Eolian Minstrel [Enhanced, Original recording remastered]

Andreas Vollenweider | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 15, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Original recording remastered
• Label: Kin Kou
• ASIN: B001AIG42E
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326,271 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Song of Isolde

2. Across the Iron River (The Return)

3. Reason Enough (All the King's Men)

4. Eolian Minstrel

5. Jaden Maiden

6. The Secret Shrine of Icarus

7. Harvest

8. The Years in the Forest

9. Desert of Rain

10. Private Fires

11. The Five Sisters

12. Painter's Waltz

13. Leaves of the Great Tree

14. Lake of Time

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vollenweider's Addition of Eliza Gilkyson for Vocals/Songwriting Stroke of Genius, October 30, 2010

By 

BayouGus - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Eolian Minstrel (Audio CD)

For Vollenweider fans, this is a very solid CD that will give you plenty of what you love about the ethereal Swiss Master . But Andreas' genius stroke of bringing in Austin, Texas singer/songwriter Eliza Gilkyson to collaborate in songwriting, while adding her beautiful and perfectly integrated vocals to most of the tracks, is what makes the CD great. Carly Simon also makes a smooth as silk lead vocal appearance on one track ( "Private Fires" ). Miss Gilkyson is in top form throughout, and her outstanding vocal range is controlled and subtle. Surprising perhaps to some Vollenweider fans may be the somewhat "pop rock" feel to some tracks ( "Harvest" , "Painter's Waltz" ) and a jazz/folk fusion sound ( "Jaden Maiden" ). Do I hear some Joni Mitchell influence in there? . It all works beautifully. A wonderfully conceived and executed CD. Highlights are the title track "Eolian Minstrel" , "Harvest" , "Desert of Rain" , "Jaden Maiden" , and Simon's "Private Fires". Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good CD, a little more mainstream than his usual work, January 30, 2010

By 

R. Godwin "Rob Godwin" (Phoenix, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Eolian Minstrel (Audio CD)

It sounds like on this one, Andreas Vollenweider shared creative control of his work more than usual. Since most of his other work does not have lyrics, his music normally allows the listener to conjure up their own images. For "Eolian Minstrel", however, nearly each song has vocal by either Carly Simon or Eliza Gylkison, with lyrics co-written by the respective ladies and Andreas. The singers' individual styles heavily influence the pieces that they contributed to. This is not merely AVAF with guest vocalists - this is a different band with music structured a bit differently to accomodate vocals in more of a verse/chorus style.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. Knowing that this CD had vocals on it, I purposely collected nearly every other CD that Andreas had released, since I was uncertain how I'd receive this particular CD. It did not take long to grow on me, and I'm glad that I purchased it. It's been in my CD exchanger for the past 3 months now.

Andreas seems to focus less on his Asian sounds, and more on his "American" sound. Perhaps this is partly due to the fact that Eliza is American (she also contributed acoustic guitar), or perhaps because that form accomodates lyrics more easily. Surprisingly, two songs - "Harvest" and "Painter's Waltz"- could even be considered radio-friendly in America, and Carly Simon's "Private Fires" is instantly recognizable as her work. Eliza is a great vocalist, and her ethereal lyrics are a great fit for Andrea's magical music. And in addition to his amazing harp, Andreas plays cheng, horn flute, bass bamboo flute, renaissance harp...There are a lot of other talented musicians playing an assortment of instruments - guitars, flutes, trumpets, keyboards, accordian, saxophone, clarinet, Pans water pipe, bagpipes, piccolo, drums and percussion.

Anyone who is an Andreas fan should like this one. I would recommend this CD as a starter for someone who is not familiar with his work, as some of the songs have the familiar light rock/country structure compared to his other works. Then if you like the richness of the harp and other unusual instruments, delve into his other works from there.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Andreas Sings!, January 27, 2010

By 

S. Carroll (charlotte - nc) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eolian Minstrel (Audio CD)

This is a 'must have' Cd as it marks the first time Andreas Vollenweider sings and writes lyrics in collaboration with Eliza Gilkyson. There are a few instrumental songs and one Duet with Carly Simon. Themes of songs are Love, World Conditions, and usual creative tangents and paths that Andreas explores. If you have loved Andreas' music but prefer ONLY instrumental then this may not be the CD for you. Check out Eliza Gilkyson's solo music to hear her voice in amazon's Music Sampler. This music lifts the spirit.