The Isle of Dreaming [IMPORT]

Kate Price

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 25, 2000)
• Original Release Date: April 25, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Europe Generic
• ASIN: B00004SQW4
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,846 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Weaving masterful dreamscapes centered around angelic vocals and expertise on the four and a half octave, hundred stringed hammer dulcimer, Kate Price creates contemporary international folk fusion of classical, jazz and ethnic music using instruments from many cultures. The Isle of Dreaming, Price's beautifully realized follow-up to her 1997 OMTOWN debut, Deep Heart's Core, is an emotional, multi-faceted journey from darkness to light featuring cello, classical guitar, Nyckleharpa, sitar, electric sitar, tabla, Nigerian udu, oboe and English horn.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the artist speaks, September 29, 2000

By	Katryn Price (Occidental, Ca USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read these reviews and thought I should join the conversation. I am deeply touched that there are people out there who comprehend my creative efforts, and I want to take this opportunity to address an issue that has plagued me for 15 years... I am not a Loreena-wanna-be. The music industry and fans alike have compared me to her ever since the release of my 1993 recording THE TIME BETWEEN, and I am truly flattered to be in such splendid company. However, there are as many differences as there are similarites. THE ISLE OF DREAMING is a unique recording. It is the next evolution of my creative self. The tonal pallette is very diverse- ancient instruments and time signatures used in contemporary composition. My compositions are rather organic, and sometimes they do take some time to get inside of.. hence the reviewer that said it improves with subsequent listening. I hope that you are adventurous enough to enter the realm of my music, and I hope that you are delighted once you do. It is my goal to illuminate beautiful inner vistas- to take you on a journey you may not have taken any other way, and make soulful contact by doing so. Blessings...

67 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential listening, January 14, 2001

By	Cabir Davis - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Despite being a fierce fan and defender of Loreena McKennitt and Eithne ni Bhraonain, I must say that on many levels, Kate Price's work transcends both of theirs'. The reason for this is complex, but anyone who has picked up this CD will realize why Ms. Price scores higher than the other picks of her clan.

I agree with other reviewers, and Kate herself who says that it takes repeat listening to get into this album the way it should be listened to. There are a couple of remarkable things about this recording :

a) It is utterly original. While Enya tamely relies upon her older hits to lead the way, regarding tone and voice, Kate Price weaves new magic with unusual, yet completely mesmerising instruments, most notably the sitar, which finds a surprisingly suited home on this collection. I have no idea how many instruments she plays herself, but the end result is nothing short of breathtaking. Drawing upon Persian influences, and Celtic nomad chants, Kate has created an album that is timeless.

b) Kate's voice. While certainly not as keen-like as Loreena, Kate has a voice that works well on most scales. The only peeve I have is that she doesn't let her words flow into one another, and the pauses and breaks between each word are often perceptible, and it feels like shes reading off a page than singing from her soul, but once you overlook this, the rest of the ride is sheer perfection. Kate's own dialect and pronounciation is at one both British and American, lending it a quaint likeability.

c) The length of the album. Though there are eight tracks, this is a comprehensive, and compelling album throughout. It is not short and abrupt as Enya's latest CD, nor is it careless in its' rendering.

d) There are no 'fillers'. Each track stands out as unique.

e) It is intensely spiritual. Meditators and Yoga freaks would do well to get their hands on this as this is New Age music at its purest and classiest. Forget all those pseudo-chanters like Secret Garden. Kate Price is where its at.

I hope this review has been of help. I got this CD while randomly searching the Web, and I don't regret for a moment the money I spent on it. It is beautiful, and artistic, and one of the best female New Age albums of all time - right up there with Enya's 'Watermark', and Loreena's 'The Mask and Mirror'. In some ways, its even better than those two classics. Kate Price is an acquired taste, but once savored, its a delight you will enjoy relishing, time and again.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eureka!, August 13, 2003

By	Simon Lowrie (Devon, England) - See all my reviews

I wonder if you've reached this quiet page the way I first did: by floating down the tributaries and backwaters of the endless amazon, wandering from list to list and reference to reference, seduced by ecstatic cries from strangers, but wary of them also - for if you believed but a fraction of their claims, you would be bankrupt by tomorrow. Perhaps by now you are on unfamiliar waters, many miles away from the landmark album with which you started your chase for something beautiful. If so, haul your canoe up the riverbank and rest your weary ears, for you might just have found it.

First read the reviews, because they happen to be true. All they omit to mention is the outstanding quality of the recording itself, making this even more of a joy if you have a good system. Now click the grungy lo-fi clips of Ms Price playing her hammered dulcimer. If you howl in pain and rip your headphones off - as I do myself at most of these picnics by the waterside - then bon voyage and better luck with the next siren who sees your boat and lures you in. But if the flavour of the music interests and intrigues (and that is the most one can fairly expect from these little droplets of sound) I do hope it leads to your buying this wonderful and special piece of work.