Silk Road Vol. 1

Taken off one star as cd has a scratch and track 5 jumps 2 minutes into playing and track 6 starts. Can be quite annoying.Bought a second copy of this CD and track 5 'jumps' at exactly the same moment. I do not understand why this track ends so abruptly. It spoils the mood of the cd totally. I cannot believe this track was originally like this so why has it been cut?

Originally I had Silk Road on double LP in its original release format - for some reason they've split it into two albums now, volumes 1 and 2, possibly to make a little more profit....who knows? The entire album runs to about 85 minutes, just too long to fit onto a single CD. Silk Road is Kitaro at his melodic and creative peak, and if, like me, you despair and cringe at some of his later releases, you can always come back to this album for soul refreshment.

With many reviews of this album there is little left to add. The music is iconic and formed the theme and background score to the hugely acclaimed TV series The Silk Road, jointly produced by NHK Japan and CCTV China. Even now, several decades after the program was aired on TV, I cannot think of China without remembering this music. Haunting and magical it is a brilliant collection.

Very Relaxing Music, really pleased with it. I only discovered Kitaro 6 Months ago and now have several of his CDs, all of which are good.

Not a bad album.

Happy with this cd. As described and fast delivery.

good

"Silk Road vol. 1" was released on a CD by the Japanese label Domo in 2003. It is also available as an MP3 download. There are 12 instrumental tracks on this CD, and the total running time is about 42 minutes.[Track # 11 is the shortest of them all: only 1 minute and 59 seconds.][Track # 12 is the longest of them all: 5 minutes and 51 seconds.]The artist Kitaro (whose real name is Masanori Takahashi) was born in Japan in 1953. In his youth he played with a Japanese band, and his solo career began in 1977. But it was his soundtrack for the NHK television series "Silk Road" (1980) which gave him international attention and fame.Since then he has released many albums. Here I will mention only one:  Thinking Of You , which was released on a CD in 1999 and 2011.I watched the Japanese television series about the Silk Road many years ago when it was shown on television in many countries around the world. I liked it. I remember thinking that Kitaro's music worked very well with the pictures on the screen. A friend of mine bought the soundtrack when it was released on vinyl (2 LPs). I remember that I liked (some of) the tracks on the album.Now the soundtrack is available on 2 CDs, named vol. 1 and 2. This review is about the first CD. Here is a link to the second CD:  Silk Road, Vol. 2 .All music on this album is written, arranged and performed by Kitaro. Here are the (English) titles:# 1: Silk Road Theme# 2: Bell Tower# 3: Heavenly Father# 4: The Great River# 5: The Great Wall of China# 6: Flying Celestial Nymphs# 7: Silk Road Fantasy# 8: Shimmering Light# 9: Westbound# 10: Time# 11: Bodhisattva# 12: Everlasting RoadHaving listened to the old tunes again for the first time in many years, I must say that this is an interesting CD, but some tracks are better than others. The 12 tracks can be divided into three categories:* In the first category we have the best tracks - excellent and harmonious tunes - which can stand alone. They deserve 5 stars. If you ask me, only two tracks belong in this category, tracks # 1 and 7.* In the second category we have the worst tracks, which are mostly noise. They work quite well when they are played in the background of the television program, but they cannot stand alone. They deserve only 1 star. I think six tracks belong in this category, tracks # 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 11.* In the third category we have the tracks, which are halfway between the best and the worst: they are not only noise; on the other hand they are not quite excellent and harmonious tunes. They deserve 3 stars. In my opinion, four tracks belong in this category, tracks # 6, 8, 10 and 12.If we add up the score, we can see that the album as a whole deserves a rating of three stars.[Oddly enough, I arrived at exactly the same result when I wrote a review of Kitaro's more recent album  Thinking Of You  (released 1999 and 2011).]If you want a CD with 12 excellent tunes, then this is not the CD for you. If, on the other hand, you want a few excellent and harmonious tunes, and if you do not care about the rest, then this CD might be just the right one for you.