Customer Reviews

Gaia

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This Kitaro CD is one of the lushest, most ravishing of all. A fusion of spirit and nature. If there was music in the Garden of Eden, this would be it. It is the essence of Mother Earth singing to us.

His music flows and ebbs in so many ways. He is the master of his art and is one of the better composers of this time. Your mind can take the journey into a realm that is not quite human, but is deeply moving and spiritual. It envolves the mind, body and spirit which he implements to the fullest to make the best mixture of nature, music and spirit. I could not recommend a better CD to anyone who wants to relax or meditate and feel the moods of emotion that he lets the listener become a part of. Music this good should be shared by all.

I only began doing dynamic meditation about a month ago (Jan 10, 2000), and I have been a fan of Kitaro since about 1989, but imagine my surprise when the one directing the initial meditations used Kitaro! Anyway, I picked up this CD just to supplement my library of meditation music, and was pleasantly surprised with the power and feeling behind the music. If you're looking for a great CD that truly evokes a nature-loving consciousness, this is it!

This work though recognisably Kitaro is very Japanese and comes across as his "roots" music. If you just enjoy the melodic tracks such as Silk Road or Koi, you might find this a challenge but keep on going to the end cos Track 6 incorporating some spinetingling wailing is nothing short of sublime. Turn down the lights and turn up the volume - and be transported.

I'm not a huge fan of Kitaro. Yes, he's a prolific electronic composer, but productivity doesn't necessarily equal quality.

Kitaro's impressive output aside, much of his instantly recognizable music is same-sounding and unaffecting (i.e. stellar as opposed to cardiac). He's not the type of artist that makes me rush to buy his latest release.

His music has over the more recent years also become a little too Yanni-like bombastic for my liking. I prefer his earlier more quieter and modest records, from the Eighties and Nineties. Toward The West (1985), for instance, I play quite often, and includes one of my most-cherished Kitaro songs: the surprisingly melodious, emotionally-laden and uplifting Auspicious Omen. Considering that Jon Anderson is one of my favorite singer-songwriters, I also enjoy Kitaro's 1999 collaborative album, Dream, especially the two spine-tinglingly beautiful ballads: Lady Of Dreams and Island Of Life. (Though it is Jon Anderson that provides much of the heart here, what with his irreplaceable and invaluable, moving and majestic vocals.)

As for Gaia Onbashira (1998), for me it's the musician's capstone. It is distinguishable among Kitaro's oeuvre due to its refreshing departure in sounding more natural than synthetic. Included here are some non-electronic instruments for a change, other than just his signature synthesizer. Besides electric guitar, in parts we also can hear bird-calls and what sounds like a babbling stream. Dissimilar to most of Kitaro's CDs, Gaia Onbashira (6 tracks; 49:20) is less spacey and contains a much-welcome indigenous ingredient; the album makes you feel like you're outdoors rather than in a recording studio, which I like.

Two tracks, in particular, are outstanding.

The opener, Yamadashi, is a 13-minute-long, slowly evolving composition highlighted by an amazing, belted chant that begins at about the 7-minute mark (and which lasts for roughly two minutes), whereupon it segues into and is topped off by a musical passage that begins at 9:35 - a catchy and repeated phrase that impresses itself upon the mind and lingers there long afterwards, and which carries out the opus until its spectacular, climactic ending. Wow! Yamadashi is exotic, powerful, and memorable and so different in style than much of Kitaro's sound.

Wood Fairy is another notable track. It's my favorite Kitaro song of all. Like its song title says, it takes the listener to a magical place home to storybook forest fays.

Gaia Onbashira is vintage Kitaro and unlike anything else he has produced.

This CD is very nice! This CD is my favorite one. It's very good to listen it, and, of course, to meditate with. I really enjoy Kitaro for my meditation moments.

i started to love New Age Music by listening Kitaro and this will go on with Kitaro again. and now he is a shining star with his new CD Gaia. Doumo Arigatou , KITARO !!! (in japanese : thank you very much Kitaro) this CD is the best for new beginners as well as all fan of New age.

With the release of Gaia, Kitaro proves once again that he is one of the most talented artists of our time. Gaia Onbashira is a MUST for any serious Kitaro fan and a very welcome addition to anyone's music collection. This album gets into your soul and stays there.

This is Kitaro's most moving CD ever! I'm dancing to it so much I think I'm even losing weight!

Well, with this work Kitaro just did what any fan could ask for..... a master piece, My advice run and buy it, anywhere near you..