Kitaro - Silk Road I - Китаро - Шелковый Путь I - 1980

Цитата:
Biography

Kitaro's style is the epitome of the contemplative, highly melodic synthesizer music often associated with the new-age movement. Interestingly enough, this famous Japanese composer taught himself to play electric guitar in high school -- inspired by the R&B music of Otis Redding. In the early '70s, Kitaro formed the Far East Family Band, which released two albums of progressive rock. In 1972, however, he met the innovative German synthesist Klaus Schulze during a trip to Europe. Kitaro was hooked. He built his first synthesizer and began experimenting with all kinds of unusual sounds. His first solo album, Astral Voyage, appeared in 1978 and quickly gained a cult following. Two years later, he produced the first of several soundtracks for Silk Road, a Japanese television documentary series that ran for five years. Several albums of music from Silk Road were released to a growing international contingent of fans who admired his combination of lush, majestic textures and gentle, almost naive, melodies. Kitaro, however, was still considered an underground artist in America until he signed with Geffen Records in 1986, which re-released seven of his earlier albums and gave him the support to expand his scope in many ways. For instance, after years of creating albums in the privacy of his home studio near Japan's Mt. Fuji, Kitaro produced his 1987 release, The Light of the Spirit, with the help of Mickey Hart. The album featured an array of American musicians and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best New-Age Performance category. That same year, Kitaro also made his first live tour of North America and sold two million albums in the U.S. alone. Kitaro's style had changed as well, becoming more theatrical and assertive while retaining a certain level of innocence and purity. His more recent recordings also show a renewed interest in the rock and pop elements that originally attracted him to music in the late '60s; in 1998, he also released the soundtrack to Cirque Ingenieux, a production bound for the Broadway stage. Thinking of You followed a year later; Ancient appeared in spring 2001. It was well received, leading to a sequel of sorts in the like-minded Ancient Journey in 2002. His contributions on the soundtrack to the controversial Chinese drama The Soong Sisters came out the same year, as did a live album and DVD.

Цитата:
Album review

This is probably Kitaro's most well know piece and it is one of his best (all his music is so consistently great) Silk Road was my first introduction to Kitaro so it holds a special place. "Flying Celestial Nymphs" is probably my favorite all time Kitaro song. An astonishing song that touches the spirit and soul. To correct what the reviewer from PA said there is NOT a skip or defect on this CD What they are referring to is the end of track 5 "The Great Wall of China" the songs ends very abruptly at seemingly the peak of the song and then it goes immediately into the next track "Flying Celestialmore… Nymphs" This is part of the original concept of Kitaro, it is supposed to end that way and it is how Silk Road was originally first released on album. For some reason the Gramavision CD release which is widely available in the US choose to fade out the ending of the song before the intended ending. This was against Kitaro's wishes. The version of "Great Wall of China" on this release is actually 5-6 seconds longer than the one on the Gramavision release because it now has the full song. So this is definitely the version of Silk Road you want to get. I hope not too many people were dissuaded from getting this because of that review. This is one of the best. Music of life and peace.

Kitaro's music is fluid and harmonic, as he blends smooth electronic lines with influences from traditional Japanese music, rock, and the romantic Western tradition. Silk Road is a phenomenal success and very possibly the best Kitaro release. There are incredible transitions throughout the pieces, making this a true masterpiece and a treasure to own.

Tracklist:

01 - Silk Road
02 - Bell Tower
03 - Heavenly Father
04 - The Great River
05 - The Great Wall Of China
06 - Flying Celestial Nymphs
07 - Silk Road Fantasy
08 - Shimmering Light
09 - Westbound
10 - Time
11 - Bodhisattva
12 - Everlasting Road

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