Kitaro--how much prog is there?

[arturs]

You may have noticed that Wayside has what seems like an amazing deal: a ten CD box set of Kitaro's music for 18 bucks... I'm a sucker for an "opulent" box set, as per the Wayside blurb. Only problem is I had never heard any of his music. In fact in the 1980s and maybe even the 90s I somehow thought he and Tomita were the same person. But nevermind that...

So I listened to 7 or 8 tracks on YouTube. The first few were completely banal. Painfully so. But then just as I was about to give up, I hit gold with these two tunes. Sure they start out a little light and slow but they very effectively build to some damn-nice symph passages. All they need is Andy Latimer on guitar and they would be downright awesome.

My questions for those who may be in the know: what do you think the ratio is between the decent-or-better symph/prog compositions to the banal stuff? What are his best pieces? Any additional ones I should make it a point to listen to?

[JKL2000]

An Enchanted Evening is the one ( a live one) that I'd heard mentioned as being pretty proggy. I probably wouldn't go for a whole boxed set, but I'm not the best person to say. Ken Golden could probably give a good opinion.

[Scott Bails]

I have the one he did with Jon Anderson, Dream, and I like it. Never really thought about if it's "symphonic prog" or not, as I don't really care. I like it, and that's good enough. But, since you asked, I'd say it straddles the line between symph prog and new age.

I also have one called Cirque Ingeniuex, and I don't like it as much. I never really delved further.

[3LockBox]

You could always buy a couple of nice wind chimes.

Kitaro makes Andreas Vollenweider sound edgy. I used to have a 'best of' CD that I'd listen to before bed. I can't imagine needing a big boxset. You can always whittle it down at your leisure, if the price is right.

[spacefreak]

First two albums only. Tenkai (Astral Voyage) 1978 & Daichi (Full Moon Story). Oasis probably...

[Scrotum Scissor]

First two albums only. Tenkai (Astral Voyage) 1978 & Daichi (Full Moon Story).

These.

As with Deuter, some make the mistake of thinking that the artist's following works necessarily keep in line with the earliest. Personally I wouldn't go near an 80s Kitaro album.

[Koreabruce]

First two albums only. Tenkai (Astral Voyage) 1978 & Daichi (Full Moon Story). Oasis probably...

Throw in Ki and Silk Road Vol. I & II, and you have pretty much everything you'd ever need from Kitaro.

[moecurlythanu]

First two albums only. Tenkai (Astral Voyage) 1978 & Daichi (Full Moon Story). Oasis probably...

Throw in Ki and Silk Road Vol. I & II, and you have pretty much everything you'd ever need from Kitaro.

These are all good albums, and I would also add Tunhuang.

[Koreabruce]

Ah yes, that one, too (I think it may also be called Silk Road III, but I'm not certain).

[rcarlberg]

what do you think the ratio is between the decent-or-better symph/prog compositions to the banal stuff?

As others have implied, the ratio is pretty small.

If you have a multi-CD changer, and if you have frequent insomnia, then the 10-CD set may be of some utility. Otherwise the previous recommendations are all you need.

[dropforge]

First two albums only. Tenkai (Astral Voyage) 1978 & Daichi (Full Moon Story). Oasis probably...

Oasis (his second album) definitely!

Throw in Ki and Silk Road Vol. I & II, and you have pretty much everything you'd ever need from Kitaro.

Yes...Ki (1981) is superb. It was my first Kitaro album.

In Person (1980) is another winner.

Basically, stick to the first 6-7 years of his solo career and you're good!

[rcarlberg]

Kitaro makes Andreas Vollenweider sound edgy.

Hey, whatd'ya mean? Vollenweider IS pretty damn edgy sometimes.

[happytheman]

Throw in Ki and Silk Road Vol. I & II, and you have pretty much everything you'd ever need from Kitaro.

Agree.. I have both of these on viynl and when I went through a full bore "new age" period in the early 80's these were two of my go to albums..

[Tangram]

I never looked to Kitaro to get my prog fix. Around the mid 80's his style is more orchestral in nature and in most cases has stopped exploring different sounds. The sound quality of his later work is excellent although his albums cover the same ground after a while. His live albums usually have an 'edge', with the inclusions of an electric guitarist. Check out Asia and Enchanted Evening. I have seen him twice in concert and they were both excellent shows.

For that price, I would say its a no brainer as there is something to offer on every album. But I must have a greater tolerance for 'banal' than most here.

[hippypants]

Well, he's as prog or not as say Vangelis I suppose. I've got Silk Roads and always like India too. I've got his Greatest Hits CD too, Kojiki, and Astral Voyage, but prefer the first two. At any rate like most music it depends upon your mood, but lately have been listening to a lot of this synth music.

[arturs]

You could always buy a couple of nice wind chimes.

Funny enough, Kitaro's online shop is way ahead of you on this...

http://www.domocart.com/domo-store/i...roducts_id=399

[arturs]

I never looked to Kitaro to get my prog fix. Around the mid 80's his style is more orchestral in nature and in most cases has stopped exploring different sounds. The sound quality of his later work is excellent although his albums cover the same ground after a while. His live albums usually have an 'edge', with the inclusions of an electric guitarist. Check out Asia and Enchanted Evening. I have seen him twice in concert and they were both excellent shows.

From what I've been watching on youtube for the last few days it *is* always Kitaro's live stuff that gets kind of proggy. The guitarist and violinist are quite good and they need to show off their chops a little, you know? The two tunes I posted in my OP are both much more interesting live than their studio versions, also on YT for example.

BTW, thanks for the recommendations. I bought Astral Voyage and will progress forward in time if I like that one

[BigSixFan]

You may have noticed that Wayside has what seems like an amazing deal: a ten CD box set of Kitaro's music for 18 bucks... I'm a sucker for an "opulent" box set, as per the Wayside blurb. Only problem is I had never heard any of his music. In fact in the 1980s and maybe even the 90s I somehow thought he and Tomita were the same person. But nevermind that...

So I listened to 7 or 8 tracks on YouTube. The first few were completely banal. Painfully so. But then just as I was about to give up, I hit gold with these two tunes. Sure they start out a little light and slow but they very effectively build to some damn-nice symph passages. All they need is Andy Latimer on guitar and they would be downright awesome.

My questions for those who may be in the know: what do you think the ratio is between the decent-or-better symph/prog compositions to the banal stuff? What are his best pieces? Any additional ones I should make it a point to listen to?

I like most all of Kitaro, but the album I adore most is Kojiki (the album where Reimi is on). Basically a story of Japanese history. Absolutely beautiful and poignant. I remember hearing it while sitting in the waiting room at Norita Airport, Tokyo in the mid-1990s. Across from me, I saw a very elderly Japanese couple who looked to be in their 80s. I was listening to this and wondered what tragedies and joys those ancient eyes saw in their lives. The music, which seemed to my imagination a reflection of their dignity and stoicism, was never the same again. It became otherworldly.

After that, Kitaro always had a soft spot in my heart...

[Jubal]

Kitaro is pretty hit or miss, but mostly miss. Banal is an appropriate term. My wife and I saw him in concert and were very underwhelmed.
His main soloing keyboard was a cheap little Casio, one of the first with a sampler. Of course, he had to use the cheesiest sounding voice on it most of the concert.
There is a track on the Silk Road cover done by the London Symphony Orchestra that is truly sublime. It is called "Peace". The original? Not worth a listen.

[moecurlythanu]

I never looked to Kitaro to get my prog fix.

No, those earlier albums which were recommended are good, but they're not Prog-Rock. For Prog-Rock Kitaro, you have to get some Far East Family Band, who are quite good.

[Buddhabreath]

Kitaro is pretty hit or miss, but mostly miss. Banal is an appropriate term. My wife and I saw him in concert and were very underwhelmed.
His main soloing keyboard was a cheap little Casio, one of the first with a sampler.

I saw him maybe in the mid to late 80s and my experience was quite the opposite. Not only were there no cheesy Casio sounds but there were huge Japanese drums (and I mean Yuuuuge) that he attacked with great passion. As I recall the mix of acoustic and analogue synth sounds were sumptuous. Kitaro at his best. Clearly you saw a different tour- sorry to hear about that.

[Dan Roth]

I saw him maybe in the mid to late 80s and my experience was quite the opposite. Not only were there no cheesy Casio sounds but there were huge Japanese drums (and I mean Yuuuuge) that he attacked with great passion. As I recall the mix of acoustic and analogue synth sounds were sumptuous. Kitaro at his best. Clearly you saw a different tour- sorry to hear about that.

I remember those drums. I saw Kitaro at the Academy of Music in Philly on that tour. I enjoyed the heck out of that. This video is from that tour and this brings back some great memories - this was great:



I found this great recollection from Jim Behringer, the guitarist in the band on that tour:

"Working with Kitaro was a complete immersion in the Japanese culture. I received a phone call from a friend named Randy Hale, a roadie I met in Jeff Lorber’s Band. He asked me if I wanted to fly to LA and audition for a gig with a Japanese artist named Kitaro. I asked him what kind of music it was and he had a difficult time describing it. He said it had something to do with harmonic convergence or something. He told me that I would be paid whether I got the tour or not so flew to L.A. and passed the audition, then began rehearsals the next day.

This was one of the best bands of musicians I had ever worked with. I became friends with Casey Scheuerell and Steven Kindler right away. Two weeks behind schedule, there was a lot of pressure and a serious language barrier to deal with. Kitaro’s music required everything to be perfect. Rehearsals were sometimes fourteen hours long.

We played to sold-out houses throughout the US, Japan, Europe and Canada. The band when I joined consisted of: Casey Scheuerell (who had worked with Geno Vanelli, Santana) on drums and percussion, Steve Kindler, (who had played with, Jeff Beck, Jan Hammer and The Mahavishnu Orchestra) played violin, Steven Bach was the musical director and keyboardist and was the reason I made it through the first week of rehersals. Kenny Park (Elvis Presley) on Percussion and Brian Becvar (Bobby Caldwell, Roberta Flack, Laura Branigan) on keyboards. Jerry Goodman played violin with us briefly and had worked with the “Flock” and ” The Mahavishnu Orchestra” as well. Jerry and I would hang out after rehearsals and sometimes Jerry would tell stories about working with guitar master John McLaughlin. "

[SRS]

Wow - that's a pretty ridiculous price for a 10 disc box set

This compilation is taken from the following albums:
Mizu No Inori Te, Oasis, Silver Cloud, Tenku, The Light Of The Spirit, Kojiki, Live In America, Dream, Mandala, Cirque Ingenieux, Gaia-Onbashira, The Soong Sisters , Thinking Of You, Ancient, An Ancient Journey, Daylight Moonlight: Live In Yakushiji, Spiritual Garden, Silk Road, Silk Road III, Silk Road IV, Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai Volume 1, Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai Volume 2, Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai Volume 3.

Some good stuff there although a lot of it is later day albums - I'd get this but I probably have about half to 2/3 of it already. 1978-1986 is the classic period you want.
I love Kitaro but am so glad I'm not a completist. It would be an impossible nightmare trying to keep up with all the various re-issues and differing titles.

[Jubal]

I saw him maybe in the mid to late 80s and my experience was quite the opposite. Not only were there no cheesy Casio sounds but there were huge Japanese drums (and I mean Yuuuuge) that he attacked with great passion. As I recall the mix of acoustic and analogue synth sounds were sumptuous. Kitaro at his best. Clearly you saw a different tour- sorry to hear about that.

I believe this was the Aqua tour. He did have the YUGE Japanese drums, and enough incense to choke Bob Marley (if he was still alive).

[JKL2000]

Here's a track listing of the 10-CD set I found online, although for some reason the site only listed tracks from 9 CDs:

CD1
1.Koki
2.Whisper (An Ancient Journey) [4:23]
3.Floating Lotus (Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai, Volume 2) [5:29]
4.Wave Of Sand (An Ancient Journey) [4:47]
5.Shizuku (Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai) [5:19]
6.Stream (Thinking Of You) [5:33]
7.Winds Blow Over The Hill (Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai, Volume 3) [6:30]
8.Mercury (Daylight Moonlight: Live At Yakushiji) [13:07]

CD2

9.Spirit Of Harp (Ancient) [2:59]
10.Silence (Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai) [6:13]
11.As The Wind Blows (Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai, Volume 2) [5:02]
12.Satobiki (Gaia Onbashira) [9:15]
13.Fiesta (Thinking of You) [7:47]
14.Crystal Tears (Mandala) [3:07]
15.Itonami (Ancient) [5:51]
16.Winter Waltz (Cirque Ingenieux) [5:41]
17.Heaven & Earth (Daylight Moonlight: Live At Yakushiji) [12:19]

CD 3

18.Theme From Silk Road (Best Of Silk Road) [5:20]
19.Aqua (The Best Of 10 years) [6:21]
20.Tenku (Tenku) [4:13]
21.Nageki (Kojiki) [5:42]
22.Caravansary (The Best Of 10 years) [6:04]
23.Sundance (The Light Of The Spirit) [6:18]
24.Oasis (The Best Of 10 Years) [6:02]
25.The Field (The Light Of The Spirit) [4:55]
26.The Light Of The Spirit (Live In America) [11:12]

CD 4

27.Agreement (Dream) [6:31]
28.Inner Lights (Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai, Volume 2) [6:33]
29.Dance Of Sarasvati (Mandala) [6:47]
30.The Wind (Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai) [4:55]
31.Dr Sun & Ching-ling (Soong Sisters Soundtrack) [2:37]
32.Tabiji (An Ancient Journey) [4:40]
33.Sacred Fountain (Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai, Volume 3) [7:00]
34.Maya Magic (An Ancient Journey) [6:34]
35.Water Of Mystery (Daylight Moonlight: Live At Yakushiji) [9:37]

CD 5

36.Yamadashi (Gaia Onbashira) [13:26]
37.Hajimari/Sozo (Daylight Moonlight: Live At Yakushiji) [9:53]
38.Koi (Daylight Moonlight: Live At Yakushiji) [10:29]
39.Kokoro (Mandala) [12:32]
40.Matsuri (Kojiki) [8:59]

CD 6

41.Into The Forest (Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai, Volume 3) [5:43]
42.Nagare no Naka de (Kitaro) [5:03]
43.Dholavira (Ancient) [5:05]
44.Kageroh (Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai) [5:20]
45.Inca (An Ancient Journey) [3:47]
46.Misty (Gaia Onbashira) [4:22]
47.Symphony Of Dreams (Dream) [5:43]
48.Kuu (Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai) [5:04]
49.Estrella (Daylight Moonlight: Live At Yakushiji) [7:45]

CD 7

50.Main Theme Nile (Ancient) [4:10]
51.Scope (Mandala) [4:51]
52.Theme For Earthdance (10th Anniversary) [5:39]
53.Kitotoshi (Gaia Onbashira) [9:31]
54.The Scroll Is Read (Soong Sisters Soundtrack) [4:04]
55.Contortionists (Cirque Ingenieux) [4:59]
56.Mizu ni Inori te (Unreleased) [6:53]
57.Sitara IV (An Ancient Journey) [6:34]
58.A Passage Of Life (Dream) [7:59]

CD 8

59.Mori no Tami (An Ancient Journey) [7:43]
60.Wind and Water (Spiritual Garden) [5:18]
61.Chant From The Heart (Mandala) [8:09]
62.Reimei (Kojiki) [8:36]
63.Circle Dance (Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai, Volume 3) [10:51]
64.Free Flight (Daylight Moonlight: Live At Yakushiji) [9:27]

CD 9

65.Daichi (An Ancient Journey) [6:10]
66.Cocoro (Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai) [6:25]
67.Main Theme Nile-Version II (An Ancient Journey) [3:49]
68.Shining Spirit Of Water (Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai, Volume 2) [5:32]
69.Harmony Of The Forest (Thinking Of You) [6:23]
70.Dream Of Chant (Dream) [3:54]