Torched

When Michael Hedges died in a late-1997 car accident, he left behind this set of recordings, arranged in this sequence as a sketch of the album he intended to call Torched. Through only a few tracks had been designated by Michael as finished, as a whole they represented an enormous amount of work on his part, as writer, arranger, singer, player, producer, and recording mix engineer. Rather than try to guess where Michael was headed with these songs, Windham Hill chose to present them here just as he left them, as works in progress. Taken as they are, they offer a rare glimpse at the inner journey of an extraordinarily gifted artist. If you hear rough edges, all the better. These are Michael's own hand-made recordings, unretouched.