Customer Reviews

Air

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been listening to AVAF for over 20 years and have thoroughly enjoyed every one of his albums, but to date, AIR is my favorite. It combines the feel of his music of old, with new interpretations of the same type of music and the result is absolutely wonderful. I received the CD from a friend in Switzerland in February, have listened to it every day since, and never tire of it.

The master genius of avoharp & storytelling is back! After the failed effort called "Vox" (The only real weak album in his catalogue) AV comes back with a pure classical masterpiece of harp playing. This album is enjoyment from the first to the last tune and there is no blemish here. It will surely find its place with AV's finest first few albums and maybe a contender to White Winds which for me is the key and quintessential album of his extraoridnary career. As Steve Perry of Journey said once: "We don't see a need to reinvent ourselves and our music",...so does AV...no need to reinvent like he did in VOX, as there is so much talent in this guy that he just needs to continue doing what he does best - playing the harp in the most amazing way...fantastic CD that will get better and better with each listen, there is simply no weak track!

Dear Friends, I have to tell you about Andreas Vollenweider's new AIR CD. I am listening to it for probably the 100th time since August 2009. I cannot recommend this music highly enough. It will wisk you away to a magical world where Time stops and everything is kinder, more gentle, more relaxing, and more beautiful.

I have been a devoted fan of Andreas and his music since 1985. I think his music just gets better all the time.

The world is a better place because of the gifts of Music that Andreas Vollenweider is making. I pray that God continues to bless him and his family and his circle of musicians, and that he will be around to share his music with us for many more years to come!

[...]

I've been a long time fan of Andrea Vollenweider's music, going back to his very early years, long before anyone knew who Andreas Vollenweider was, so a word of caution... before you put down your hard earned dollars on this CD, listen to it and don't go by what the majority of the reviews say, otherwise you will be sorry.

Some of the reviews compare this CD with his earlier work. Don't be fooled in thinking this CD can even compare to Andreas' classic CDs like Behind the Gardens, White Winds, Dancing with the Lion and Down to the Moon.

The only resemblance to his early work is that there are no lyrics (just humming) but that is where the comparison ends.

Although this CD utilizes a nice mix of international instruments and percussions such as the Greek double flute, Chinese harp, Indian bamboo flute, flugelhorn, Slovak overtone flute including bass clarinet and trumpet among other instruments, the music is very sub-par to Andreas' earlier music you would find on White Winds and Dancing with the Lion.

The music in this CD lacks the dynamic rhythm and beat that was so good on Andrea's early CDs.

I got tired of waiting for the U.S. release of "Air," so I finally decided to buy the international release on Content Records (Edel Entertainment). I'm very glad I didn't postpone buying this beautiful album any longer. This album will likely please those who are most fond of Andreas' early albums like "Caverna Magica" and "White Winds." These are beautiful, mostly relaxing, songs with lots of Andreas' signature electrified concert pedal harp. Trumpet, cello, and other instruments are also used to good effect throughout, and the album is nicely engineered with excellent sound. Though there are some vocal passages here and there, they are wordless as on the earlier albums instead of lyrics, as on "Vox" and "Eolian Minstrel." In making "Air," Andreas set out to record some beautiful, interesting music that would soothe and comfort those who are feeling stressed in these troubled times. I think he has succeeded admirably. Highly recommended for long-time Andreas Vollenweider fans and newcomers alike.

I'm afraid I have to agree with the low rankings in the reviews. Although I've been a fan of Mr. Vollenweider's in the past, his last few albums should shake the faith of even die-hard fans. This is even more the case with AIR.

First off, this is an expensive CD compared to normal and one should expect good value. There is not much more music than expected in a normal CD. Good value is seemingly not the case here, and before anyone starts talking about the videos included as extras, that's been standard for many artists (like Todd Rundgren) for years without any increase in price.

Secondly, the format makes it more difficult than normal to rip tracks for your mp3. I had to resort to WinXP Media Player, which should always be a last resort for anything.

Last and most important, the music shows little of the artist's former spirit, intensity or imagination. If you thought he jumped the shark with VOX, your worst fears will sadly be confirmed. It's been claimed by many that Al Pacino stopped acting in the 90s and now only does Al Pacino impressions on film. This CD feels that way musically, and if there was any doubt about Mr. Vollenweider jumping the shark, the track "World Inside a Grain of Sand" will slay those doubts. The sitar/harp combo does not work, and I own an album of Sitar/Gregorian chants (which has its decent moments).

In short this album seems to have been thrown together in the (perhaps certain?) knowledge that enough people out there will buy anything that has his name on it to make it worthwhile economically. And that's a shame as well as a sad coda for an artist that I've enjoyed listening to for almost thirty years.

This album is highly addicting and amazingly soothing. It took me a 2nd listen before it fully grew on me. It is different then his early works, with a lot more instrumentation, and more vocal layers. In the 2 weeks I've had it I've probably listened to it now about 30 times. It should be listened to as a complete album to feel the full impact of its majesty, but songs I would highlight on their own as the best on the album would be Airdance, Precious Smile, World Inside a Grain of Sand, Keep On Dancing, Liebeslied, Siesta, and The Golden Dancing Shoes. The fact the Vollenweider recorded this album in 2 weeks is astounding. He is a true genius and I hope he crafts more albums like this one.

Without question, 5 out of 5 stars... I'd give it 5 more if I could.

(Another amazing masterpiece that was recently released is Bobby McFerrin's VOCAbuLarieS -- prepared to be blown away by it.)

Been listening to Andreas since 1982 and was longing to hear the same heart play that I heard on his older albums. The albums since Down to the Moon in 1986 have been very different but still enjoyable. It seems he wanted to treat us all to an expanded sense of music. It has been nice but not until AIR has he really nailed one home like the early albums of the 80's. Here we have the quintessential Andreas Vollinweider at his best yet the inclusion of other artists...his friends through the years. Definitely lovely and yet full of life and sensuality. It even has a little more youth than those 30 years ago. Bravo! I would ask for more but great music comes through excellent technical skills catalyzed by creative genius. You can here that here! The first sound I heard was Tumbleweed Dreams. It was simple and then the harp came in after "one,two, three". I have to admit I was immediately overwhelmed with emotion and tears to hear that long lost friend share something new yet with the body of something aging for years waiting to come out. It is the Cognac of his music. I doubt Andreas reads Amazon reviews but if you are then THANK YOU! And please come back to the US for a visit again...Huntington at the IMAX was great!

I had been away from the music of Andreas for many years. It's nice to see he's still putting out amazing work. I love all of his albunms for their own reasons. This release (Air) reminds me of some earlier work. I like most of the tracks.

One thing I notice for sure is the union of the trumpet with the harp on several tracks for the first time. This is awesome and long overdue. It gives Andreas more of a Smooth Jazz influence, not just New Age. Those tracks remind me of Rick Braun (as if it was a collaboration between the two).

I think it would be interesting to see a mix of harp and Sax too (Norman Brown and Boney James come to mind).

I have listened to AV since "Down to the Moon." I saw him on Johhny Carson,and thought who is this guy. Immediately I bought the CD, then caught up with White Winds, Behind the Garden, Caverna Magica etc. After that was Book of Roses, which I thought OK-a few great songs, but mostly disappointing. Dancing with the Lions sucked as did everything since Book Of Roses. I even saw AV in a rare solo show in Atlanta for Eolian Minstrel cd. The show was very disappointing. Cosmopoly was last title I bought, and thought it would be the final AV purchase for me. "Stella" an amazing song, was the only song on that CD worth ever listening to again. And I really love AV's early work, but something had happened to his work since Book of Roses, and I didn't like it.

I'm glad I read the reviews for this one, because "Air" is the closest to AV's early work since "Down to the Moon." And anyone who says this is not good, knows nothing about AV. I loved this CD from the start. A nice addition of trumpet in a few tunes, great background vocalizations, but not overpowering. I know Carly Simon is great, but I couldn't stand her on Eolian Minstrel. I don't write many reviews, and don't pay much attention to what I read, but I know what I like, and Air is on that list. I haven't liked an AV CD since 1992, so I am glad I took a chance on this import. If you are an early Andreas Vollenweider fan, but gave up on him the last 10+ years, this is the return of why we grew to love AV's unique music.