Sacred Journey

Track Listings

1. Wanna Be

2. Freedom

3. Thank You Lord

4. Box of Glory

5. Lazarus Unwound

6. Evidence of Love

7. 95 Reasons

8. Under the Water

9. Just Can't Help Myself

10. When You Fall

11. Timothy's Burden

12. Sacred Journey

Tracks:

Prayer For The Four Directions
Sunset Ceremony
Call Of The Medicine Drum
Descent To The Lowerworld
Dancing For A Vision
Power Animals
Guardian Spirit
Return Journey
Sun Rise In Peace

Album Description

Drums from around the world join with Native American Flute, Incan Pan Pipes, Spirit Rattle, Guitars, Digital Synthesizers and Sounds of Nature (including wolf, eagle, coyote and dolphin). Feel the irresistible power of the beat lead you on a healing Shaman's journey. Move your body and become absorbed in the dance - for the sacredness of life and reverence for the earth!

Customer Reviews:

Very nice music.......2007-05-14

I bought this for my day care children to play as background music in our play area. It is very nice music with a great beat that sounds fantastic on our new Bose' radio!

BRILLANT.......2007-05-08

This is a very peaceful and calming drumming CD very nice I really like it.

Love this music.......2007-04-17

Let this music stir you--
sit back and hear the beat as it
lifts you and takes you on
journeys of your heart.
I highly recommend that you
enjoy this music now.

so cool.......2007-04-13

a lot of great drum beats, the music takes the listeners back to the jungle...buy

Good for fast paced yoga class.......2007-01-06

I like Drum Prayer better, but this one is very good. I like drums in my power yoga class, and this cd works nicely.

Average customer rating:

What I was looking for
A BIT TOO BASIC FOR ME
Great for journey practice
Best Drumming CD for Journeying
Excellent Drumming CD

Sacred Drums (for the Shamanic Journey

Manufacturer: Red Cow Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Shamanic Journey Drumming: Spirit Passages
The Way of the Shaman
Shamanism: As a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life
Shamanic Journeying: A Beginner's Guide
Drumming To Journey By

ASIN: B0000BV0HO
Release Date: 2003-07-23

Tracks:

Invocation
Single Drum (10 minutes no call back)
Call Back
Double Drums (15 minutes w/call back)
Single Drum (30 minutes w/call back)
Rattle (15 minutes w/call back)
Close

Album Description

For the first time a drumming CD is available that allows you to program the length of your journey! This CD was designed to be used in a sacred context for a shamanic journey practice. The shamanic journey is one of the oldest technologies for understanding the world of spirit and energy. It has been the foundation of spiritual and healing practices of vast numbers of cultures for thousands of years. Today the shamanic journey still offers a dependable method for exploring the psyche and accessing inner wisdom.

Customer Reviews:

What I was looking for.......2007-03-09

This CD has exactly what I was looking for in shamanic journey drumming.

A BIT TOO BASIC FOR ME.......2007-01-18

Must of the recording seem to be a loop of the same, but the sound quality is good. Helpful to people new to the subject.

Great for journey practice.......2006-11-10

This is an excellent tool to load up on your iPod and practice your journeying, especially at a beginner level. You can set up the play list on your favorite player to do a complete cycle of the invocation, journey drumming, callback, and closing.

An essential part of a portable shamanic kit! :)

Best Drumming CD for Journeying.......2005-08-28

I really like this CD. It is the best one yet that I have found for journeying. The sound of the drum is as close to a live drum as I have heard in a recording and it captures the over and under tones beautifully. The artwork and sentiments of the makers of the album are a nice touch too.

Excellent Drumming CD.......2004-11-21

I am grateful to have found Laura Chandler and Dr. Isa Gucciardi's Sacred Drums CD for the Shamanic Journey. I have maintained a shamanic journey practice for over a decade and this is the best CD for journeying that I have found to date. The recording captures the overtones of the drum which helps transport you on your journey. The tone of the drum is also exceptional. I like the different track choices to journey by - a single drum track, double drum track, rattle track. There are also different length journeys, and best of all a track that you can program to make any length journey you want. This CD has something for everyone!

Travelling the Sacred Sound Current: Divine Chants & Sacred Tones for Healing & Meditation

Average customer rating:

takes me to nirvana
Sounds of Light was better
Inaccurate, but a good listen
Very good if you like Indian mantras

Travelling the Sacred Sound Current: Divine Chants & Sacred Tones for Healing & Meditation
Deborah Van Dyke
Manufacturer: Sound Current
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Healing | New Age | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Travelling the Sacred Sound Current: Keys for Conscious Evolution
SOUNDS OF LIGHT: The Pure Tones of Crystal Singing Bowls
Chords of the Cosmos: Harmonies of the Zodiac with Crystal Bowls for Chakra Balancing, Meditation & The Healing Arts
Seven Metals Singing Bowls of Tibet
Chakra Healing Chants

ASIN: B00005NVWC
Release Date: 2001-08-08

Tracks:

Awakening
Gayatri Mantra
Kadosh
Om Nama Shivaya
Yod He Vav He
Om Mani Padme Hum
Journey
Sound Current
Ceremony of the Seven Rays

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Following her remarkably beautiful and top-selling crystal-bowl meditation CDs, heralded by critics, customers, and even Dr. Wayne Dyer, sound healer and teacher Deborah Van Dyke presents Travelling the Sacred Sound Current, audio companion to her instructive and finely wrought book of the same name. Van Dyke's musical offering, used in conjunction with the book or as a standalone tool, moves beyond relaxation and entertainment value into the realm of spiritual and therapeutic practice and purpose. Based on sound scientific principle--Dr. Andrew Weil's Sound Body, Sound Mind is highly recommended to this end--Van Dyke uses frequencies and tones to promote maximal benefit to body, mind, and spirit. These nine pieces bring together ancient mantras and chants, crystal bowl tones, drums, and didgeridoo, as well as nature sounds and Peruvian whistles, to create the thread-work of a profoundly interactive listening experience. Travelling the Sacred Sound Current resonates with deep beauty, peace, and truth. Neither far afield in woo-woo content nor loftily academic, Van Dyke's work is a welcome invitation, likely to appeal to both the intensive meditation student and the casual or novice seeker. --Paige La Grone

Album Description

Newest release from CRYSTAL VOICES creator & sound healer DEBORAH VAN DYKE - this is the Companion CD to her new definitive Book on sound healing: "Travelling the Sacred Sound Current: Keys for Conscious Evolution" (available through Amazon.com books). Recorded live in her healing sanctuary, the essence of sacred ceremony is captured in this authentically beautiful CD. It offers an exquisite treasure of timeless healing mantras & chants, crystal bowl tones, drums, gongs, didjeridoo, nature sounds, and Peruvian whistling vessels, which provide a deep vibrational sound journey for inner attunement and healing. Includes a powerful shamanic drum experience as well as a twenty minute crystal bowl meditation. Sit back , relax, and be prepared to embark on an inner voyage of transformation with this sacred ceremonial music and Deborah's compelling and soulful vocals. You will be soothed and transported to a place of deep inner peace. This CD is truly a sound vision quest for awakening, purification, and opening gateways of consciousness. Music created with a sacred healing intention - an frequency-shifting, soul-enriching experience.

PLANETLIGHTWORKER Magazine, Oct/03, Editor's review: "Sometimes in life when I'm faced with the experience of otherworldly beauty I am simply awestruck, - to the point of being left speechless. This is one of those moments.

Deborah Van Dyke has created one of the most glorious New Age recordings I can remember. Crafted through the use of some very natural textures, its poetic rhythms are sensual and astonishingly pure. There is a complexity to the CD that is as unique as each human life. In just the first few breaths of listening I could feel the sweetest altering of my physical body taking place. A shift in posture, an expansion of my senses, and a fluttering of excitement in my heart's heart. The naturalness, the eloquent harmony and echo, all come together to offer such a tremendous gift to creation. For centering, grounding, gifting, doing healing work with others, Travelling the Sacred Sound Current intuitively knows the listener's need and exceeds that requirement with a universal gift of transformation".

*****UPDATE: Deborah's NEWEST CD RELEASE now available on Amazon.com: 'CHORDS OF THE COSMOS: Harmonies of the Zodiac with Crystal Bowls for Chakra Balancing, Meditation & the Healing Arts'.

Customer Reviews:

takes me to nirvana.......2007-01-29

Great for yoga and/or meditation. The only thing I'd change is the talking on the last track--I find it's distracting. Otherwise, I'd rate it five stars. My classes love it.

Sounds of Light was better.......2006-12-26

There's too much caterwauling in this one. Not for meditation, maybe as a quiet background for ambience, I dunno. It didn't quite inspire any transcendental experiences for me.

Inaccurate, but a good listen.......2005-11-08

I like this album, it is soothing and meditative. The music is compelling and the vocals are pleasant. Unfortunately, I can't give it a higher rating, because some of the Sanskrit words are incorrectly pronounced. I'm not trying to be picky, but you'd think that Deborah who's written a book on healing music would know how to pronounce the lyrics of her songs. With that in mind, the album is quite good.
namaste :)

Very good if you like Indian mantras.......2005-08-12

The album is very enjoyable to listen to. If you like a meditative type of music. Several songs are chants (or mantras) that have been put to music. I liked this one very much.

.......2005-01-31

I learned to pronounce Divine names I read in spiritual books,
but never heard chanted before, from this CD.
As a woman, following the voice of a women guide
was easier for me to echo, then male chants.
It is the perfect CD to play and chant along while ringing
my own crystal bowls and sets a relaxing, prayerful mood
before going to sleep, for me.

Average customer rating:

Soothing
Very good new age-native fusion
EARTH CENTERED MUSIC
Indian Welk
Sacred Spirit Drums

Sacred Spirit Drums
David and Steve Gordon
Manufacturer: Sequoia Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music

Environmental | New Age | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Nature | New Age | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Sacred Earth Drums
Drum Medicine
Sacred Spirit: Chants and Dances of the Native Americans
Sacred Spirit, Vol. 2: More Chants and Dances of the Native Americans
Sacred Drum Visions: 20th Anniversary Collection

ASIN: B000008QVX
Release Date: 1998-10-06

Tracks:

Sunrise Ritual
Calling The Sacred Beat
Shaman's Dance
Path With A Heart
Within The Cloud Lodge
Spirit Vision
Mother Earth, Father Sky
Gift Of The Eagle
Flowering Tree
Rainbow Hoop

Album Description

Native-American Flute and Incan Pan Pipe melodies soar over Tribal Drums from around the world, Guitars, Keyboards and Nature Sounds (with wolf, eagle, coyote and humpback whale). Following up their best seller, Sacred Earth Drums, the Gordons take you deeper into their healing Shamanic journey to the heart of rhythm. Feel the compelling beat of Mother Earth - move your body and join the dance for the reverence of life!

Customer Reviews:

Soothing.......2007-07-12

I used various tracks from this CD for a Cub Scout ceremony and it really set the mood..I searched on Amazon for 3 hours trying to find the right drum music and this is certainly it !

Very good new age-native fusion.......2005-06-10

Discount the self-important blather from "professional" drummers and First Nation/Capitolized Ethnic Group people you see here and buy this CD if you enjoy better quality new age music in a native vein. This CD and its highly successful predecessor was NEVER meant to be a hard-core exploration of genuine Native American drumming, flute or chanting, though it masterfully incorporates such music alongside other simple nativist percussion. Yes, persons looking outside the world music (or new age) genres for actual Native chanting and drumming may be disappointed, but it never hurts to open your ears to new things. But if that's too hard and you crave the "real thing," may I suggest Tokeya Inajin, Dik Darnell or Carlos Nakai.

EARTH CENTERED MUSIC.......2005-04-28

I HEARD THIS CD IN A SPIRITUAL SERVICE. I ENJOYED IT! I SEARCH IN THE WEB AND I BOUGHT IT! I LISTEN IT IN THE CAR OR WHEN I WANT TO FEEL MY SELF "EARTH CENTERED". REALLY IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR "DRUMS" LIKE IN LATIN MUSIC, MODERN MUSIC, IT ISNT.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A SOFT/ACTIVE RELAXING MUSIC, SO THAT YOU CAN FEEL ONE WITH THE EARTH, AND YOU GET FLASH BACK OF OTHER PRIMITIVES TIMES, THIS IS FOR YOU. THAT'S MY EXPERIENCE.

Indian Welk.......2004-10-18

Although this may sound pleasant to some people I would imagine it's an insult to others. Just another example of the exploitation of the true Americans. It's like there was a Lawrance Welk of native American music only worse. An equivelant might be buying a Metallica cd and hearing Madonna music coming from the speakers. You expected something with some real spirit but you got watered down syrupy bubblegum music instead. It's not the real thing. Besides that I'm a professional drummer, and I'm definitly not impressed with the drumming. But having said that, if you just want some pop music to listen to and delude yourself that your listening to real native American music then this is for you.

It would probably be better to rename it and put a different picture on the cover that would be less insulting to the people it's making a mockery of and more suitable to the disco minded crowd it's apparently trying to foster.

Sacred Spirit Drums.......2004-04-28

My husband is First Nation and has played on traditional Pow Wow drums. The music on this CD seems very contrived. I think it is better to get real First Nation drum music rather than to turn it into this unrecognizable, synthesized and distorted electronic sound. It is being "passed off" as Native. To me it it is not Native. It sounded, well, sorry, but, it sounded tacky. I don't know if Mr. Gordon is First Nation. Some of it even seems to be somewhat African, which would be appropriate if it where meant to be African in nature. But, all in all, it's far to "Hollywood" for me. And we all know how "Hollywood" has mis-informed the world about our First Nation's history. But, I guess the bottom line for the producers of this type of CD is - this stuff sells.
The drum is the heartbeat of Mother Earth. Her heart is not heard with this rendition.

The Essential Leontyne Price: Spirituals, Hymns & Sacred Songs

Average customer rating:

The Price Club
A living legend
not your daddy's old timey spiritual
Immaculate Vocals of Leontyne Price
Great Gospel Stuff

The Essential Leontyne Price: Spirituals, Hymns & Sacred Songs

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Noels | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Price, Leontyne | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Leontyne Price: The Ultimate Collection
Leontyne Price Christmas Songs Chants de Noel.Weihnachtslieden Wiener Philharmoniker Herbert Von Karajan
Spirituals in Concert
Amazing Grace: Jessye Norman
Spirituals

ASIN: B000003FWE
Release Date: 1997-01-14

Tracks:

Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees - Various Artists
His Name So Sweet - Various Artists
'Roun' About The Mountain - Various Artists
Swing Low , Sweet Chariot - Various Artists
Sit Down, Servant - Various Artists
Were You There - Various Artists
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Various Artists
Deep River - Various Artists
Honor! Honor! - Various Artists
My Soul's Been Anchored In De Lord - Various Artists
On Ma Journey - Various Artists
A City Called Heaven - Various Artists
Ride On, King Jesus - Various Artists
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - Various Artists
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass - Various Artists
Sweet Little Jesus Boy - Various Artists
There Is A Balm In Gilead - Various Artists
Let Us Cheer The Weary Traveler - Various Artists
Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
My Way Is Cloudy - Various Artists
Nobody Knows The Touble I've Seen - Various Artists
I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray - Various Artists

Tracks:

Holy, Holy, Holy - Leontyne Price
Lead, Kindly Light - Leontyne Price
Blessed Assurance - Leontyne Price
Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
What A Friend We Have In Jesus - Leontyne Price
Amazing Grace - Leontyne Price
The Lord's Prayer - Leontyne Price
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior - Leontyne Price
The Church's One Foundation - Leontyne Price
Bless This House - Leontyne Price
I Need Thee Every Hour - Leontyne Price
Schlesische Volkslieder: Fairest Lord Jesus - Leontyne Price
I Wonder As I Wander - Leontyne Price
Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
Porgy And Bess: Summertime - Leontyne Price
America The Beautiful - Leontyne Price
Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing - Leontyne Price
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God - Leontyne Price
Battle Hymn Of The Republic - Leontyne Price

Customer Reviews:

The Price Club.......2005-04-28

"I am here," said Leontyne Price when interviewed as she opened the new Metropolitan Opera with Samuel Barber's underrated ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, "and you will know that I am the best and will hear me. The color of my skin or the kink of my hair or the spread of my mouth has nothing to do with what you are listening to." Back in the 1960s Price was one of the greatest divas in all of opera, and it wasn't just her voice but her magnificent stage presence, combined with her social activism. All of the above come into play in this collection of secular songs and ditties, some of them traditional plantation chanties and others, art songs and a scattering of pop music. And some of them, like Gershwin's "Summertime," cross the ever-permeable boundaries between Broadway and classical. These recordings were made at different times in Price's career, and her voice, while always angelic, has different shadings and reaches a different range of timbre in each separate recording date, but there is no question that, as time goes by, she is able to impart a richness of life experience noticeably absent from some of her earlier work.

"Ave Maria" sounds heavenly no matter which way you slice it, and as for "I Wonder As I Wander," it brings tears to your eyes. If you have a heart that's beating you will be moved by this rendition. "Ein feste Burg" is pretty strong, but Price seems more comfortable with the traditional spirituals, though perhaps it is the slightly off-kilter sounds of the Ambrosian Singers (what a name) who back her up on many of these tracks, that detract slightly from the experience. Compare "Lead Kindly Light" for a clear sense of what constitutes authority vs. what is a wee bit overproduced. If you had this compilation, and perhaps one of Leontyne Price's Christmas albums, you could attain nirvana any time you wanted to, just flip a switch and close your eyes, let her lift you up on wings of song.

A living legend.......2005-03-10

Leontyne Price (still alive) and already passing into immortality amongst vocal artists, both classical and popular. Leontyne Price stands at the pinnacle of her classical art, but those who only know her work in La Forza del destino or the Verdi Requiem are in for a heart rending treat with this album where Leontyne Price goes home to her roots in Mississippi and gives an unabashed account of the classic spirituals she sang as a young woman. Like John Mc Cormacks rendering of Irish songs there is a personal longing and devotion expressed here that reveals a side of the artist not known in the bulk of their "classical" repetoire. A sense of going home like Citizen Kane's rosebud, or as Dorothy Gale observes at the end of the Wizard of Oz "everything I could ever have wanted was right in my own backyard "

not your daddy's old timey spiritual.......2004-06-23

Agreed this is a good cd for a beautiful voice, but this is not, repeat not, for someone who wants to hear that old-timey religious fervor that you think of when you've been to a Black Baptist hand-clapping, standing, swaying, and singing service.

Immaculate Vocals of Leontyne Price.......2003-12-31

IMMACULATE, SUPERB vocal range and style! There's no other words that can complement Miss Leontyne Price's vocal arrangements. Miss Price's voice is strong, and shrills very nicely to the instruments played on many songs listed on this double CD which is a joy to treasure; every song listed are songs I was raised to hearing and singing. Miss Price is the reason why many of these songs remain in popularity and presently used. Miss Leontyne Price has been incredible in many of her past performances. This is my fourth CD of Miss Price and I am glad to own this particular CD forever and ever. Many thanks to the executors who found this remarkable album and upgraded it to a CD format! **Angi**

Great Gospel Stuff.......2001-04-12

This is a great CD. The only problem I have with it is that on some of the selections there is a boy's choir screaming in the background, and this takes away (a bit) from her performance. That said, her best selections are those that are either unaccompanied or those where her voice is not buried. Songs that strike me are - His Name So Sweet, He's Got The Whole World, Were You There, I Wonder as I Wander, Lift Every Voice and Sing, and my all time favourite Summertime. Enough said.

Average customer rating:

A superb evening of Ives, the best in decades
Something of a disappointment
a wonderful summary
Ives is Ives
The Mood of Time

Ives: An American Journey
Michael Tilson Thomas , Charles Ives , San Francisco Symphony and Chorus , and Thomas Hampson
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Marches | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Ives: Symphony No. 2 & Symphony No. 3/Bernstein Discusses Charles Ives
Charles Ives: Symphony No. 2 / The Gong on the Hook & Ladder, or Firemen's Parade on Main Street / Tone Roads No. 1 / Hymn: Largo Cantabile, for String Orchestra / Hallowe'en / Central Park in the Dark / The Unanswered Question - Leonard Bernstein / New York Philharmonic
Ives: Holidays Symphony
Ives: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4/Hymns
Ives: The Symphonies / Orchestral Sets 1 & 2

ASIN: B00005UED6
Release Date: 2002-02-05

Tracks:

From The Steeples And The Mountains
The Things Our Fathers Loved
The Pond (Remembrance)
Memories
Charlie Rutlage
The Circus Band
The "St. Gaudens" In Boston Common
Putnam's Camp
The Housatonic At Stockbridge
In Flanders Fields
They Are There!
Tom Sails Away
Fugue From Symphony No. 4
Psalm 100
Serenity
General William Booth Enters Into Heaven
The Unanswered Question

Amazon.com

Michael Tilson Thomas is an expert Ivesian. His 1970 recording debut was with Three Places in New England, still available from DG. Here, he redoes the work with the interpolation of a chorus singing the poem on which the last movement, "The Housatonic at Stockbridge," is based--unusual, not as effective as the orchestral version, but fascinating. Tilson Thomas cites Ives's desire for performers to creatively shape his music, and this disc vindicates his editorial liberties by making Ives's surprising music even more unpredictable. The choral contributions are fine, too, but baritone Thomas Hampson steals the show with seven songs that display his empathy with Ives's varied styles and the range of the composer's music, from cowboy songs to touching elegies. The way Hampson bellows a Brooklynese "Coytin" (for "Curtain") at the end of the first song of Memories is worth the price of purchase. Here's a disc to be entertained by, and moved as well. The recording was made at SFS concerts, and we're privileged to share the audience's experience. A must-have for Ivesians and the curious. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

A superb evening of Ives, the best in decades.......2005-12-18

Tilson Thomas's PR team should put out a ocntract on me; I rarely express enthusiasm for him. So let me bow especially low to this superlative 1999 concert of Ives as viewed from his most melodic, least revolutionary perspective. This is Ives as recording angel of ice cream socials and Fourth of July parades.

In the Seventies MTT made good but not exceptioanl recordings of Ives's major orchestral works. Here he concentrates on songs and orchestral bits and pieces, except for the extended Three Places in New England, which is x-rayed with exceptionally detailed sonics. Thomas Hampson secures his position as the best singer of American songs with highly dramatized, unbuttoned singing--his Charlie Rutlage, a Texas-accented elegy for a fallen cowpoke, and the familiar General William Booth Enters Into Heaven are instant classics. Chorus and orchestra enter in the spirit of bumptious good cheer, and overall a good time was had by all, even though the crowd was sent home sobered up by the supernaturally melancholy Unanswered Question, which never fails to send a shiver through the listener.

Something of a disappointment.......2004-01-12

I was very much looking forward to the latest Ives recording from Michael Tilson Thomas, whose reputation as an Ives specialist began with his first recording of the Three Pieces in New England, made in 1970 when the conductor was only in his mid-20s. That this disc came some way from living up to my expectations is perhaps due to a combination of over-optimism, uneven performances and what I feel is a less-than-ideal selection of works.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the opening of the disc: a fine performance of the craggy, dissonant brass and percussion work From the Steeples and the Mountains, a highly impressive miniature which swells from its dissonant opening to a climax where sound seems to echo off in all directions. However, I'm less convinced with the rest of the purely-orchestral program: this reading of Ives' classic Three Pieces of New England lacks a little of the gracious flowing lines of Tilsom Thomas' earlier 1970 recording; in addition the experiment of adding a recently-found choral part to the finale merely demonstrates how right the composer was to leave it out. For his extract from the Fourth Symphony, Tilson Thomas chooses the slow movement fugue. I am guessing this choice was to emphasise the "accessible Ives", but this is by far the weakest movement of the work (it was in fact arranged from the first movement of Ives' then 20-year-old First String Quartet), and even a good performance--as here--can't entirely hide up its conservative, almost academic writing. That perennial Ives classic The Unanswered Question, which closes the work, is an infinitely finer work, but unfortunately Tilson Thomas cannot match the transcendence of his own--distinctly slower--Chicago Symphony Orchestra recording from 1986.

The rest of the disc concentrates on various incarnations of Ives' bewildering variety of songs, and as a result comes into partial competition with what is to my mind one of the finest Ives discs around--a recording of selections from the songs and the sets for orchestra with Susan Narucki, Sanford Sylvan and Music/Projects London under Richard Bernas (if you're an Ives fan and don't have this disc, I suggest you rectify this immediately). The songs are extremely uneven in quality--ranging from trivial kitsch to outright masterpieces--and their styles vary just as much.

Most of these songs appear here in orchestral garb, but in three of them Tilson Thomas accompanies Thomas Hampson's baritone on the piano himself. The salon song The Things our Fathers Loved is one of the examples of irreparable kitsch, but rather better is the bipartite Memories which switches from camp to sentimental at its midpoint. In contrast, Tom Sails Away is one of Ives' finest songs, but in this recording its effect is compromised by Tilson Thomas' rather insensitive playing in the piano part.

The Pond (Remembrance)--another of Ives' finest songs--appears here in a version for women's chorus and orchestra. This transcendental homage to the composer's father is in fact much more subtle and rhythmically complex than it appears at first, and it has appeared in a bewildering variety of versions (three of which appear on the Bernas disc mentioned earlier). Similarly restrained in means is John Adams' careful baritone-and-orchestra version of the touching song Serenity: it's well-judged and well-sung here, and Adams avoids the pitfalls that David Del Tredici walks into in his entirely unnecessary orchestration of In Flanders Fields.

By contrast, Charlie Rutlage is an absurdly over-the-top piece of cowboy kitsch that disintegrates into violent discords as the words describe Charlie's death: this voice-and-orchestra version isn't half as good as Sanford Sylvan's voice-and-piano reading on the Bernas disc. Similarly eccentric is The Circus Band, a bizarrely outrageous confection for chorus and orchestra (based on an early orchestral march) that lacks some of the lustre of similar Ives effects. The bizarre Ives is also at work They are There! This near-hysterial rant (not actually as militaristic as it sounds at first) is heard in a chorus-and-orchestral version that lacks something of the sheer outrageousness of Ives' own voice-and-piano recording (even though Tilson Thomas takes an effort to try to copy the style of that reading).

The chorus-and-organ setting of Psalm 100 ("Make a joyful noise unto the Lord") is an intriguing piece of writing that well merits its exposure here, though it can't match General William Booth Enters Into Heaven for sheer unbuttoned craziness. This setting of Vachel Lindsay's poem, heard here in a version for baritone, chorus and orchestra is one of Ives' most endearing creations: its remarkable mix of modernism, bizarre wit and sentimentality, topped off with the sudden introduction of a hymn tune at the climax, is typical of the composer at his best. Unfortunately, this performance misses out on the last edge of hysterical ecstasy that is so necessary for the work to have its full impact (in my opinion it's easier to bring off in the voice-and-piano version).

I realise I am perhaps being overcritical of this disc, but it seems to me that a disc by such a fine Ivesian as Tilson Thomas should be held to a very high standrd. Though I was personally disappointed by this recording, it may well appeal to those who know little of the composer: however, I fear that Ives specialists are likely to be underwhelmed.

a wonderful summary.......2002-12-21

Charles Ives has always been a puzzle to me. From time to time I have listened to his music with a complete lack of resolution. Did I actually like it? Is it just an American marketing phenomena? Would we hear as much of him if he were, say, an Australian composer? I am still totally uncertain, but I love this CD for its variety of styles, variety of forces and general good humour. If you are immediately dismissive of Ives, can I suggest you start with the two songs called 'Memories'? Have a listen to this CD with an open mind - you may not like it all - even most of it - but one thing is certain and that is that this is not run-of-the-mill music.

Ives is Ives.......2002-06-15

I grew up on movie soundtracks and scores from the likes of Bernard Herrmann, Dimitri Tiomkin, Alex North and others. We have lost many of these composers but not their music they have left us through the years. That's a gift to all of us. I have been slowly looking at "20th century" composers from the "classical" arena to enhance my listening pleasure and my nature or "quest" to always seek out music that I am certain I must have passed over. I discovered Charles Ives after reading up further on Aaron Copland and his foray into many diverse areas of musical composition. One door opens another. Ives' name and compositions seem to have come up frequently. So far Charles Ives' music doesn't have the melodic quality of Copland or many contemporaries yet it does seem to have roots resulting in American musical motifs very strangely orchestrated resulting in some twisted profoundness. What attracts me is how Ives' music almost seems as if it were composed for film. Ives is Ives as I have found out. I enjoy this recording. It is strange, contemplative and definitely esoteric. Abrupt turns abound but that is the strength of Ives.

The Mood of Time.......2002-06-15

This collection of Ives compositions is exceptional. This CD makes for very good listening. I play it when I am alone in the car. The pensive music realy captures the mood of time.

Average customer rating:

Music for soul
On the Road Again
Kitaro CD
Great for yoga class
IMHO, better than "Volume 1"

Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, Vol. 2
Kitaro
Manufacturer: Domo Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Japan | Far East & Asia | International | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Electronic | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai
Spiritual Garden
Mandala
Gaia
Ancient

ASIN: B0007CEX2W
Release Date: 2005-02-22

Tracks:

Shining Spirit Of Water
As The Wind Blows
Koki
Kan-Non
Whispering Earth
Inner Lights
Dancing Flower
Floating Lotus
Peaceful Valley
Crystal Field
Ritual Waves

Amazon.com

Shortly after 9/11, Kitaro began a pilgrimage to the island of Shikoku, which has 88 temples, each with its own distinct temple bells. The Japanese keyboardist has been recording those bells and working them into the fabric of The Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, of which this is the second volume in a projected series. The first volume unlocked a new energy in Kitaro's music, with more open spaces and instruments like the erhu and pipa (Chinese violin and lute) lending his landscapes an organic immediacy. But Kitaro is a composer who doesn't know when to stop. He takes the freshest elements of his music, like the koto-erhu duet at the core of "Shining Spirit of Water," and buries them in the same choir pads, electronic squiggles, dripping strings, and whooping synthesizers that have been his sonic signature since 1978's Astral Voyage. Even the relatively austere meditation of "Peaceful Valley," featuring Native American flute, and the darker textures of "Ka-Non," get swamped as Kitaro gilds the lily and then dips it in a treacly bath sweeter than a glazed doughnut. The thought that Kitaro's Shikoku pilgrimage has already turned into a tedious trudge doesn't bode well. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

Music for soul.......2007-02-08

For me it is favorite music for meditation and searching peace of my mind. This music is recommended to estimulate Alfa Waves generation into our brain. Very recommended music for all.

On the Road Again.......2006-06-02

The ever prolific New Age maestro Kitaro's musical pilgrimage continues with this CD, with eleven compositions inspired by Temples 13 through 23 on the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage Route. All in all he does a fine job of maintaining the tone and flavor of "Sacred Journey of Kukai, Volume 1" while not getting stuck in a rut. He manages to integrate the temple bells into the music somewhat more smoothly than before, while continuing overall to alchemically blend traditional Asian musical forms with contemporary sensibilities as well as he did on the last album (and throughout his career, for that matter). The Chinese pipa lute is particularly effective on track six, and the Arabic inflections in track seven are subtle and yet thrilling.

That said, at first I thought I was going to dislike this album. Some of the earlier tracks are a bit on the weak side, and track five has way too much of Kitaro's sentimental whoops and swirls and seems overdone (and parts of it sound to me like a theme for a second-rate Japanese TV drama). Just when I was starting to roll my eyes, though, track six kicked in and saved the day, and the rest of the album gets the balance about right.

I do kind of feel that, according to my tastes at least, Volume 1 was a stronger effort on Kitaro's part, but this is still great spiritual music with a heart, focused on inner peace and world peace and inspired by a time-honored Japanese religious practice. One can only look forwards to the next stage in the pilgrimage and wonder what it will bring.

Kitaro CD.......2005-08-04

I have had other Kitaro recordings which I have really liked and then came across this one recently. Kitaro still has the same magic with this recording.

Great for yoga class.......2005-06-10

It's actually a 4.5 stars. I am a yoga instructor. This is the first CD I bought for my class, and it works beautifully! As picky as I'm toward the music I use for my class, I like music that's relaxing yet not boring to put you to sleep. I do have to mention though, the last song "Ritual Waves", I found is very disturbing...

IMHO, better than "Volume 1".......2005-03-06

Made in USA in 2005, Serial# 73035-2, Playing Time 58:26

Some of the sounds found on this CD will be very familiar to any fan who's been following his career for more than a decade: all instrumental, except for a few wolf-like "howls" on the last track (forgive my ignorance if this is intended as some prayer/summons.) It is that track that brings down my review from what would have otherwise been a 4-star rating.

I personally found this album much more charming (and perhaps with less "traditional" influences) than Volume 1. There are even some passages vaguely reminiscent of some of Yanni's best symphonic moments.

Some melodies (like "As The Wind Blows" or "Whispering Earth") will undoubtebly find their way on an ulterior "best of": this is Kitaro in FULL bliss.

Other melodies are much more rhythmic (like "Kan-Non" and "Dancing Flower"), which aren't my favorite Kitaro moods; I'll take his charm/musical poetry over the more enthusiastic tracks.

Still, regardless of the energy deployed, all tracks (except for "Floating Lotus") are rich and textured.

For the novice, "Volume 2" is probably a better introduction to the world of Kitaro than "Volume 1". Obviously not the type of music to listen to while vacuuming... Sit back (or better yet, lay back) and crank it up!

Southern Journey, Vol. 9: Harp Of A Thousand Strings - All Day Singing From The Sacred Harp

Average customer rating:

Great introduction to an obscure folk music form
overwhelming hymnody
A little too authentic for me
Manages to articulate something ineffable and wonderous!
Excellent recording!

Southern Journey, Vol. 9: Harp Of A Thousand Strings - All Day Singing From The Sacred Harp
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Rounder Select
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Folk | Styles | Music

Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

1950s | By Decade | Pop | Styles | Music

Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music

General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Delta Blues | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Southern Journey, Vol. 10: And Glory Shone Around - More All Day Singing From The Sacred Harp
Sacred Harp Singing
Rivers of Delight (American Folk Hymns From the Sacred Harp Tradition)
Southern Journey, Vol. 4: Brethren, We Meet Again - Southern White Spirituals
Southern Journey, Vol. 11: Honor The Lamb - The Belleville A Capella Choir

ASIN: B0000002UQ
Release Date: 1998-01-13

Tracks:

Sherburne
David's Lamentation
Soar Away
Commentary
Wondrous Love
Traveling On
New Harmony
Hallelujah
Prayer For Recess
Loving Jesus
Greenwich
Milford
Baptismal Anthem
Amsterdam
Montgomery
Memorial Lesson
Cusseta
The Last Words Of Copernicus
The Morning Trumpet
Homeward Bound
Northfield
Doddridge
Weeping Mary
Christmas Anthem
New Prospect
Oxford

Amazon.com

If you had to choose just one Sacred Harp disc to own, this would be it. Volume 10 in the Southern Journey series may have more fuguing selections, but this is the best overall for its startling, briskly recorded stereo sound--no mean feat for a field recording from 1959! In addition to songs like "Cussetta," the always great "Weeping Mary," and "Montgomery," there are snippets of testimonials and confessions placed throughout. So you get to hear Harp singer Joyce Smith declare, "A lot of times a preacher will get up and preach and it don't seem like it has any effect on anybody. But you let a band of God's children get together and get to singing--people's gonna feel it." --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews:

Great introduction to an obscure folk music form.......2006-11-10

I have been teaching shape note singing to my community chorus. The CD helped them understand what the music is like and how to sing it.

overwhelming hymnody.......2005-04-05

After hearing a few sacred harp tunes on the anthology of American folk music, I knew I had to hear more and purchased southern journey volume 10. While that disc flabbergasted me with its fantastic sound and large number of fuging tunes, I purchased more sacred harp discs and must say that I prefer volume 9. There seems to be more variation between the songs included, and it just feels like the singers really hit their stride in most of these songs. While I think both discs are extremely worthwhile, there's just something about volume 9 that makes it a bit more rewarding. I am not a Christian or a very religious person, but this music has enough conviction to imbue anyone with some sort of religious appreciation. This disc allows for a moving experience of joy and glory by proxy, and you know by listening to it that these people put their all into the performance.

A little too authentic for me.......2004-07-30

Everything that was written in the other reviews is essentially correct; the songs are great and passionately sung. However, being a newcomer to Sacred Harp music, and having heard only the clean and crisp sound of the Cold Mountain soundtrack songs, I was hoping for higher quality sound on this disc. I can't say I wasn't warned by the other reviewers, but I didn't realize how distracting the sour notes and poor sound balance would be for me. If you are looking for an authentic sound, this is the cd for you; if you think you might be distracted by the imperfections, look elsewhere.

Manages to articulate something ineffable and wonderous!.......2004-01-14

I happened upon this disc after becoming re-acquainted with shape note singing via the recently released "Cold Mountain" soundtrack. Wow. There is something thrilling, something visceral and yet greater than oneself, that is provoked upon listening to this wonderful and strange music. This is definitely not the Boston Camerata, so please don't buy it hoping to hear something glossy, high-church and perfectly executed. This is simply rousing, foot-stopping spiritual music sung by real god-fearing folk. Something in this music evoked a certain Proustian nostalgia in this Appalachian woman, reminding me of attending church with my elderly aunt at the tiny Baptist church in Cyrus, West Virginia as a small child--a church so small that the minister was a circuit preacher who rotated between several congregations. That congregation had something of the enthusiasm rendered on this disc-- I listened with tears streaming down my face. I highly reccommend this recording to anyone interested in musical ethnography, or in simply hearing the word of God sung with full-out enthusiasm and joy.

Excellent recording!.......2000-05-10

I found this CD listed when I was looking for something else, so this is most definitely serendipitious! Having had the good fortune to learn Sacred Harp singing from Paul Hillier when he directed our University Chorus, I have always loved the musical style. I have recordings by Boston Camerata, but good as they are, they are not the "unpolished" gems found on this CD. I learned a long time ago that in the tunes that had an alto line, the best altos were those that caused the paint to peel off the wall. Those are the voices on this recording! Talk about singing with sincerity and conviction - no fancy studio work here! If you are interested in the musical heritage of our nation, this is a "must-have"! If you have a hankering for hymns that are most definitely NOT "High Church", you will be well pleased - and who knows? You may find yourself seeking out groups that still practice this musical style - go to an all-day sing, with "dinner on the grounds!"

Average customer rating:

Fasten your seat belts...this is soul-changing music!
Lisa's Greatest Hits!
The Goddess Starts Here!

Journey to the Goddess
Lisa Thiel
Manufacturer: Sacred Dream Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Invocation of the Graces
Lady of the Lake
Mother of Compassion
Circle of the Seasons
Goddess Chant

ASIN: B000008T5J
Release Date: 1997-10-16

Tracks:

Rainbow Woman
White Buffalo Woman
Commother
Green Tara Mantra
Acchi Mantra
Song to the Granmothers
Song to Inanna
Warrior Goddess
Spirit of the Plants
Kwan Yin
Moon Mother
Mermaid Queen
I Am the Goddess

Customer Reviews:

Fasten your seat belts...this is soul-changing music!.......2006-04-26

When I bought this album I had never heard of Lisa Thiel, but an album of Goddess chants was exactly what I had been looking for. Then when I pushed the Play button on my CD player, the first few notes of the first chant zapped my heart so deeply with spiritual beauty that I wept. Now that I have listened to this album many many times, I find myself singing favorite chants throughout the day while driving, feeding my cats, or working in my office. Never have I encountered such beautiful music to glorify the Goddess. I consider the day I bought this album to be a moment of great blessing in my life. You will too. Highly recommended.

Lisa's Greatest Hits!.......2001-11-24

This is Lisa Thiel's Greatest Hits album. And it contains some of her most magnetic songs. From the very first track, you'll be pulled into the mystical, Native American-styled use of her voice, the intoxicating rhythms, and the positive, uplifting Goddessy lyrics. As the tracks go on, you may learn some names of old goddesses from Europe Asia and the Americas that you'd never known before. Each of them are introduced in the course of truly compelling songs.

If you have other Lisa Thiel albums (And I hope you do), then some of these tracks may be repeats since it's sort of a Greatest Hits collection. Check the song list to make sure you don't have them all already. But if you're missing even I'd say five of these tracks, you should go ahead and buy it because almost every song is a must-have.

The songs that were chosen for this collection were mainly the more spirited and catchy of her works. On other albums, there will be more meditative chants. On this one, it's mainly livelier tunes (With only a couple exceptions), and the tracks are mainly ones where she's used her more stylized singing voice. It's wonderful! But you'll probably want her other more understated albums too that show off the silkiness of her voice better.

If you're a Lisa Thiel fan and you're missing at least a fair number of these tracks, then you need to buy the album. No doubt. And if you're new to Lisa, then this is a pretty good album to start with. I know a lot of people for whom this was the album that got them hooked. And she's definitely a voice you want to add to your life.

The Goddess Starts Here!.......2001-08-16

This is one of the most moving and amazing recordings available. I first came across Lisa Thiel's recording 'Prayers for the Planet" quite a few years ago. I found this one a few years later and it really had an incredibly strong impact on me. I cannot recommend this one enough. 'Warrior Goddess' is my favorite track.Gentle and Oh, so powerful! Thanks the gods for Lisa Thiel!!!!!!!!!

Average customer rating:

Music for peace on earth and our mind
An Inspiring Way-Station along Kitaro's Musical Pilgrimage
Well... maybe 4 1/2
88 Steps
Mediocre at best

Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai
Kitaro
Manufacturer: Domo Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, Vol. 2
Spiritual Garden
Mandala
Ancient
The Best of Ten Years (1976-1986)

ASIN: B0000BWVCH
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Tracks:

Michi
Kagero
Shizuku
Flow
Nen
The Wind
Gi
Evening Sun
Silence
Earth In Bloom
Kuu
Cocoro

Amazon.com

In the face of the many tragedies of September 11, 2001, the tribulations of Kitaro don't amount to much--he got grounded in Hawaii for a few days while en route to Japan. But the unscheduled layover did give the Japanese musician a chance to ponder the state of the world and his music in it, and the results are one of his best CDs in years. Inspired by those events, Kitaro began making a pilgrimage to the island of Shikoku which has 88 temples, each with its own distinct temple bells. Kitaro has recorded those bells on his as-yet-uncompleted trek and works them into the fabric of The Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, the first of a projected multi-CD series. Kitaro creates landscapes as meditative as any he's conceived and with more open space to allow his flutes, electric sitars, Chinese huquin (violin), pipa, and of course synthesizers to breathe. Although Kitaro occasionally hits the bombastic cadences and hyper-glycerin melodies that often mar his work, he taps into a more refined spirit on tracks like "Michi" with its Zen garden flow and the ritual space of "Gi," featuring Tibetan flutist and singer Nawang Khechog. --John Diliberto

Album Description

Sacred Journey of Ku-kai is first in a series of albums intended to address personal and global concerns alongside forward-thinking views of spiritual growth. Kitaro has embarked on a spiritual pilgrimage, visiting temples on the island of Shikoku, Japan once undertaken by Buddhist holy man, Ku-kai, more than 1,100 years ago. Sampling bells sounds from each temple, Kitaro distills their essence with inspired musical landscapes.

It is Kitaro's intention that his message of peace through music will inspire and unify us universally in global and spiritual co-existence. "The wars of the world don't come from outer space. People create them, people who have a war within themselves. I want to create music that eases that war within." --- Kitaro

Customer Reviews:

Music for peace on earth and our mind.......2007-02-08

For me it is favorite music for meditation and searching peace of my mind. This music is recommended to estimulate Alfa Waves generation into our brain. Very recommended music for all.

An Inspiring Way-Station along Kitaro's Musical Pilgrimage.......2006-05-25

This is a very interesting CD of fine music by Kitaro, a musician who has defined and refined the musical category of New Age music (so-called). Like on so many other of his albums, he manages to strike a fine, perilous balance between inspiring sugar-sweet spirituality and sentimentality on the one hand and moving (even haunting) intensity and depth on the other; whenever he loses his balance, he tends to lean towards the former extreme (okay, sometimes he completely plops down there), but on "Sacred Journey of Kukai, Volume 1" he maintains the balance and the creative tension it produces with great artistic integrity better than I've ever seen him do (with the possible exception of track 3, which verges on the saccharine). Another of his signature balancing acts is that between traditional Asian forms of music and contemporary Western forms (along with the instruments particular to each), and the pilgrimage theme of this CD allows him to show this off to wonderful effect. The temple bells punctuating the music and the hair-raising (in a good way, strangely) chanting of the Heart Sutra in Track 5 ("Nen") are especially distinctive and innovative as well as appropriate to the theme of the album.

And Kitaro has composed and performed this music as a prayer for the interrelated goals of inner peace and world peace. What better raison d'etre could there be for music?

Well... maybe 4 1/2.......2005-03-09

Ku-Kai is something a bit different from the Kitaro that I am familiar with. And I really like it. There are passages of this that are ambiently trance inducing, subtle, but yet with passion and force. I appreciate the theme of this, although I don't have much background in the foundations of Japanese buddhism.

I still have a love-hate relationship with Kitaro. Even with this more thought-provoking music, there are still moments when it may strike you as something you might hear over the muzak at your favorite little strip-mall asian restaurant.

For those of you who appreciate Eno, Tangerine Dream, Mike Oldfield etc., I recommend this highly. For those of you who like Yanni and Vangelis, look to some of Kitaro's lighter fare e.g. Silk Road.

88 Steps.......2005-01-04

Kitaro is something of a problematic player/composer. He is capable of extraordinarily creative work, but tends to be repetitive in between his brilliant moments. For this reason, I tend to approach each new album with a good deal of caution. For some reason, the closer he gets to his roots (Silk Road, Kojiki, etc.) the stronger his work becomes. For this reason I decided to give The Sacred Journey of Kukai a chance.

KuKai (774-835) was the founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan, and offshoot of Vajrayana Buddhism and extremely influential in both Japan's history and spiritual life. The sacred journey consists of a pilgrimage to the Shikoku temples which were the mainstay of Shingon power. This CD offers the first 12 stages of the journey (there is a second volume already out as of this writing). The work displays Kitaro at his most original, and sometimes at his most difficult.

Kitaro makes extensive use of sampled bells in this work, often as stress points in the compositions, with some of the most important melodic components provided by the flutes of Nawang Khechog, a noted Tibetan master. The first cut, Michi is a perfect example of this kind of work - the large bells, electronic sounds, drums, and Nawang Kechog floating serenely above this. In Kageroh more electronic instruments appear (a nicely sampled koto and sitar among others) and the basic interplay of rhythm and melody with an ever present background drone that is a characteristic of the whole album establishes itself.

The cuts I like least are the one's most likely to be popular, as in Shizuku, which is a return to Kitaro's hallmark theremin style, and Flow which uses a plucked synth guitar sound. I will admit that, in this particular case the effect is a bit different, do to a more effective sonic background. But I would still like to hear Kitaro do something else with the theremin besides the 'softly falling ribbon' of sound which is his hallmark.

Nen is one of the most interesting pieces, using a chanting choirs of monks against a variety of sampled bells. The chanting builds in pressure and there is little melody to provide rest for the listener - this is both interesting, and subtly irritating. This it is with great relief that the ritual breaks and The Wind introduces its contrasting melodic forms.

I'm not going to go through the rest of the cutes, since this introduction should give you enough information to decide for yourself. I can honestly say that this is the most 'different' album that has come from Kitaro since Kojiki and worth listening. Whether the remaining 76 cuts to come continue to maintain this standard remains to be seen.

Mediocre at best.......2004-08-18

I was disapointed with this album. I bought it based on some reviews saying it was somewhat mellow, relxing etc.
While there were a few nice cuts on the album, most of it was rather incoherent. Parts reminded me of Astral Trip. It certainly wasn't melodic or flowing.I don't think Kitaro has put out a really SUPERB studio album since Ki. Pity.

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. Wanna Be
2. Freedom
3. Thank You Lord
4. Box of Glory
5. Lazarus Unwound
6. Evidence of Love
7. 95 Reasons
8. Under the Water
9. Just Can't Help Myself
10. When You Fall
11. Timothy's Burden
12. Sacred Journey