Customer Reviews

Land of Merlin

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This has got to be one of the best CD's I have ever listened to. Put the music on, darken the room, and let it take you on a journey to relaxing places in your mind. You may not want to come back.

Monet put his impressionistic images on canvas with paint. Mark puts his on disc with synthesizers. Both artists share many common characteristics. However, Monet was a true pioneer, a genius and a trail-blazer. And that is what makes his art truly great. Mark, on the other hand, is a premier new age impressionist. There are no new trails being blazed here. This is truly beautiful music, however, even more beautiful than his earlier album, 'Standing Stones of Callanish'. In particular, I especially enjoy track 7, "A Perilous and Mystical Journey", with its haunting bell that tolls mournfully in the background throughout much of that movement. Truly beautiful music, nostalgic, richly layered, and melancholy. If you like romantic impressionism, and if you want a rose-coloured portrait of the age of Merlin and Arthur, then look no further: you will love this album.

It is extremely peaceful, soothing and pleasant

The same sonic treatment as 'The Standing Stones of Callanish', Land of Merlin has all the atmosphere (crying gulls, waves crashing on the shore) but it seems a little diluted compared to TSSOC. Jon does experiment more with textures and this does benefit a couple of tracks with a magical feel, 'Merlin and the Unicorn' in particular. However, Merlin is the start of a collection of albums Jon Mark has produced using the same musical formula and, to be honest, it all gets a bit samey.
If you are a fan of TSSOC then Merlin is certainly a worthwhile purchase. The later albums are debatable but if you love Jon's 'sound' then go right ahead.

This follow up to 1988's "Standing Stones of Callanish" is a really beautiful and haunting album that maintains some of the ambience of the former but has a much sweeter and far less melancholy sound and is more Celtic in sound. "The Child Grows" is so beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes. This is a must-have for New Age fans.

I was searching very long for good Celtic music. I don't like Enya and other popular bands, but when I listened this work, I was amazed - really good music composed with sense and harmony.

Amazon has the best Celtic music around

A magical, musical Celtic CD loved by all my friends who have heard it, and myself of course. Lilting harmonies are soothing and relaxing -- I fall asleep to the music every night. Great music at a great price. The Land of Merlin is a good buy.Land of Merlin

This record is a masterpiece of this kind of music, but please correct the Product Description: Jon Mark was born in England!

I'd hate to accuse any artist of plagiarism, but I just can't think of any other words to describe Jon Mark's style of music. It's very outdated, monotonous, dull, and sounds too much like watered-down versions of Steve Roach's vastly superior works of the early 1980's. Whether or not this has anything to do with Mark being on the same record label as Roach, I don't know. All I do know is that if you're looking for good music, you won't find it here. Also notice how the historical facts in Mr. Mark's liner notes are historically inaccurate. He refers to Arthur as "King of England". Arthur was actually the "King of the Britons", in a time before England ever existed. He also states his native Cornwall as being the "most westernly part of the British Isles". The British Isles consists of both the UK, Ireland, and all other islands within that region, many of which are more western than Cornwall. As a matter of fact- Cornwall is only the 4th most western part Great Britain alone, following the Ardnamurchan Peninsula(Argyll, Scotland), Morvern Peninsula(Argyll, Scotland), and Rhu Spit(Inverness, Scotland) respectively. 1 out of 5 stars.