Last Train to Lhasa [LIMITED EDITION] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

Banco De Gaia

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 14, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Limited Edition, Original recording reissued
• Label: Six Degrees
• ASIN: B000065T21
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #96,354 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Banco de Gaia's long-out-of-print masterpiece runs wild with a hypnotic stream of world beat and ambient techno, successfully fusing elements of Eastern and Arabic music that would sound contrived in less talented hands. As a political statement, Last Train to Lhasa's subtle grace is an effective and eloquent way to express the tragic destruction of Tibetan culture in the face of Chinese occupation. But the strength of the listening experience will keep you coming back, regardless of your stance on the issue. The two-disc set jumps from choppy, Goa-style trance ("Kuos") to blue-room chill tunes ("China (clouds not mountains)") and the perfectly integrated chant samples of "Kincajou." Along with de Gaia's 1994 debut, Maya, Train crashed through stylistic barriers as if they didn't exist, helping pave the way for the now fashionable global techno and downtempo styles of artists like dZihan & Kamien and Gavin Hardkiss's Hawke alter ego. Kudos to Six Degrees Records for reissuing the work of this adventurous, reflective artist. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best heard on a long drive, October 1, 2002

By	John Ryan "jaquesryan" (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

I bought this CD on a whim because the name of the capital of Tibet in the album's title attracted me; I had no idea what Banco de Gaia was. And I owned the album for a couple of years before I learned that Banco de Gaia isn't a 12-member multi-ethnic band of cool people as I'd surmised but just one lone Englishman who happens to have a lot of talent.

It's best heard, in my experience, on a long drive. If you're hitting the road for a couple of hours or a couple of days, pack up the car, sit behind the wheel and turn on the CD player as you wheel onto the street. The slow chugging and shrill whistle of a steam engine that begin the CD will get the miles humming by under your feet as you journey through this album.

I must admit that Last Train to Lhasa makes me want to put the pedal to the metal. My two-year-old son also happens to like it -- in fact it's a favorite. I would hate this to turn off potential listeners. I like to think it's something we can both get emotional and intellectual pleasure out of, together -- pretty rare between an adult and a toddler.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An organic, musical, electronic delight, July 19, 2002

By	Brian Dolan (Somerville, MA United States) - See all my reviews

It is such a joy to have this album back in print.

In 1995, Last Train To Lhasa struck me as an amazing fusion of true musicality and electronic sensibility. Sonically, it has an engrossing balance between real and synthesized sounds. The album as a whole (I'm referring mostly to disc 1 of the cd) is cohesive and covers a range of emotion and mood that is and was unusual for a piece of so-called 'electronica'.

Listening to a new copy seven years later, my original long dead, I enjoy it as much as ever. It's a bit less fresh, maybe, or a touch more repetitive than it needs to be, but a wonderful listen all the same. I'm reminded of places & times that I've listened to it before, which probably colors my opinion, but also speaks to its effecitveness. In 1995, I found that this was able open many a rocker's ear to electronic music.

With the exception of Kincajou, which more or less deconstructs a dance track, this album tends to be on the slower side of the tempo spectrum -- you'll be disappointed if you're looking for a dance album. But it's certainly worth your time to check out the samples (even though it's unlikely that they do the album justice), and if you enjoy anything on the slower side of the spectrum, or aren't generally a fan of electronic music I can't recommend this enough.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This album is a journey, May 30, 2002

By	Kevork V. Dikramanjian "kevorkd" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you like an album which will take you on a journey, you have to listen to this one and decide yourself. It is like a landscape changing, as if you are in a train and going through the lands.
Give it a shot, you won't regreat.

/cheers