Customer Reviews

East

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was the album that introduced me to Hiroshima back in 1989. It is very easy to listen to and can take the edge off the traffic jams on your way to or from work.

East offers a relaxing mix of great instrumentals (especially Daydreamer and Streetcorner Paradise) and soothing and moving vocals (especially Come to Me, Tabo, and Thousand Cranes). Each song transitions smoothly into the song following. By this, I mean that the ordering of the tracks was done right and makes for an enjoyable listening experience.

Most of the Hiroshima CDs are good to listen to - it's just that East's sounds are a little smoother and a bit more refreshing than the rest. Highly recommended!

Fab CD. I remember when I got it as a new release in 1989. The music is a delightful combination of old world Nihongo, and spicy and "get your attention" notes in other selections. I remember when listening with my eyes closed, I can visualize the busy Tokyo, or Shinjuku District with "Midtown Higashi", or simply admiring Mt. Fujisan in the distance while seeing the crystal blue skies with the spring cherry blossoms, listening to
"Street Corner Paradise" or "Daydreamer". But beautiful lyrics of a fine and attractive singer Machun, tells many stories about the culture clashes of "Living In America". As part Asian and Native American, their lyrics I can relate all too well. Finally an emotional ending is about the terrible toll war exacts and what one little girls wish was "A Thousand Cranes". I still find it hard to listen to this even today, and more so with the wrongness of the Iraq war. (regardless of your opinion on the situation in the middle East, its still has meaning) Nevertheless the CD is very special as you can see, and its my personal "747" to transport me to a land with so much richness and history that only music can impart. If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what a mind's eye can see! "EAST" is a must buy.

The instrumental, "Daydreamer," is exactly how I feel when my mind wanders off somewhere! "East" has that busy urbanite feel to it, and "Streetcorner Paradise" is so delightful. A fine addition to your Hiroshima collection!

I remember the first time I ever heard of Hiroshima; they performed "DaDa" from their first album on the Johnny Carson show, and I was intrigued with them from there on. Through many personnel changes and some albums that have been better than others, they have a way of either repelling you or making you come back for more. Well, I'd like to say that after finding albums like Odori a bit less than spectacular, Third Generation all over the map, and Go a largely disappointing followup to Another Place, East is truly a wunderkind for the group, by this time wittled down to a quintet. It appears that less is more, and that's what this album mostly delivers. When you get past the not-so-stellar tracks like "Living in America," and the instrumental title track, you have one exceptionally good disc.

"Tabo" is an absolutely beautiful spiritual song that sounds a bit parallell to the teachings of Christ. I have asked some Japanese people who Tabo is, but they seem not to know. If anyone does, I would love to hear from you!

"Daydreamer" has been heard a million times on smooth jazz/new age format radio, and it is still one of their most breathtakingly beautiful instrumentals, verging on a simple childlike melody coupled with sophistication and romanticism in the first degree.

"The Golden Age" is a nice light funk number that pleads for people to be lenient and loving. Nothing wrong with that!

Gorgeous "Street Corner Paradise" is another instrumental winner, once again romantic, and places June Kuramoto's koto in the spotlight moreso here than the other tracks. Her playing is an obvious and distinctive feature of the group, and I always wonder how hard it must be to learn the instrument, but she makes it seem so easy!

"Come to Me" features new vocalist Machun in her best light. A gorgeous pop-jazz song that shows what a stunningly gifted vocalist she is, and it is probably among their best vocal tracks. The group seems to have had problems keeping their femal singers due to so many instrumentals and, though Machun is credited as playing guitar, she is only featured on East. Too bad, because she was their best singer to that point.

"You and Me" is uptempo, moodlifting, and features Dan Kuramonto on a sweet, breezy flute. The piece sounds like new lovers meeting on a corner during a breezy autumn afternoon.

The show stealer here, though, has to be the touching and anthemic "Thousand Cranes," dedicated to the memory of children who suffered from the World War II bombing of Hiroshima, and the hope of life carrying on. Because the song centers on a little girl named Sudako who acquired Leukemia from the bomb radiation, and because two of my relatives have recently passed from the same cancer, this song has a special place in my heart.

If you are looking for a great smooth jazz album with something different than the usual fare, try Hiroshima's East. Easily among their best albums, it boasts of some of their strongest material, their best vocalist, Dan Kuramoto's chisel-like compositional skills, and fine musicianship throughout. Put quite simply, you just can't go wrong, so come along and live in The Golden Age.

Music as found on East just isn't made anymore, and that's a shame. 1989, the year East was released, is akin to Don Mclean's American Pie and the Day (year) the Music Died. Rap was taking over the air waves, we were on the cusp of the Seattle-based grunge movement, and the feel-good 2nd British invasion of the '80's was coming to an abrupt end. It was at this point I shifted to contemporary jazz, and East was one of the first jazz CDs I bought.

So why am I conducting a review of it now, 22 years after East was released? Well, I just reconfigured my sound system, and East is a wonderful way to test out the performance. Every time I demo a new sound system, I use East to test out the system's dynamic range, especially the low end. It is my personal reference standard. The bass track in East isn't heard as much as it's felt in your chest - not a muddy note in the compilation!

East has something for everyone from the beautifully soft ballad of Thousand Cranes to the subwoofer-bustingly powerful The Golden Age and ultimately the perfect co-mingling of the two ends of the spectrum via Tabo. The juxtaposition of the string sounds with the tight, clean, and strong ultra-low frequency bass creates a wonderful listening experience on a sound system that can handle this dynamic range. While East can certainly be enjoyed without a subwoofer, if you don't have a decent one you're missing the power that underlies and lends texture to the beauty of the music on this CD.

Tabo is a very strong and beautiful song. I do not yet own the CD, but I have the Chrystler audio sampler casset and it has Tabo by Hiroshima on it. I always listen to it in the car. I'm considering buying the CD.

I recently played a tape I made off a radio broadcast years ago featuring Hiroshima. It was the song 'A Thousand Cranes', and I knew I must have this cd. Thanks to amazon, I found it at a reasonable price and before long I was playing it at home. I found each song awesome and their playing is superb and totally original, taking me on an imaginary trip "East".
Though these are 3rd generation Japanese Americans, they do an awesome job of creating a an asian flavored pop fusion that brings the listener a unique musical experience.

This CD is Hiroshima at its best. The vocals, instrumetnals, its pace.

Tabo is a very strong and beautiful song. I'm considering buying the CD. I have the Chrystler audio sampler cassette with Tabo by Hiroshima on it. I always listen to it in the car.

But, that isn't bad! The album is quite relaxing after a hard eight hours at work.

Plop it in, open a bottle of Chianti, and just "chill" for a few.

You'll be amazed at the "magic" a little Hiroshima can do.