Elements - Island Anthology [Import]

Jade Warrior | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Polygram Int'l
• ASIN: B000001E8F
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,041 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Floating World: Clouds

2. Floating World: Mountains Of Fruit And Flowers

3. Floating World: Waterfall

4. Floating World: Red Lotus

5. Floating World: Clouds

6. Floating World: Rainflower

7. Floating World: Easty

8. Floating World: Monkey Chant

9. Floating World: Memories Of A Distant Sea

10. Floating World: Quba

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Kites: Songs Of The Forest

2. Kites: Wind Song

3. Kites: The Emperor Kite

4. Kites: Wind Borne

5. Kites: Kite Song

6. Kites: Land Of The Warrior

7. Kites: Quietly By The River Bank

8. Kites: Arrival Of The Emperor: 'What Does The Venerable Sir Do?'

9. Kites: Teh Ch'Eng: 'Do You Understand This?'

10. Kites: Arrival Of Chia Shan: Discourse And Liberation

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The notes to Elements: The Island Anthology, a 2 CD set that brings together four mid-'70s titles from Jade Warrior, makes the case for the duo as progenitors of everything from ambient to world fusion sounds. Jon Field and the late Tony Duhig were contemporaries of Brian Eno and explored similar soundscapes, with considerably less long-term fanfare. Don't let the grandiloquent song titles scare you too much. --Steven Stolder

Product Description

UK reissue of the prog-rock act's now deleted 1995 compilation that contains all four of Jade Warriors' 70's Island albums, Floating World, Waves, Kites and Way Of The Sun. Slimline double jewelcase.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Progressive transcendental mellowness, November 14, 2001

By 

TUCO H. "H. TUCO" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Elements - Island Anthology (Audio CD)

The thing to understand about JADE WARRIOR is that they SOUND LIKE NO ONE ELSE, PERIOD (And they are definitely NOT 'New-Age' music, although in some instances they are close to cerrtain meditative moods familiar to Eno or Vangelis listeners). They used to be a King Crimsonish rock group before but at this mid-period in their career they came up with their own completely non-comformist, semi-minimalist philosophy of all-instrumental progressive rock music and they stuck by it, in the face of record company indifference and poor record sales. But now, twenty-five years later, the band has acquired cult status, and though it is a little too late for reunions (founding member and main guitarist Tony Duhig died from a heart attack a few years ago), these old records, and especially this 4 record set deserve a much wider audience. After just the first couple of tracks on "Floating World," 'Clouds' and 'Mountain of Fruit and Flowers,' blast like the Devil out of your speakers and blow you away, you'll know what I'm talkin' about! But wait! That's just 5 minutes, you've still got some 2 and a half more hours to go, and each album is different than the previous one, but almost as uniquely bizarre and meditatively captivating (as an added bonus for Traffic fans, Steve Winwood, one of JW's strongest supporters, who was instrumental in getting them their contract on Island, plays keyboards on the entire second record "Waves").

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The four Best Jade Warrior in One!, March 18, 2004

By 

Carl Johnson "budbear_5000" (Detroit, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elements - Island Anthology (Audio CD)

The first record I ever heard from Jade Warrior was back in 1975 and I heard Waves. Being a Gentle Giant fanatic back then, I was not taken by the band until I heard their 74 album, Floating Worlds. That record melted me, but

Then... Wow. Just wow. WOOAAAWWHHH!

I bought Kites. Kites has more of a classical base structure, yet a bit avant gaurd... and WONDERFUL! I agree that is their best effort ever, but NO Jade Warrior is bad! The Way of the Sun got quite a bit of attention on Detroit public Radio and has a special latin flare to it that you do not hear on the other albums. That is the last record with Island Records in 1978.

I will just summurize by stating that these four records had a lot of influence on the so called New Age Movement, though they are not technically new age. Honestly, there is more passion to their music.

Jade Warrior Island recordings actually have a more acoustic feel to them than electronic. They used orchestra, acoustic & electric guitar,piano, choirs, FLUTE, some acoustic and electric effects, percussion, etc. They were the ultimate studio band. I played them through high school and college and still today now and then. They are compositionally original, musically profient and aesthetically pleasing.

Who do I compare them to? They started out sound Jethro Tullish but by 1974, they moved well beyond that space on to new and orientally flavored horizons. The music might make you cry, feel alive and really heal you. The records will move you.

SIDE NOTE: I think the record company is remastering this but I do NOT know that. The mix on this version (UK, Germany) is excellent except Waves could use a remix. However, this is an Un-challenged spin!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent collection despite poor mastering of "Waves", April 16, 2002

By 

Allen Ray (Mantua, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elements - Island Anthology (Audio CD)

This set is a must-have for those who follow the rather enigmatic career of Jade Warrior, or for anyone interested in an innovative blend of light jazz with Far Eastern/Island/South American sounds featuring multilayered flute and tasteful electric and acoustic guitar. This is extraordinarily picturesque and eclectic music, sometimes being ambient, sometimes boistrous, occasionally even raucous, often strongly rhythmic, and always evocative of wonderful atmospheres and otherworldly landscapes. Stevie Winwood even contributes piano and Moog to "Waves." Musically, "Elements" has much to recommend it.

That said, flautist/percussionist Jon Field himself lamented that he was not involved with the remastering process for this particular anthology. He should have been. While "Floating World," "Kites," and "Way of the Sun" were transfered with reasonably good fidelity, the sonic quality of "Waves" leaves much to be desired. Lots of high-end roll-off and an unnaturally cloistered ambience leads me to believe that they used the wrong kind of processing on it during the transfer. This is especially noticeable on quiet acoustic passages. The effect is like using Dolby C to listen to a cassette tape recorded with Dolby B; it pumps and breathes as the musical dynamics shift, and the extreme processing almost totally removes the natural room ambience of the original recording. Also, the original LP version of this release is said to have had some killer dynamics, especially in the bass frequencies, which were actually challenging for most cartridges to track. (This occurred in the places where the whale sings, I'm told.) Jon Field personally manipulated the eq settings to get the best possible sound from the original vinyl. Alas, these have apparently been altered, which is a pity! I've also heard from other Jade Warrior fans that a few minutes were shaved off the end of this particular work so that it would fit the time constaints of a CD. Then again, each CD has over 77 minutes of music crammed onto it, so there's a lot of truly great material to listen to, sonic imperfections or no. Believe me when I say that what's included more than makes up for the defects!

I highly recommend this set. The price is right, and there's a wealth of great sounds on it. Oh, and don't believe the booklet notes that claim Jade Warrior broke up in the 1980s and never recorded again. In fact, they made four more albums: Horizen(1984), At Peace (1989), Breathing the Storm (1992), and Distant Echoes (1993). Furthermore, another work was begun based around the story of Crazy Horse and some ancient Egyptian stuff, but this has yet to be completed.

Hopefully, the individual Island releases will someday be (re)remastered and available, but for now, you really can't go wrong in getting "Elements." Despite its faults, I'm still able to give it 5 stars.