Album Notes

CD Review: From wildysworld.blogspot.com

Joseph L. Young - Pathways
2004, Joseph L. Young

Boise, Idaho’s Joseph L. Young is a musician, composer and sound engineer who happens to play some of the most innovative Native American flute music going. He’s also quite accomplished with a tin whistle and a saxophone. In 2004 he released his solo debut, Pathways. Check this out.

Pathways is a haunting collection of Native American flute songs that is both peaceful and provoking. Joseph L. Young has a particular knack for melody and arrangement that takes this far above and beyond your typical flute recording. Young's panache also suggests a theatric bent, like many of these songs might have walked off the soundtrack of a movie. Full of dark and disturbingly beautiful melodies, Pathways will stick with you long after the final notes have faded away. Highlights include Touch The Earth, Autumn, Dusk, Shaman's Dream and Through The Mist.

While many traditional Native American flute recordings sound mournful, Joseph L. Young's compositions reflect the melancholy of a nation that has lost itself over many generations but still holds the hope of their grandfathers. Pathways is a haunting and beautiful reminder that music doesn't always need to be a wall of sound to blow us away.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)


Idahoan Joe Young works in the Boise area as composer, performer, and sound engineer. His debut solo album Pathways was released in June of 2004. His second album “Face the Wind is due out winter/spring of 2009.
He keeps busy doing solo playing around town as well as playing sax lead with smooth jazz group Möbius Trip. Other interest includes Philosophy, reading, fishing, and Shaolin Kung-Fu. Joe recently came in second place at the 2008 Musical Echoes Flute Players Competition At Fort Walton Beach, Florida.