Bardo

1. Dorian Dervishes

2. Bardo

Bardo,Peter Michael Hamel,Kuck Kuck Records,Contemporary Instrumental,Ethnic Fusion,Minimalism,Neo-Classical,New Age / Meditation,Pop

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Average customer rating: Great East meets West fusion with pioneer players Indo-Jazz Fusion at its most sublime Fusion fission Stunning musicianship Hellborg still improves

Good People in Times of Evil Jonas Hellborg , Shawn Lane , and V. Selvaganesh Manufacturer: Bardo Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music Fusion & World Fusion | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Icon Personae Time Is the Enemy Paris Kali's Son ASIN: B000050I2S Release Date: 2000-11-10

Tracks:

1. Aga of the Ladies
2. Savitri
3. Leal Souvenir
4. Bhakti Ras
5. Who Would You Like to Be?
6. Uma Haimavati

Amazon.com

There are strong links between this group and John McLaughlin's recently reconstituted Shakti. Bassist Jonas Hellborg was once a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and percussionist-vocalist V. Selvaganesh is a member of the current Shakti. Like that group, this trio--with Hellborg's regular partner Shawn Lane on guitar--plays an accelerated fusion of Indian and western elements with a mix of amplified and acoustic strings and subcontinent drumming. Given those similarities, though, the trio finds terrain of its own, from the country drawl of Lane's guitar on the opening "Aga of the Ladies" to the spy film insinuations in "Who Would You Like to Be?" Technique and rhythmic interplay here are consistently at an extraordinary level. Lane, sometimes suggesting McLaughlin, has done a remarkable job of mastering the pitch-bending intricacies of raga. On "Savitri," he even combines it with his own Southern rock flavor. "Little Souvenir" includes a duet between Hellborg and Selvaganesh in which the bassist manages to extend funk-slap electric bass playing to the complex, high-speed metrics of Indian music. An impressive technical feat, it's also a creative one. "Bhakti Ras" provides a striking change of pace. Recorded in concert in India, it has Ustad Sultan Khan joining the group on sarangi, an Indian bowed string instrument. He uses its keening metallic resonance to create a mood of striking depth. The playing here is always impressive, as is the way these musicians speak their hybrid tongue, but it's the spirited interplay and occasionally welling calm that endure. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Great East meets West fusion with pioneer players.......2006-03-31

Ive been a fan of all 3 seperate musicians from this recording. Shawn from Black Oak Arkansas, Jonas from the revamped Mahavishnu, and Salvaganesh from the recent Shakti. Suffice to say I was really excited to open this and listen. From start to finish this recording reeks of great tones from all. Everyone shines in their solo spots and the songs themselves are rhythmically sophisticated. This is the kind of stuff that great musicians are made from. Ive since gotten the dvd and its just as incredible. Go out and get this, a wealth of learning material and good sounding too.

Indo-Jazz Fusion at its most sublime.......2005-08-24

This album is startling - and is the best in its genre save, Shakti's Natural Elements. The individual virtuosity never once compromises the integrity of the ensemble.

A must buy for anyone who's a fan of Shakti, Trilok Gurtu and the rest.

Fusion fission.......2003-10-27

A great collection of tunes from Jonas Hellborg performed with masterful assurance by Hellborg, musical comet Shawn Lane on guitar and the V.Selvaganesh on percussion. The instrumentation by it's very nature sets this group a litle apart from say Shakti. The mix isn't the best i've heard but i really don't care because the music reaches through it. Personally I could do with a little less of the vocal-percussion thing. Many western musicians are so fascinated by this ancient Indian technique that renders any rhythm through the voice itself with no need for an instrument, that they include large segments of it that are quite unnecessary, and there is one of those on this album. That's about all the negatives I can think of! On the other side, the players are simply smoking, the renditions are live, and the interplay between the Memphis guitarist, Swedish bass player and Indian percussionist just smashes the illusion of music having any sort of boundaries or cultural barriers. Of course the music is based on Hellborg's study of Indian classical music, mainly the Carnatic tradition, but Lane's chameleonic improvisations morph into a myriad shapes, colors and styles sometimes in the same line! Like no other player I've heard, he is able to bring focus his tremendous vocabulary into improvised bursts that really transport the tunes someplace else. When you think of how simply constructed both the ganjira and the ghatam are, the life Selvagenesh breathes into them is extraordinary. Of course, Hellborg is in a class by himself among contemporary musicians. The thing I admire most about this album (like other Hellborg Lane collaborations) is that it was obviously conceived without even the slightest thought of so much as a market, let alone sales, charts and the like. This gives it a quality of integrity that is rare. An exceptional release.

Stunning musicianship.......2003-10-20

"Technique and rhythmic interplay here are consistently at an extraordinary level." This statement is absolutly true. Another one is false, I suppose. This music was not recorded live in India but in an Italian studio, in Spoleto. Anyway, the music contened in this cd is exceptional. It is quite similar to the kind of fusion between indian and western music played by John McLaughlin's Shakti. I think you have to love this kind of musical situation to fully enjoy this compilation. The music you can find here is really indian in a sense. The form is raga, a modal kind of music where you have a pedal (a single gravitational note, a single fixed chord used as base) running for the full lenght of the track. The kind of rhythms are sure indian but with some kind of western flavour here and there. On this "statical" base musicians improvise melodically but more than anything else rythmically on a certain scale. The thing that is really important to listen to is the interplay going on between the musicians, here at an extraordinary level. For what concerned the single musician, Hellborg has developed a stunning slap technique on the bass to fully render this kind of music. Selvaganesh is absolutly outstanding both on vocals and percussions. He is a one man band. The things he can do rythmically and melodically are unbelievable. He is probably the best indian musician in the world. Shawn Lane, well, he belongs to a separate category. He's one of my all time favourite musician. I can't do justice to his guitar playing with simple words. Some people say Petrucci is a master. If this is true, how should we call Lane? God? The only complaint, for what I am concerned is in the mixing. Lane is often mixed too far, his lines are not always perfectly audible. He is not really in front of the listener when he is soloing. He is a little too far ... the rythmn section is too loud. Anyway, apart from this, this album contains a spectacular collection of improvisations.
Ciao Shawn, I'm so sad you're gone. Stay in peace.

Hellborg still improves.......2003-07-29

Sweedish bass player (or bass guitarist) Jonas Hellborg has been picking up from where Jaco left off years ago. Showing how the electric bass can be used to play huge chords, accompany itself, and drive the melody of a song. More intelligent use of the bass then even Jaco dreamed of Hellborg continues to astound on this disc. His playing is smooth, virtuosic, intelligent, and original. He's no mindless showoff like Wooten, and he plays better. Shawn Lane finally learns that other musicians play on these albums and offers his best playing since Temporal Analogues of Paradise, the solo on the final track is truly inspired. Like a funky, blues inpired, jazz fused Indian, if you can imagine such a thing. Selveganesh plays absolutely amazing and shows this rockin' couple that a Ghatam can easily replace a drum kit. This is what Shakti should of done when they came back. It is true world fusion, not just a visit to things that have been done before with new instrumentation. Hellborg is still the best composer that fusion has ever seen. This is the first time I have truly understood why Hellborg chose to play with Shawn Lane. The next album with these three, Icon, showed me why Shawn may be the best alive.

Average customer rating: Visceral Electric Jazz Fusion IT DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS Amazing! Jazz/Metal, not for the faint of heart This is an amazing disc!

Personae Jonas Hellborg & Shawn Lane Manufacturer: Bardo Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Germany | Continental Europe | Europe | International | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Time Is the Enemy Icon Good People in Times of Evil Paris Temporal Analogues of Paradise ASIN: B00005YDN7 Release Date: 2002-02-26

Tracks:

1. Time Is The Enemy
2. Rag B/B
3. Personae
4. Heretics
5. Hell Is Other People
6. Rice With The Angels

Customer Reviews:

Visceral Electric Jazz Fusion.......2005-08-24

This album has the power and imagination of vintage Mahavishnu and Lifetime. The band really burn on this one. Simply superb.

Shaw Lane was the the unsung hero of jazz rock guitar. Technically as facile as a Mclaughlin or Corryell, with the visceral sonic power of a Sharrock or Hendrix

IT DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS.......2004-06-13

When Shawn Lane died in 2003, only the most esoteric reaches of the guitar world recognized what a contribution he had made to the instrument. Here he is teamed up with just about the only other bass player and drummer you could ever imagine him with. Hellborg and Sipe compliment Shawn so uncannily, it's almost a match from another universe, and it adds up to a mindblowing musical experience. These guys create musical excitement that very few bands can ever achieve. When they lock in together, you find yourself lunging for the volume control because you want to be more and more blasted away by their mastery. You can't stick a credit card between these guys, they are so tight, and keep in mind this is a live recording. Some people have mentioned that Shawn might have been the fastest guitarist ever, and when you hear him on Rice with the Angels, you very clearly see why they would say that. He lets loose with such an absolute hailstorm of notes it almost seems impossible someone could be producing these sounds. I don't know if Joe Satriani or Steve Vai ever asked Shawn to join them on the G3 tour, but my guess is they would think it wasn't helpful for their job security. Anyway, if you want to hear the superlative power fusion trio of our time, don't miss this album!

Amazing!.......2003-02-19

I was first introduced to Hellborg with his "Octave of the Holy Innocents" album. I have learned to love the creativity and pure insanity of this fusion artist. This album is shred-fest 2002. Everyone of the musicians are top notch and play with such perfection. For anyone out there who is into Fusion/Prog/Shred, this is a definite must for your collection!
One of my first thoughts on this c.d was that the music wasn't that organized and it was kind of improv. The more I listened to it, the more I realized how organized the construction of every song actually is. BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

Jazz/Metal, not for the faint of heart.......2002-12-22

Hellborg is a wizard on the bass, fondling it sweetly one moment and slapping it silly the next, while keeping a solid foundation for Shawn Lane's warp 10 fretwork.
As I've heard Hellborg & Lane on Michael Shrieve's "Two Doors", a couple of the tracks on Personae were familiar to me. They still kick [...], but I was looking for some fresh territory.
After I got over that, I was very pleased with the CD.
"Rice With The Angels" has Lane doing some incredibly fast and consistent runs that knock me for a loop every time I hear them.
A definite must hear for any rock guitarist. It'll take you places you've never been to.

This is an amazing disc!.......2002-09-17

Well...where do I begin. Well, for starts, I will claim this disc a treasure. Thru both persistance and curiousity I have aquired something that is truly inspirational. It has the right blend of attitude, rawness, and that extra special chutzpah that puts it into that special pantheon of other recordings that have had a similar effect on me. The select guitar albums in this pantheon are, Zappa's 'Shut Up N' Play Yer Guitar', Holdsworth's 'The Sixteen Men Of Tain' & Vai's 'The Ultra Zone' & 'Passion & Warfare'. 'Personae' is included with these pivotal and amazing recordings. It honestly does. These select recordings make me really wanna play. I definately can't carry a conversation or do anything else when listening to these and they suck my 'guitar-freak' mind into a unexplainable vortex. I've listened to the album more than a dozen times in a 3 day period. It was pricy but worth every cent. It hit me big time. It's theory may be heavily rooted in jazz improvisation but it totally rocks and rips with grace and beauty. I'm really glad I got this. 2 Big thumbs UP.

Average customer rating: look no further Encyclopedia of Shred Everything of Shawn's is10 stars

Time Is the Enemy Jonas Hellborg & Shawn Lane Manufacturer: Bardo Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Personae Temporal Analogues of Paradise Good People in Times of Evil Icon Paris ASIN: B000095J8H Release Date: 2004-03-30

Tracks:

1. Heretics
2. Wherever You Walk
3. Space Time Continuum
4. Kings Letter
5. Barua a Soldani
6. Time Is the Enemy

Customer Reviews:

look no further.......2007-06-27

I bought this based on reviews I've read regarding Jonas Hellborg's playing. This line up, Hellborg ,Sipe and Lane is quite simply the best you will ever hear. This is improv and interplay at it's zenith. Buy this and you will end up buying everything by them you can get your hands on.

Encyclopedia of Shred .......2007-03-31

Make no mistake about it, this album is a fusion masterpiece and "Time is the Enemy" itself is maybe the ultimate Shawn Lane track and one of the most mind-blowing demonstrations of guitar virtuosity ever. Two other versions of this track exist on official albums that I know of (a slightly faster but more out-of-control and metal-sounding one on "Personae" and an excellent early one on the Michael Shrieve "Two Doors" album) but this one is by far the best.

At a breakneck tempo with Sipe & Hellborg behind him raising the heat and slow-burn controlled intensity to a level mere mortals would spontaneously combust from, Lane takes off and starts flying, soaring, unleashing nearly every lick in his formidable arsenal in lightning fast, endlessly creative patterns and runs and with consummate taste and a tone that's one of the purest he's ever achieved on any record. Just when you think the solo couldn't get more intense and there couldn't be any more thousand note runs to play or that maybe Shawn would simply get exhausted and lose control from all that non-stop shredding, he ups the ante and keeps going and then does it again, time after time, with such perfect control that would make even Frank Gambale's or Allan Holdsworth's jaws drop to the floor. Now, Shawn has always had incredible speed, even back when he was a member of Black Oak Arkansas at 16 years of age (for a demonstration check out the you-tube videos) but the level of his playing and especially his musicianship once he hooked up with Hellborg jumped up about 10 notches from the already high place it occupied.

To me this one, "Abstract Logic" and "Temporal Analogues of Paradise" are the masterpieces of Shawn's electric fusion-period output with Hellborg and Sipe (and Kofi Baker, Ginger Baker's son on Abstract Logic). I also love Lane's acoustic playing on the Indian fusion albums "Icon" & "Good People in Times of Evil," those are both classics. These albums are Shawn's real legacy and truly represent his most mature output as an artist and telepathic improviser. They will ensure the spread of his fame and legend as the years go by. His post humous fame will far exceed his lifetime recognition.

As for Hellborg, the man is a rock of indestructible integrity and despite the irreplacable loss of Shawn, still keeps putting out incredible albums one after the other, the most recent ones being "Kali's Son," (electric, groove-oriented and meditative Indian fusion) and the "Paul Hanson, Jonas Hellborg, Jeff Sipe" album which is a trio fusion album featuring the scariest sounding, most intense Bassoon licks played in the history of the instrument. That album has been out for a while and for some reason is not for sale at amazon. Do yourself a favor and go pick it up at the fusion-specific abstractlogix site. While you're there, you might also want to pick up the Jeff Sipe "Art of the Jam" album, another furious and unrelenting barnstormer Hanson and Hellborg play on in addition to a great guitar player named Shane Theriot.

Everything of Shawn's is10 stars.......2005-08-11

What can i say? Even though I don't like every second of every album the good parts make up for it 10 times over. The ripping solos are just beyond belief as usual. If you get Shawn you know what I mean so nuff said. 10 Stars

Average customer rating: Something wonderful and different the Eternal signifier Simply amazing music ICON not get into some of this Stunning Musicianship! But the Music is...........

Icon Jonas Hellborg , and Shawn Lane Manufacturer: Bardo Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Good People in Times of Evil Personae Time Is the Enemy Paris Kali's Son ASIN: B00007FZHY Release Date: 2003-01-21

Tracks:

1. Anchor
2. Mirror
3. Vehicle
4. Escape

Customer Reviews:

Something wonderful and different .......2006-01-22

I suggest that you listen to parts of this album before you purchase it-its not like anything ive heard before so description is a bit difficult-try Indian jazz for a concept-and thats not enough .............

if you are open minded and somewhat eclectic in your musical taste - it should be a great reward - it is structured music but has the feel of a wonderful mix of traditional Indian music as a basis for a jam session-ie free spirited virtuosity-yet with a hint of club mix at times-the interaction between the musicians is wonderful-typical of Indian music as well as jazz-you can hear the 'conversations' and its super

this is a wonderful mixture-i happen to love music, indian music and guitar - Lane's guitar work is wonderful-tight yet soaring-multi faceted in ways Ive not heard before-guitar into sitar at times, the tracks are relatively lengthy-so it really is an unfolding story-good for a serious listen or as a wonderfully stimulating ambience as well

i am familiar with some of the style of "racket" presumably referred to by an earlier reviewer-(a description which leaves me at a loss-)

The first track opens with an Indian style of vocal in which sylables are used as a percussive technique-like Sheila Chandra-its actually pretty cool IMHO -but thats ony a portion of the first track...theres so much more....good for dinner with friends, headphones, relaxing, and more intimate settings as well.........this is like trying to describe a rainbow -words cant do it...after all it is music...

the Eternal signifier.......2004-07-17

rarely does music overcome the laberynth of signs, of language. when it does, it reaches into an abyss of void that we cannot begin to classify with mere words or scales or laws. perhaps it is something we forgot after the fall. perhaps it is god. perhaps we do not know at all, but in the solidarity of knowing it is there we find Solace. ICON precisely seeks this point of transcendence, where different scales and language and signs melt into an icon of fiery peace, an icon for a thing that burns inside us all. this is art that must be lived, art that exlodes the Will into the voices of musicians from different corners of this small earth. A must for students of Benjamin and Schopenhauer. josedelhorno@yahoo.com

Simply amazing music.......2004-07-11

This is possibly my favorite CD I own. The musicianship, as well as the music, is simply stunning. Shawn Lane does some of his most beautiful playing on Icon. If you enjoy Indian fusion music, this CD is a must have.

ICON not get into some of this.......2004-05-18

I like the tracks "Mirror" and "Vehicle" very much in fact and listen to them at work on my PC. On these two tracks Lane and Hellborg are prominent and the reason I bought the CD. Haven't tried it yet, but was wondering whether it's worth trying to meditate to "Vehicle", if I can remember to take it home; I do not like the other two tracks "Anchor" and "Escape" however. The percussionists' verbal play mimicking their instruments is tiring to me, it's the reason I gave "Good People in Times of Evil" only two stars. I read an interview with Lane once about singing his leads like the like these Indian percussionists sing their parts, and so to me anyway, it seems like an endless over-indulgent exercise in "practicing", if it had been kept to a minimum, it would have been OK.

Stunning Musicianship! But the Music is..................2004-02-04

Let me put it this way, I think this music isn't music. In fact, I think most of this album is noise and racket. I really hated this album. I don't like Indian music at all. The only reason I bought this album was because this was guitar virtuoso Shawn Lane's last album. I didn't particularly care for his musical direction in the end, but I will say this: he was truly one of the most amazing guitar players I have ever heard and will probably ever hear. The reason I gave this album two stars was because Lane simply played an incredible guitar solo on the second song "Mirror." His tone and delievery were astounding on this song. Anyway, like I said I got this album because it was Lane's last album and I am a collector of Lane's music no matter how bad it is. Lane's passing and the fact that his music is unbelievably hard to find are the reasons why I bought this album.

Average customer rating: (sigh) sad Hellborg is awesome Jonas stop!! Your Ruining every up and coming Bass Player!!! Nothing short of phenomenal Jonas does it again !

Kali's Son Jonas Hellborg Manufacturer: Bardo Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Sweden | Scandinavia | Europe | International | Styles | Music India | India & Pakistan | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Reggae | International | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Paris Personae Good People in Times of Evil Icon Abstract Logic ASIN: B000BMSY46 Release Date: 2005-11-08

Tracks:

1. Kalis Son
2. War Games
3. Shri Shri Vikkuji
4. Plastic Puja
5. Kali Ghat
6. Brightness

Customer Reviews:

(sigh) sad.......2007-03-05

I've liked Hellborg's other musical endeavors, but his newer album's have something wrong with them. The word 'lame' comes to mind. 'lackluster' is another. 'Monotonous'. Ok, it's boring. The stuff with Shawn Lane and Shrieve is great. Get it.

Hellborg is awesome.......2006-10-02

This is the first time I listen to a J. Hellborg album. He is simply amazing: fast, accurate, melodic. This cd should be considered and listened by anyone who appreciates music in general. Most of my cd collection is composed by prog rock or metal, and I found in this album the same emotions, complexity and energy. The music here is complex, wonderful and misterious. The zitar (or sitar) sounds so different from what I am used to. For prog rockers and metal fans, if you want to hear an exotic, indian version of Gordian Knot check this one out.

Jonas stop!! Your Ruining every up and coming Bass Player!!!.......2006-05-02

Yea, the Sweedish guy does it again. I am listening to this right now, and I can't beleive it. The last song is sick. I love the background effects in the album. Bass Player magazine and others of that elk simply have no idea about what this man (Mr. Hellborg) is up to. The music industry (T-Rex) has hidden music like this and other great fusion from the ears of the people of the world. This is real talent. Oh yea, Shawn Lane RIP.

Nothing short of phenomenal.......2006-02-06

This album is nothing short of phenomenal, as is all of Hellborg's work. If you find his earlier albums worth buying, you won't be disappointed. I don't like to judge music in terms of musicianship, because it comes with practice, to anyone. On this, Jonas and his two exceptionally talented collaborators manage to come across as both passionate and thoughtful. It is a rare case when mind-boggling virtuosity meets with deep feeling and thought.

Jonas does it again !.......2005-12-14

Bassist Jonas Hellborg returns strongly on his own label Bardo Records with his latest effort Kali's son. His travels to India in the last few years has made Jonas increasingly interested in Indian Music. Jonas & co-composer percussionist extraordinaire Selva Ganesh churn out 6 meaningful tunes @ just under 60 minutes. This album is quite special as it features talented sitar player Niladri Kumar who plays his instrument with lot of flair and uses a distorted tone for some of the tracks coupled with guitar flanger effects which often sounds like an electric guitar ! The piece Shri Shri Vikkuji seems to be the group's tribute to one of the greatest Ghatam players (south indian clay pot)T.H.Vikku Vinayakaram who is incidentally the father of Selva Ganesh. All the pieces are fairly uniform in melody, rhythm & style making this a consistent album. A commendable feat from the three musicians.

Average customer rating: Fusion at its best There is no other album quite like this one.

Temporal Analogues of Paradise Jonas Hellborg , Shawn Lane , and Apt. Q-258 Manufacturer: Bardo Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Time Is the Enemy Personae Good People in Times of Evil Icon Abstract Logic ASIN: B00008A7WB Release Date: 2003-05-13

Tracks:

1. Temporal Analogues of Paradise: 1st Movement
2. Temporal Analogues of Paradise: 2nd Movement

Customer Reviews:

Fusion at its best.......2007-07-15

I bought 'Icon' several months ago and i have mixed feeling about it, Shawn Lane doesn't play enough on this album and i'm a little bored by the indian voices, the vocals take an important place on 'Icon' and i personally prefer to listen to the playing of the trio than some vocals - but i guess it is a matter of taste; on this album however, Shawn Lane plays an extraordinary (but very sad) guitar solo on 'Mirror'; that being said, i prefer to listen to by far 'Temporal Analogue of Paradise', the music is more joyous (there is a sad feeling going on throughout 'Icon'), the melodies are complex and hence, support repeated listenings where you always discover new interesting musical ideas; the album introduction also benefits from one of the most galvanizing guitar solo i have ever heard from a fusion record, turning thereafter into sweet melodic lines; the rhythm section is solid and the two tracks swings between experimental abstraction and melodic themes.

There is no other album quite like this one........2007-03-14

Well actually, it IS like ONE other album - this is the remastered Bardo Records version of the original 1996 Day Eight Records cd with Mao Tse-tung's picture hanging behind the three group members. Anyway, here you have three virtuosos so confident in their ability and vision that they have the canasters to put out a cd with just two long (32-minutes and 27-minutes) improvised jams done in a live setting. And it all works beautifully. The album art is stark, the booklet notes are practically nonexistent, yet the title is this precocious and cerebral "Temporal Analogues of Paradise" which focuses the listener's attention on the MUSIC, and nothing else. For good reason. Drummer Jeff Sipe (aka Apt. Q-258) has an eclectic background, with influences from Carl Palmer to the great jazz masters, and he's magnificent in this type of setting. Bass player Jonas Hellborg (arguably the most famous of the trio) has a great arsenal of styles and sounds, venturing from soft melodic to bop to growling fury - he's quite a talent. Together, they form a solid and knowing rhythm section that's not shy about taking their turns in the soloing spotlight. After those two, one might be tempted to slight Shawn Lane as just "icing on the cake". But the former Black Oak Arkansas guitar wunderkind from Memphis takes what is already GREAT to...well, EXCEPTIONAL. I'd love to have a video of him playing, as he tended to sound like two (or even three!) guitarists at once in places. He could fly as fast as a neo-classical metal shredder, or alternately add beautiful background colors to the other soloists. For many of us, it was the unique sound and talent of the late Shawn Lane that originally drew us to this cd. Tastefully done all around, this is phenomenal improvised jazz/rock fusion of the very highest order.

I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:
Music quality = 9/10; Performance = 10/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 9/10.
Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 9.3 ("5 stars")

Average customer rating:

Abstract Logic Jonas Hellborg Manufacturer: Bardo Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Sweden | Scandinavia | Europe | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Smooth Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music Similar Items: Kali's Son Personae Time Is the Enemy Octave of the Holy Innocents Paris ASIN: B000FZESAS Release Date: 2006-08-15

Tracks:

1. Serpents and Pigs
2. Rice with the Angels
3. Abstract Logic
4. Handful of Earth
5. Don't Look Back
6. Throwing Elephant and Wrestling
7. Pluie d'incelles
8. Layla Attar
9. Put the Shoe on the Other Foot

Average customer rating: Glass at the Millennium Powerfully emotional and thought provoking One of His Best Transcendential beautiful work of art

Glass: Symphony no 5 (Choral): Requiem, Bardo, Nirmanakaya Dennis Russell Davies , Denyce Graves , Michael Schade , Ana Maria Martinez , Eric Owens , Albert Dohmen , Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra , Morgan State University Choir , and Hungarian Radio Children's Choir Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Glass | Glass, Philip | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Philip Glass : Symphony No. 8 Philip Glass: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 Symphony No. 6, Plutonian Ode Glass: Akhnaten Symphony No. 3: Music From: The Voyage/The Civil Wars/The Light ASIN: B00004YR68 Release Date: 2000-10-03

Tracks:

1. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: I - Before The Creation
2. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: II - Creation Of The Cosmos
3. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: III - Creation Of Sentient Beings
4. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: IV - Creation Of Human Beings
5. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: V - Love And Joy
6. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: VI - Evil And Ignorance

Tracks:

1. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: VII - Suffering
2. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: VIII - Compassion
3. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: IX - Death
4. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: X - Judgement And Apocalypse
5. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: XI - Paradise
6. SYMPHONY NO. 5 - REQUIEM, BARDO, NIRMANAKAYA: XII - Dedication To The Merit

Amazon.com

Along with being perhaps the best-known contemporary classical composer, Philip Glass is also one of the most intensely prolific--almost frighteningly so. Scarcely a season seems to pass without a major premiere--and, as Glass himself probably would be the first to admit, this factory level of productivity can lead to disappointingly uneven results. His music in particular requires an effort to separate the wheat from the chaff. The Symphony No. 5 began life as a commission from the Salzburg Festival to celebrate the new millennium. Glass took the occasion to reflect on the "process of global evolution," and culled texts from the gamut of world religions and cultures; these are set for various combinations of five vocal soloists, large chorus, and children's choir in a 12-movement work that lasts nearly 100 minutes--all of which is scored with a brilliant orchestral palette. The symphony's subtitle ("Requiem, Bardo, Nirmanakaya"), with its mix of Western and Buddhist terms, reflects Glass's multicultural ambitions, as well as the work's tripartite passage: from the past and stories of creation through consideration of death and a state of expectation to enlightened rebirth in the future. Together with familiar Bible verses are texts from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the Koran, Hindu scriptures, Rumi, a Bulu creation story, and much more.

It all could have made for an embarrassingly muddled, New Agey smorgasbord. Actually, however, it's one of the more thoroughly convincing works that Glass has created; it builds bit by bit, mosaic by mosaic, in a cumulative effect that becomes especially powerful in the stark contrasts of the final movements, which include a depiction of paradise that calls to mind the Klimt-like heaven of Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand." Glass returns to some of the motifs from the CIVIL warS project, and the orchestral scope and vocal styling recall the grandiloquence of that period. But there's an even greater sense of play with timbral coloring, and a notable preoccupation with the quieter regions of the dynamic spectrum, as well as fascinating moments of harmonic complexity. Glass veteran Dennis Russell Davies led the Symphony's 1999 world premiere, and manages to maintain a similar level of excitement in the studio; he gives the score a sense of expanse and space to unfold, and masterfully aligns Glass's various layerings of musical forces. For all of the inevitable comparisons that might be made with that touchstone of humanistic choral symphonies, the Symphony No. 5 suggests not so much a contemporary take on Beethoven's Ninth as his Missa Solemnis--a cosmic testament that's full of gestures both grand and intimate. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

Glass at the Millennium.......2006-04-06

Philip Glass was commissioned by the Salzburg Festival to write a work for the Millennium, a work that would somehow bring all the peoples of the globe together in a musical statement. What resulted is this magnum opus for large orchestra, chorus, children's chorus, and five soloists, a work covering the creation through the 'past' as represented by the Requiem to the in-between to the manifestation of enlightened activity - a major undertaking in anyone's mind! But while Glass does not stray far from his much loved and respected minimalism, his Symphony No. 5 embraces far more extensive excursions into complex harmonies and melodies. As Glass stated 'Besides being a compendium of reflection on the process of global transformation and evolution, I hope that the work will serve as a strong and positive celebration of the millennium year.' And this recording certainly succeeds in guaranteeing that hope.

Recorded in 2000 in several phases the 94-minute work is majestic and awe-inspiring. The many texts from Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and indigenous languages are translated into English and it s to the credit of Glass and the performers that the texts are completely understandable. Dennis Russell Davies conducts the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Morgan State University Choir, the Hungarian Radio Children's Choir, and soloists Ana Maria Martinez, Denyce Graves, Michael Shade, Eric Owens, and Albert Dohmen in a completely stunning performance. This is Glass work that calls for a bit of patience on the part of the listener the first time through, but the music is so hypnotic that doubtless repeated hearings will make the work among Glass' most loved.

The packaging by Nonesuch Records is artistic and informative and creates the atmosphere of a very major work even before the music is heard. All of the many texts are provided by sections to follow the twelve sections ('movements') of the symphony. This is a fine recording of a work by Philip Glass that deserves wide attention. Recommended. Grady Harp, April 06

Powerfully emotional and thought provoking.......2005-11-03

I performed this piece in the fall of 2001 under the baton of Dante Anzolini with maestro Glass in the audience (Choral Arts society of Washington/Kennedy Center).

It will live in my memory as an extremely powerful performance that brought the audience to their feet as if lifted by a giant hand as the finale's last notes drifted from the stage. There are precious few performances that can create the deep emotional bonding between performer and audience. Mr. Glass nailed it with his 5th Symphony!

I continue to play this recording regularly and it continues to reveal a nuance and sensitivity to the worlds cultures and faiths.

This is truly one of my treasured musical experiences and will continue to be for years to come.

One of His Best.......2005-06-11

Philip Glass' "Symphony #5" is a rather ambitious choral symphony in 12 sections, with texts from most of the major religious traditions (Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Islamic, Amerindian, etc.) It starts with Creation and winds up with Judgement Day.

Musically, it's typical Glass de-dot-de-dot. He sets the texts at only one note per syllable, which does restrict his melodic possibilities (no melisma for that fellow!) At least his technique makes it easy for the listener to understand the words.

The text, even more than the music, is the point of this composition. It flows very emotionally and movingly from beginning to end, and evokes the essential sympathy ("feeling together") of all people, whatever our cultural backgrounds and differences, as we face the ultimate questions of life and death together.

Transcendential.......2003-01-10

I heard about this symphony after reading a book about Glass, and was excited by the possibilities of using religious texts with the music. Listening to this cd was simply transcendential. The music is something else and having collected most of Glass's recordings, I feel it is up there with the best. The texts chosen are inspirational, ranging from the Sufi poet Rumi to Tibetan Buddhism (the last piece Dedication is very moving). Essential.

beautiful work of art.......2001-11-22

This is deeply moving, brilliant, and innovative. This is not only for someone interested in the music of Philip Glass - which it certainly is - but it's also for anyone interested in the world's great spiritual traditions. This is for anyone interested in Huston Smith or Joseph Campbell, or...really this is for simply anyone, anywhere. This is the spiritual heritage of humanity, well researched and set to beautiful original music.

Average customer rating: A Dark and Twisted Smile we got f*cked up. Then things got f*cked up -jon gibbions

Set and Setting Bardo Pond Manufacturer: Matador Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Dream Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Space Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Bufo Alvarius Amen 29:15 Ticket Crystals On the Ellipse Selections, Vols. 1-4 Under Glass ASIN: B00000JNLW Release Date: 1999-08-10

Tracks:

1. Walking Stick Man
2. This Time (So Fucked)
3. Datura
4. Again
5. Lull
6. Cross Current
7. Crawl Away
8. #3

Customer Reviews:

A Dark and Twisted Smile.......2007-04-16

"You're nothing but a baby wrapped in skin," croons lady Isobelle in a seasick sound. But nausea is only a part of the all-consuming fun of Set & Setting. Quite appropriate that the album would begin with the sound of a helicopter taking off. Where this album is headed, a parachute may be required. Make certain that it is made out of slow-motion flash paper and set it aflame upon release. Don't worry, the trees have hands and they will cushion your fall.

"Walking Stick Man" is the tale that these seasick trees start you off with. But the words are confusing, full off wonderful nonsense, and claim in an askew yet friendly voice, "Delirium welcomes you!" Sliding melodies swimming at the surface of the pummeling dirt compliment earthy beats on our bones. One can hear the sleepy grass growing from their skin. It's quite frightening however heavenly. That gives you a rough idea of the first track.

And the quicksand only eats us deeper from there. This album is very strange, sickly disturbing, yet wholly euphoric. It digests your soma kindly. Oh, and keep in mind that these soundscapes are raw, natural, and organic. Dirty, even. It's not "cerebral" in any form. Sure, it hypnotizes the mind, but that's nothing in comparison to the orgasmic astonishment that comes from the large, shapeless tongues licking every nerve of your body. The Mind is only a side character; Dissolution is the main event. So, when listening to Set & Setting, disregard the "cerebral"! Betray your "precision psychedelia"! Tool's Lateralus is NOT authorized on these premises!

That's as far as I'll let myself try to describe the album. I will share my opinion in that it is the best Bardo Pond album you can buy, and it's worth every cent, though I would buy it along with their album "Lapsed" which is a little less seasick and a little more blissful. Also good albums to buy alongside it are Electric Wizard's "Let Us Prey", ISIS' "Panopticon", and Melvin's "Bullhead".

we got f*cked up. Then things got f*cked up -jon gibbions.......1999-08-16

The boys and gal from bardo do it yet again. Dropping a slab of brillant sonic sludge. "Walking Stick Man" is reminicent of there early bluesy stuff. Isobel plays violine instead of the flute. They have also added another drummer and a harmonica to the mix. Joe Culver is still in the band and his drumming is as brilliant as allways. There is also Ed Farnsworth on drums his style is a little more straight forward but still great. Brothers Mike and Jon's guitar work is more spacy and dense. The violine is a great new sound for the band. I do wish there was still a flute. "AGain" is a real rocker in a Dead C kinda way. Isoble's vocals is as incomprahensibal as ever and thats why we all love her. Clint and joe still provide the structure for the waves of noise to live in. When we look back at the 1990's Bardo Pond has proved to be one of the most interesting bands this decade has produced.

Average customer rating: Trancelike vs Stultifying pretty good Hypnotic, entrancing music

Bardo Gabrielle Roth & the Mirrors Manufacturer: Raven ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Refuge Trance Ritual Bones Tribe ASIN: B00005YD4K Release Date: 2002-02-05

Tracks:

1. Sand Castle
2. Infinite Sky
3. Dissolve
4. Nectar Moon
5. Sun Dust Eclipse
6. The Crossing
7. Bardo
8. Mansion Of Gold

Amazon.com

For two decades, musical director-dancer Gabrielle Roth and her ever-changing group the Mirrors have specialized in organic, cross-cultural, tribal trance music with a wide spectrum of instrumentation. Bardo is no exception. Indeed, it may be the group's best recording yet, featuring the serene lead vocals of Russian rocker Boris Grebenshikov (for whom this is the second collaboration with Roth) and the skills of string player Allison Cornell, percussionist Joe Bonadio, flautist David Weiss, and fretless bass player Dassi Rosenkrantz-Cabo, among a cast of dozens. From the laid-back vibe of "Infinite Sky" to the dramatic march of the title track to David Sancious's beguiling electric guitar work on "The Crossing," this album showcases the type of classy music that shatters New Age stereotypes and proves how rich the genre can be. --Bryan Reesman

Customer Reviews:

Trancelike vs Stultifying.......2004-04-15

One person's soothing trance is another's enervating soporific. In spite of a solid set of back-up musicians creating some inventive variations on a theme, I thought the theme itself was monotonous. Maybe it's the influence of featured artist, Boris Grebenshikov, a grim Russian if there ever was one. I believe that the term Bardo refers to a Tibetan Buddhist version of the Christian Limbo or Purgatory. Certainly not the mystical, mythical place I would want to visit. And the music perfectly captures that droning, drowning in goo interdimensional place. I don't generally like everything Gabrielle Roth has produced, but some of her work is among the best out there. I was particularly disappointed in this one.

pretty good.......2002-05-12

Enjoyable and trancelike if you are in the mood for it, didn't find it as captivating as "Refuge"

Hypnotic, entrancing music.......2002-03-23

I have several of Gabrielle Roth's cds and love them. I've played this one 3 times now and every time I have fallen asleep before the cd ends. Which is fine, good, very nice. It just has that effect on me. It has rhythm but it is hypnotic, driving rhythm. This is beautiful music, great for chilling, dancing, seduction, getting lost in.

Meditation Music:

1. Breakfast in the Field
2. Cayman Blue
3. Celestial Christmas: A Special Collection of Seasonal Music
4. Chromium Echoes [Import]
5. Chronicles
6. Closer to Far Away
7. Dance of Life
8. Dance of the Light
9. Distant Thunder
10. Eire: Isle of the Saints (A Celtic Odyssey)

Meditation Music

meditation music

Meditation Music

More 60's Smash Hits [Import]

The European Busch-Serkin Duo Recordings, Vol. 3

The Pentangle

Music: Together

Taste the Blood of Dracula [Soundtrack]

The Ice Opinion [Box set]

The Kinks - Greatest Hits [Primecuts]

The Great Escape [Import]

The Jumping Buddha Ensemble [Explicit Lyrics]

Tchaikovsky: Suite No.2/Capriccio Italienne,Op.45

Sunsets And Silhouettes

Strad To Strat

Strait 2 Da Jugular Vein [Explicit Lyrics]

Dozen Lies

In Flight