Customer Reviews

Eolian Minstrel

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been a Vollenveider fan for a long time, though not all of his albums do it for me. I doubted one could ever surpass White Winds. I'm still not sure he'll ever produce a better album, but this one gives it a heck of a run for its money. I was as surprised as the previous reviewers to hear vocals on this album, but I don't think they detract. Admittedly, I generally pay more attention to music than vocals, and some of the lyrics on this album are a bit vapid, but I don't find Gilkyson's vocals jarring as others do. The instrumentation is as brilliant, complex, and varied as ever. I especially like Eberhard Hahn's low winds (bass flute, baritone sax, bass clarinet, and even didgeridoo, which is misspelled in the liner notes). I don't understand other reviewers' comments about the over-Celticness of this album; the songs draw lyrics from fairy tales, The Secret Shrine of Icarus is absolutely Oriental, and Harvest is positively danceable! Curiously, at least on the cassette, the first two songs listed on "B Side" are actually on "A Side." A Side (through The Years in the Forest) is the stronger part of the album in my opinion. Overall, I never fail to be happy I put this album on, and Vollenweider is to be commended for his willingness to experiment with a different style.

Eliza Gilkerson's etheral voice compliments Andreas and all of the harps. The vocal and music are beautiful and very metaphorical for life.

If you're a fan of his previous cd's, you may be disappointed with this one. Far too Celtic for my taste, and it lacked the imagery intrinsic to his other works. AV takes background to vocals on most of the cuts. Although Eliza Gilkyson has a beautiful, lilting voice, I didn't buy this cd to listen to her. This should be a Gilkyson cd featuring Andreas Vollenweider.

As big a fan as I am of AV, I am compelled to only give this 2 stars - one just because it's AV, and the other because it's tolerable for a celtic genre.

If you like Andreas' music, this is just a wonderfull CD. The blend of Harp with voice, strings, and the great beats makes this CD one of Vollenweider's best. I just love the ethereal voices and the feeling of the CD. I just wish Vollenweider would again expand on a similar project. I'd buy it immediately..

This album is totally out of character with Vollenweider's previous releases, and unlike the other reviewers I didn't like it a bit. To me it's a weak attempt at "smooth jazz" with lots and lots of schmultzy vocals. Yuk.

I cannot quite explain why this, along with 'White Winds', is Vollenweider's finest album. Like many other Amazon reviewers on first hearing, I was shocked to hear a woman's voice belting out a proper song. On an Andreas album?! Outrageous!

They may take a few listens, but the songs are of a very high quality. 'White Winds' is immediately accessible; 'Eolian Minstrel' reveals its treasures more slowly.

Andreas regularly reinvents himself -- perhaps in response to the comment of John Schaefer's 1987 book on New Age music that "... Vollenweider has found something that works, and has allowed himself to fall into a rut." Vollenweider has several faults -- and one stands out on track #3, 'Reason Enough', where he allows himself to provide background vocals (!) -- but falling into a rut has not been one of them.

Whereas the Art of Noise seem to insist on anonymity, Vollenweider's photo adorns many of his albums. He's obviously a cheeky chappy who has a way with some of the world's beautiful women, and on this CD, Carly Simon and Eliza Gilkyson, whom I didn't previously know, make this a very special CD.

When I've been compiling my own Vollenweider compilation mini-discs and CD-Rs, this album has contributed more tracks than any other. In playing order, the stand-out tracks are: 'Across the Iron River', the exquisite 'Eolian Minstrel', the very pretty instrumental 'The Years in the Forest', 'Desert of Rain' (which has a somewhat prog-rock solo organ break midway), Carly Simon's wonderful 'Private Fires', and the again quite prog-rock-ish 'Five Sisters'.

The whole album is more up-tempo and more in-your-face than many of Vollenweider's other works, which (no disrespect intended) work very well as aural wallpaper for public places. This is Andreas's equal-best album and is widely under-rated.

In this 1993 release, Andreas Vollenweider branches out stylistically to include English vocals in a collection of songs sung by Eliza Gilkyson and accompanied by Vollenweider and friends in his uniquely jazzy New Age style. The tone of this album tends toward the sweet, sad and cautionary. Gilkyson's wispy, mysterious voice rises dreamily above Vollenweider's intricate electro-accoustic harp and eclectic percussion to offer cryptic lyrics that caution against war and abuse. I think prefer his instrumental work, but this combination of instrumentals and voice is an interesting alternative and a good fit. After this 1993 release, Vollenweider's next CD was 1997's "Kryptos".

This album is one of Vollenweider's most underrated CD. Most people are turned off by the vocals, a sharp departure from the earlier styles of the masterful harpist. However, the vocals meshed perfectly with the sounds of Vollenweider's array of instruments.
I consider Vollenweider's music to be program music. In other words, to understand its many sounds and melodies, one must imagine a magical place, a kinder place, a place that calms and soothes us, or any place that makes us forget our worldly troubles. Vollenweider's music is able to do just that. The vocal tracks in this CD have a mythical quality to it, enhancing the overall experience rather than dampening it.
If you are unfamiliar with the music of Andreas Volenweider, I suggest picking up his Grammy-nomintated 'Down to the Moon' and 'Book of Roses.' Eolian Minstrel is definitely different that the earlier works, but is by no means inferior.

A wonderful mix of voice and instruments. It feels like spying on 16th century bards who stumbled upon modern instruments and play them full of wonder and tenderness. Loved it.

This is my favorite Vollenweider release thus far.An obvious departure for the artist whose prior works have exclusively utilized a blend of arcane instrumental synergies,otherworldly sound effects,mysterious chants,and ofcourse his principal vehicle,the energised harp.It is appropriate that Carly Simon appears as guest vocalist (Private Fires) since she was largely responsible for introducing and popularising Vollenweider with U.S. listeners years ago.Vollenweiders'genius for elemental expression sans the lyrical component is widely known. However, when paired with the vocal skills of Eliza Gilkyson and songwriting from the pair that approaches poetry, you get a tonic for the soul.(Harvest)speaks to the universal human journey with simple but brilliant metaphors that bring further focus to Vollenweiders'compositional acumen. Just buy it and enjoy!!