Chet Atkin's version. In the studio, they hold that last note out for a long time and that gives it an extra nice feel.

Overall, this is not one of Winston's better works, but it does contain some nice pieces. There are other Winston CD that are so much better than this one (i.e. December).