Customer Reviews

L.A. Los Angeles

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this CD when I was 15, since I had performed to the track "One World" in a dance production and thought I would give it a shot. Hiroshima soon became one of my favorite groups; musicians you could listen to with any emotion which turns into a smile. The whole CD is great, but here are the highlights.

The CD begins and ends with two amazing instrumental tracks: "Voices" and "One World" which cannot be explained in words.
"One Fine Day" is the first vocal track speaking of hope and optimism of everything working out that makes even an evil person like me smile.
"Love and Understanding" a fine tune that shows how this band can deliver entertaining mellow grooves
"Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" a remake of the James Taylor classic of the longing to be held and cared for, just for that night, knowing that things will go back to the way there were in the morning
"Only Love" the crown jewel of this cd: speaking of how only love can "break your heart" and "free your soul"; only love can destroy you and make you fly in the clouds . . .both sides of the emotion are beautifully expressed and I dare you to listen to this track and not cry.

A great CD which will make you want to buy all of their CDs

This CD has one of my favorite songs on it - "One Fine Day." However, I love the rest of the CD as well. It has a wonderful blend of rythmic yet soothing sounds that are sprinkled with a touch of what seems to be a mix of Oriental and African flavors, which would delight my palate if I could eat the music, as it most assuredly delights my ears! It takes me back to my teen years spent on the beautiful island of Okinawa! Bravo Hiroshima!

Laura Berben, Ft. Myers, Fl. famval@cyberstreet.com

Hiroshima's "LA" CD is the best! This is my second CD by this group and I must say I am a new fan of their sound. It has a jazzy, soothing feel, very easy listening. I play this CD on my computer at work(thru the CD drive) which not only entertains me but my clients as well!

As a band Hiroshima had been around since the late 70's and I know of many of their earlier albums but this is the first I've heard all the way through and,truth be told it's an extremely impressive piece of work. Under the direction of Dan Kuramoto the band,very much in the spirit of Sade forged a very individual sound that was all at once both pop jazz and pop/R&B and neither. One of the qualities that made make this band so unique is in fact their Japanese-American heritage. June Kuramoto's spirited koto playing,heard in any kind of jazz for the first time since Yutaka is a marvelous celebration of the hard to play Asian harp and it actually allows for a significant amount of improvisation. The music itself is soulful,jazzy,spiritual and very humanistic. Although they are often catagorized in the "smooth jazz" genre there's only an occasional and brief sax solo that gives that quality away. "Voices","One Love",Once Before I Sleep" and "Live Together" all really bring to mind that spirit very well as each song has a certain softness in the sound but a toughness in the striking rhythms and dark melodies. There are two soulful R&B-pop flavored vocal numbers here sung beatifully sung by Teri Koide. One is the original and optimistic "One Fine Day" as well as a very like minded reinterpretation of James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonley Tonight" and both songs provide an excellent change of pace. "Bop Hop" finds them putting their unique Asian variation on the "jazz-hop" hip-hop/jazz hybrid was excellent results based on musicianship alone,nevermind the high level of songwriting quality involved. "Native Soul" get's a similar effect only on more of a funk-fusion end of things with some imaginative intertwined koto/piano solos that give some extra kick to the heavy rhythms of the songs. The final song is the koto-led contemporary jazz/R&B dance track "One World" that has a very involving melody and could almost act as sort of a theme song for the band itself. Hiroshima already had a really good sized discography built up by the time this album came out in 1994 and it was pleasing that during this time of a lot of cookie cutter pop jazz coming out this band was maintaining so much of it's own original spirit and integrity as well as creating of it's best overall albums.

I thought nothing could top the songs of the "Go" album but I was wrong. In Hiroshima's previous songs, "Hawaiian Electric", "Go" and "No.9" from their "Go" album makes their work on the genre a smooth groove that I can personally appreciate. This album is truly a good album as well, specifically the song, "Hop-Bop". The song takes on a smooth groove that any jazz enthusiast can truly enjoy.

I only recently discovered this talented group. Unlike the boring "smooth jazz" sound that is often called "elevator music", this group's sound has a distinctive Asian flavor that is enjoyable to listen to because of their creative use of rhythms, melodies and instruments. This album contains both "soft" and "high energy" songs. I do not think it reaches the same level of creativity and musicality as their more recent album Little Tokyo, which I highly recommend, but this album is still a very nice collection that is fun to listen to.

Track 1 -- mystical exuberance
Tracks 6,9 -- peaceful relaxing with exotic instruments
Track 8 -- passionate longing vocals.

In the spirit of Hiroshima, a great modern jazz album. A must for Hiroshima fans.

I feel its one of Hiroshima's best cd