Narada World: A Global Vision

Various Artists - International - World/Global

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 8, 1997)
• Original Release Date: April 8, 1997
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Narada
• ASIN: B000005P6E
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #178,887 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
A collection of 29 tracks from almost as many albums, Narada World offers more than 125 minutes of an easily digested assortment of contemporary, mostly instrumental selections that are adorned with varying degrees of international or traditional flourishes. Though some genuinely scintillating works are included here--most notably flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook's two selections and an arresting Persian/Indian hybrid, "Astrae," by the exotic vocal/percussion duo Vas (from Sunyata)--the album is largely an easy-listening collection of modern music embellished with world music accents. This is not such a bad thing. The two-disc set's highlights are its Celtic and Latin/flamenco pieces, which dominate this package. Other tracks include traces of Far East, African, and Native American influences; and on occasion, the juxtapositioning of such far-flung musical styles creates some peculiar segues on the two discs. Yet the overall mood is sanguine and refreshing, a fact that may disappoint earnest world-beat adherents but will satisfy less critical ears. Highlights: "The Road North" by champion Celtic fiddler Alasdair Fraser, Bernardo Rubaja's charming mix of pipes and charango on "New Land," the saintly female vocal offerings of Scartaglen and Connie Dover, and the flamenco dramatics of Oscar Lopez on "Lucia." --Terry Wood

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishingly good collection, September 29, 2003

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

I played this 2-CD set last Sunday and my mate kept running into the room; "Hey, what's that song! It's fantastic." I agreed. This is one excellent selection of world music, and I reach for this CD set again and again.

In particular, the Celtic piece by Orion "Douce Mousitomanie" is hypnotic and soothing--Enya fans will definitely groove to this one. And my favorite, Jesse Cook leads off CD One with exotic "Baghdad" (no meaning here, this CD dates before 9-11 and the invasion.) Cook has a second cut on the second CD "Gravity" and it's as good. He's a wonderful guitarist.

There's so much here that's just SO good that it's hard to point out one track over the others. This is one of the best introductory CD's to world music I know of, along with Narada's annual world anthology World 2002. You can't go far wrong with this CD set.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent sampling of music from around the world., October 13, 1998

By A Customer

Narada has done listeners a great service by producing this compilation of various artists. The global scope and variety enable the listener to experience many kinds of music on one CD. The mellow vocals of Samite; the guitar virtuosity of Jesse Cook; the soaring, beautiful voices of Scartaglen; the composing acumen of Hans Zimmer; all these and more add up to one superb sampling of global music. A very enjoyable listening experience.

4.0 out of 5 stars Serenity in Sound, August 5, 2008

By	Jon Easton (Sumter SC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Alternately foot-stomping on the one hand, and spiritual and serene on the other--this Narada offering is several cuts above the later Best of Narada New Age (2002) which for my ears was painful. This collection (Narada World) is uniformly superior and recommended except for the Brazilian cuts which I found irritating. The music is authentic and well-performed. Because it is excerpted from earlier Narada releases, many of which I own, there is a good deal of repetition. But this is carping and petty. These CD's are superb traveling music--because of the consistency of sound between cuts it plays well in a car CD player, without fooling with volume or equalizer.