Book of Roses

Andreas Vollenweider

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 11, 1992)
• Original Release Date: February 11, 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000283B
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #54,503 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Chockablock stylistic collisions include virtuoso classical piano, medieval folk, blues-rock, the chant of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, pastoral orchestration and flamenco-frenzy, and that's merely within tracks 6-8. Not to damn it with faint praise, but this shapes up as a "Tubular Bells• for the '90s. --Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fairy-tale harpist, June 22, 2001

By	Gavin Wilson - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Andreas Vollenweider has a canny sense of where the music market is going. In 1991, Narada issued the wonderful CD, 'A Childhood Remembered', in which the labels leading artists were asked to write music to accompany a story that important to them as a child. That same year, electro-harpist Andreas Vollenweider released this four-chapter epic fairy tale, where he merged his progressive, new-age leanings with the burgeoning world music scene. With the brothers Grimm and north/central Europe as the source for so many childrens' stories, it seemed appropriate for the Swiss composer to create this.

Despite Vollenweider's acute sense of the direction of the market, I feel that his record company has little or no idea how to market him. Sometimes he's classified as 'New Age', sometimes he's in the Classical section. Rarely do his albums get much advertising and promotion -- well, not here in the UK anyway.

But this is a good album that deserves to be much better known here. Goodness knows what the story is behind the titles of each piece: 'Manto's Arrow', 'Czippa' and 'Kroandal' mean nothing to me. Maybe another Amazon reviewer recognises these names from children's fiction. But the music underlying the titles is always good, and at times great.

I'm never sure when reviewing new age CDs whether one should pinpoint stand-out tracks, as many listeners prefer just to take in the whole recording and maybe even go to sleep to it. But track #13, 'Hirzel', is where Vollenweider and his band really rock. Besides the usual personnel -- Keiser, Fessler and Stiefel, for instance -- there is the marvellous percussionist Marilyn Mazur, who has subsequently appeared on Jan Garbarek albums such as the magnificent 'Rites'.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Musical Bed of Roses, January 8, 2002

By	Russell J. Grasso (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Buy this CD. I have listened to the majority of Vollenweider's work since the '80s (thanks to my friends) and I am very familiar with his music.. Yet, I am not one to run out and buy his releases, nor do I believe his work has universal appeal, but this Book of Roses CD is a stunning album, both for its beauty and diversity. I dare say it has the proverbial universal appeal. The breath of musical diversity is astounding - that it all could be by one artist and placed on one CD is as mysterious as the book itself pictured on the cover. The cuts with recognizable muscial styles are remarkable compositions within thier own intent. Otherwise, Vollenweider has trailblazed fusing some new style combinations with absolute success. Vollenweider's arsenal of melodies, timbres, sound effects, and the fluidity of his transitions is beyond reproach. We are talking one large canvas here, folks. Make no mistake, this is not the white cloud-hopping or cave-dwelling harp hiding behind gardens, under trees or on the moon - this is a galaxy of music. If you don't buy this album and it goes out of print, you will never forgive yourself (And then I'll say "I told you so").

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Andreas is Amazing!, May 13, 2004

By	Julie Davidson (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

I have been a fan of Andreas since I was 15 years old (now 27) and this is probably one of his most unique and diverse works. The variety of instruments and the haunting image it creates in my mind is beyond comprehension. Andreas is probably the most talented musician I have ever heard. It is true that this album does depart from his normal sound but it is such a unique and capturing sound that one can't help but be pulled into his work. If you aren"t a hard core Andreas Vollenweider fan (like me!), i would be hesitant to recommend it to you as your first Vollenweider album as I think "Down to the Moon" and "Dancing with the Lion" are better, but after hearing his earlier works, you'll be hooked! Andreas is simply awesome.