blend of calm and more upbeat sounds on one CD - Using flutes and synthesizers, there is a journey that the listener goes on. Including his use of the electric guitar Kitaro sends one on a space flight.The track entitled Circle Dance has strong sounds and is not as relaxing as I prefer for massage, but for suspended conciousness, i.e. to zone out and to perform yoga it is perfect. Some tracks are more staccato or dramatic than others. There is a mix of mellow tracks blended in, that offer sedating melodies. The whole CD seems like it could be a great soundtrack for a future movie.Overall a great CD
Mesmerizing Music - This is a really wonderful work of music. It takes you to a far away place and paints wonderful pictures in your mind. I was impressed with how each piece consistently impressed me, not just one or two of the collection. It is very unique and interesting music.
sacred journey of ku-kai, vol 3 - I love Kitaro and all his work so I am a bit jaded. I started listening to this album wanting to like it. I was very pleased. The way Kitaro fuses the ocean waves and the bells is soothing and stimulating at the same time. It feels like you are there meditating with the flute player and drummer. Very nice.
The Next Step in Kitaro s Musical Pilgrimage - Sometimes Kitaro s music is sublime and sometimes it s sappy, but it always manages to be movingly and yet enjoyably spiritual somehow. Still, this album, volume three of an ongoing series inspired by his pilgrimage along the Shikoku 88 Temple Henro Route (in this case, temples 24 through 31), manages something a bit unusual for him. While unmistakably Kitaro music through and through, it seems somewhat more serene, subdued, and subtle for him, as if his sound is maturing with age. And that while still continuing the mood and tone of the prior two installments of Sacred Journey of Kukai--again nicely mixing in the actual reverberations of each temple s bells into the music, only this time far more organically and unobtrusively, blending it seamlessly into the soundscapes of his instrumentation. Towards the middle of the album he resorts to a few of his stereotypically saccharine whooping swoops (especially with tracks four and five, mainly) but the rest is strangely ambient in a satisfyingly sophisticated manner, with track seven achieving an especially eerie intensity and eight a compellingly alien atmosphere. A bit experimental but not inaccessible. Once again Kitaro has created music that is incredibly representative of the New Age genre at its best while expanding that genre s yet untapped potential.
New spectrum of sound - With this album Kitaro once more demostrates that he is the master of spiritual music. He opens a whole new spectrum of sound for his listeners.