Customer Reviews

Cosmopoly

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am an avid Andreas Vollenweider fan, and started listening to his music at a very early age. Many other reviews of Cosmopoly have declared it "unlike the old Andreas" or "lacking in direction." On the contrary, I feel this album takes quite a definite direction. Andreas is appreciated as a musician and a pioneer by many people, and likewise I think Andreas himself appreciates many other musicians and their work... Which is perhaps why he would dedicate an entire album to the experimentation we hear on Cosmopoly. Perhaps Andreas wondered what would happen if he could sit simply sit down with some of his favorite musicians from around the globe and see what kind of magic would be created by their interaction. And that's exactly what Cosmopoly is - the musical magic of artistic interaction. It is an amazing alchemy of talent and emotion from all corners of the world. From light hearted melodies such as "Stella" to the beautiful lament of "Hush, My Heart Be Still," Cosmopoly is an amazing album. Yes, some songs are more appealing than others. Yes, the album is very different from many of Andreas' earlier "musical journeys," but the heart, enthusiasm, and genius of Andreas Vollenweider can be found somewhere in each track. So don't be afraid to experiment... I admire Andreas for his fearlessly open minded music. To not own this album would be a shame.

I've been Andreas fan since his first steps into the world of music, which includes also his peaks of creation in albums like "Eolian Minstrel", "Kryptos" and "Down to the moon". Now, he gave us "Cosmopoly", a sort of walk around the globe album, which is a slightly different matter. I'd agree with other reviewers that something's missing here, and this is mainly because of the style we got used to listening to his last two albums, perfectly rounded, produced and remarkable in their motives and pictures. "Cosmopoly" yet suffers from lack of continuity, meaning that I don't seem to find the main idea within it - tracks don't flow one into another and there are few styles which just don't match together (this is, however, not the trouble with its predecessors). Then, I definitely miss more vocals - Andreas has already shown us, how outstanding his music can be when accompanied by female voices, so the track "Your silver key" here, sung by Carly Simon, is one of the strongest parts of the album, yet it leaves you wanting more because of its length. But, in general, "Cosmopoly" is a perfect album for these spring days... like all of his records, "Cosmopoly" is inspired by nature, too - just take a look at CD's inner-sleeves with great photos. There is a forest-song ("At the forest fountain") like there were "Forest folks" on "Kryptos", "Years in the forest" on "Eolian Minstrel" etc. Tracks like "Stella", "Capriccio" by Bobby McFerrin and "Cor do Amor" by Milton Nascimento offer Andreas's characteristical harp movements, while "Vals del sur" and "Long road to you" share the brilliance of his harp and Italian string quartet, which again proves the ability of Vollenweider to colaborate with other musicians and therefore make wonderful pieces which shape his every album. His music is always escorting me on my walks through the woods, around the lake and down the river... A weak point: some tracks like "Will-o'-the-wisp (Ignus fatuus)" are too long and average... leaving you with an impression they're there just to fulfill the space.

If you're about to take a walk into Andreas's world of music, I'd highly recommend his "Kryptos", "Eolian Minstrel" or "Down to the moon" album instead of this one as it doesn't feature Andreas in full picture, but consider to purchase it if you're more into his works.

I must say that I found many of the selections on Cosmopoly to be rather abstract, and consequentially, not as enjoyable and relaxing as previous CD's. Ignus Fatuus, for example, was clearly a spontaneous musical writing, that, while humorous at first, nevertheless, failed to satisfy my conservative musical tastes.

The most noteworthy, and enjoyable pieces on this CD would have to be Stella and Cor Do Amor. I would say that these 2 selections would be worth paying 15 dollars for, but it would be nice to have more than 2 songs to listen to on this CD. Currenttly, I have to set my CD player to repeat track 2 repeatedly so I can listen to Stella continuously and jam to it with my sax or clarinet. Boy, I wish I could do that with other songs on this CD!

If you're a AV fan, this one is definitely worth purchasing, though. Just be prepared for something "different".

I gave this CD,as a whole, a 4, though individually, I would say that Stella and Cor Do Amor are 5's.

Andreas Vollenweider is a musical genius, and Cosmopoly proves that his abilities are timeless and continue to thrive with time. This album has a variety of guest musicians and singers who add even more diversity and universality to Vollenweider's compositions and his ability to incorporate elements from many cultures, giving everyone something to which they can relate and love. My personal favorites are 2, 3, and 7. Andreas Vollenweider speaks to our hearts and souls, celebrating life in the cosmos.

Thank you for making this possible. I have listened to Andreas Vollenweider since the early 80's and have loved every bit of his music. His music can be relaxing, spiritual, fun, uplifting, and just basically wonderful to listen to. I have spoken of Andreas Vollenweider's music to people for years.

Thanks for listening, enjoy! to anyone who purchases & listens to his music. Sincerely, Linda Solomon

Andy is definitely back in business...This cd seems one of hisbetter in many years. It's up there with "Dancing with thelion". Well done mr. Vollenweider. // The mandolinplayer

'Stella' proves how good Andreas Vollenweider can be if he just sticks to his roots -- the simpler and melodic sounds heard in Down to the Moon that brought him to world prominence. I don't mind his experimentation with various sounds and techniques if they were good but most of them are misses here in his latest CD. However with the awesome melodies of Stella and Peachtree Valley, the CD is worth owning.

After 1997's lack-lustre orchestral 'Kryptos' venture, confidence in the Vollenweider camp must have been at a low. Once again, Herr Vollenweider changed things -- no danger of this artist ever getting in a rut. Out went the orchestra with all the compositional constraints that imposed, and in came a sense of freedom and a desire to record everything live, with, it would seem, as many different guests as Andreas could find.

The result is a hotch-potch. 'Peachtree Valley' with a Chinese chamber group sounds dangerously similar to Ryuichi Sakomoto's work for 'The Last Emperor' movie. 'Your Silver Key' is a wonderful song with Carly Simon, which is far too short. 'Long Road to You' features a pretty tune which genuinely benefits from the inclusion of the Italian string quartet.

But for me, the best song is Milton Nascimento's 'Cor Do Amor', sung in Portuguese. It's a frightening thought that it's almost a quarter of a century since Nascimento's ground-breaking collaboration with Wayne Shorter on 'Native Dancer', an album that really opened up the field for artists like Pat Metheny.

Vollenweider now has so many friends around the world, plays so many instruments and has experimented with so many musical forms, that it's hard to guaranteee that he will ever again return to the music that many of his fans think he does best. We long for more harp-playing with his tightly-knit Swiss band, as per 'White Winds' and 'Eolian Minstrel'.

UPDATE: September 2011
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Having owned this CD for a year now, I'd given it a rest this past winter and then started listening to it again across the summer. I have to say that in time, this album has grown on me more and more. It's true that it is not as cohesive and album as some of other Vollenweider releases, being more a collection of diverse works. But somehow the whole thing works. The audio mastering of it is terrific. There are maybe 2 songs on the CD that I care less about, but the rest are excellent. I simply can't understand how anyone could give this any less than 4 stars...

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I became addicted to "Down To The Moon" and "White Winds", back in the 1980's. I listened to them over, and over again... and it took a very long time for me to tire of them. I still find them to be quintessential works. But alas, one must develop a "personal sound" and evolve it with the times, and personal whims. I would expect someone like Andreas Vollenweider to progress, and indeed he has.

Somehow I missed "Dancing With The Lion", the follow up to "Down To The Moon". I ended up hearing "Book of Roses" next. I found it quite different from his previous work and wasn't taken by it. From that point, I somehow managed to avoid Andreas, never hearing his later work on radio and not spotting his new releases... then, by chance I happened upon Cosmopoly (1999 release). Certainly, this is quite different from his 1980's work. A "world music" collaboration. I took an immediate liking to a few songs, and it took a bit more listening to gain appreciation for the others. The musical score is excellent and vocals are captivating.

Cosmopoly is beautifully mastered too. The sound is rich and full. If you've got an excellent sound system, the music really comes alive. This is the kind of CD that makes you appreciate fine audio reproduction. I heartily recommend getting it. :-)

This CD is very different than most of Andreas' other creations, mainly because it's a mix of styles and musicians, which is one of the reasons why I like it so much. Andreas is a harpist - world famous for his unique sound and compositions. His music is not at all like what you would expect from a harpist. This CD is no exception. Cosmopoly is a collection of friends, and as each of them are known for their own sound, such as Bobby McFerren ("Don't Worry Be Happy"), so are each of the tracks on which they appear. Personally, I would recommend this CD to anyone who is as eclectic as I am - a collector of many fine things. Jon