Customer Reviews

Country Gazette

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

 

 

The bizarre backcover description drew me to buy this, i.e., banjo = "country gadget." Some of this, especially the last 2 tracks, go farther out there than many might dare venture. But strong musicality and the patience of a river sculpting a canyon make this the smooth, sophisticated older sibling of Cornelius' "Fantasma."

I fell in love with this album the first time I heard it at a friend's house. It's an ambient Japanese take on the American West. Or something.

If you liked this album, here's an update on World Standard releases since. Your best bet is probably to look for them on amazon.co.jp - world.altavista.com can translate most of the text from japanese to english.

Jump For Joy - vol. 3 in the "Discover America Series", of which Country Gazette is vol. 1. Not so much of the synthy sound effects as on Gazette, simpler arrangements.

Mountain Ballad - vol. 2 in the series. Deleted immediately upon release. Can't find it anywhere. If you have one, I'd love to have a copy of it.

Suzuki has also collaborated with other like-minded musicians:

The Isle - with Wechsel Garland, from Germany. Some nice xylophone and a few tunes with German lyrics. Pretty and subtle. Garland is good at building musical tension.

Anthology of Barbarian Folk Music - with Kaima Aina. This might be my least favorite of the bunch, but it's still pretty good. Just didn't warrant many repeat listenings.

Graceful Silence - with Moose Hill (also Japanese). An exceptional album. These two artists complement each other very well. While the music is subtle and soothing, the textures are rich and florid, with lots of finger-picked guitar, flute, and sparse percussion.

Sitting on Bottom of the World (by Noahlewis Mahalon Taits) - I was a little disappointed by this one. I think maybe it's actually Suzuki's son's band and he's just helping out; from the band member photos it looks like most of them are quite young. It honestly sounds too much like a 9-piece high school band to justify repeat listenings.

Home Family Love (by RAM) - such gorgeous music! It's World Standard, Kaima Aina, and Moose Hill all together, with a few friends in tow. I just got this one a few days ago, and can't stop listening to it. Really really nice stuff. The songs amble along like a leisurely bike ride through the park on a sunny day - you hear some nice slide guitar, some banjo, some vocals (in Japanese), some simple drum parts, some irish harp. A couple tracks even lock in to a bass-drum backbone for more of a bluesy rock feel.

So that's it (as far as I know). If you liked the Japanese-folk-meets-American-folk sounds of Country Gazette, try some more World Standard. In order of priority, I'd start with Home Family Love, then Graceful Silence, then The Isle. Happy listening.

FYI - World Standard's website...

A beautiful record, I have given it to many people and everyone has liked it. It is easy listening, intresting, and mellow. And fun weard! Japanese mellow bluegrass with edges electronica. There are a number of great records out there, but almost no one has found this one.