worthy of 5 stars, 20 Nov 2008
Fantastic album. If you're already a fan, then this is certainly worth it. This album has the vibe and feel good factor coming straight from Dimanche a Bamako. Chilled out and up-beat, it's beautiful music to listen to especially track 5. Buy and enjoy.

worthy of 5 stars, 20 Nov 2008
Fantastic album. If you're already a fan, then this is certainly worth it. This album has the vibe and feel good factor coming straight from Dimanche a Bamako. Chilled out and up-beat, it's beautiful music to listen to especially track 5. Buy and enjoy.

A great Nitin album, 11 Nov 2008
I saw Nitin play in Bristol in early November 2008 and he gave the best performance of the 5 times I have seen him. A delicate and sensitive gig, with Nitin mainly playing acoustic guitar, accompanied by some sublime cello playing and indian flute and tabla playing - all mixed with dreamy singing. This album reflects all that. A true concept album - a 45 minute journey through life today. Such a wide variety of influnces - how wrong the last reviewer is! This is a great Nitin album,and I've loved him from the start. Turn it on, lie back on the sofa and let yourself drift away.

Pure rubbish, 02 Nov 2008
Its been coming for some time and finally Nitin has done it. I felt that the last two Nitin CDs lacked some imagination and this CD is by far the worst he has produced. The pop songs which start the album are derivative and when he finally gets to doing what he does best- the Indian influenced music towards the end- its all been heard before. Added to that the worst piece of music he has ever produced- 'My Soul'- 'sung' by Paul McCartney and I found myself sitting there shaking my head in disbelief. Come on Nitin- you had such promise in your early CDs- lets see a return of that spark!

Sounds like heaven., 21 Oct 2008
Days Of Fire is performed by Natty, an artist starting to get recognition and critical acclaim with his own album Man Like I. This was actually inspired by Natty's own experience of the July bombings in London in 2005. It's a good track, very easy to listen to, and catchy. It sounds like London and it's upbeat and a little bit gritty. A great opener.

October Daze features Tina Grace, who I admit I had not heard of prior to this release. She has a good, dulcet voice. The track reminds me of Portishead in its sound.

Bring It Home includes vocals from the talented Imogen Heap, and starts off very dreamy, slow and ambient but then changes tempo and becomes upbeat and funky, like a track you'd hear in a funky, upmarket wine bar in the city.

Interlude 1 includes spoken vocals by Paul McCartney and it's overall a great introduction to the following track, My Soul which features Paul McCartney himself.

My Soul was written as Paul's first real public expression of emotions regarding what transpired with his ex wife. Very moving and poignant piece with beautiful, subtle female vocals in the background which sound very classical Indian.

Interlude II is comprised of spoken Spanish in a sensual tone, speaking of the mountains. The wood instrument at the end is haunting and again, flows effortlessly into the next track.

Distant Dreams has gorgeous jazz instrumentals and the vocallist sounds very familiar, despite me not being familiar with her by name (Roxanne Tataei).

Interlude III is the most Nitin-Sawhney-esque piece so far; classic funky Indian music and vocals.

Shadowland is much the same as Interlude, although the female vocallist there has been replaced in this track by a male.

Daybreak....The song would not be out of place in some fancy Indian restaurant or on Brick Lane. Gorgeous.

Ek Taan contains mind-blowingly beautiful female vocals and a very relaxing piano instrumental, and it melds into an easy, relaxed next track.

Transmission is relaxed but for me not a track I like because it sounds a bit too monotonous in terms of the vocal register used.

Last Train To Midnight is much the same as Transmission.

Firmament is a gorgeous instrumental, classic Nitin Sawhney. Simple, moving, understated and beautiful.

The album closes with Charu Keshi Rain in collaboration with Anoushkar Shankar, and this, along with My Soul, is my favourite track on the album. Beautiful sitars and relaxing, effortless grace.

Over the years this Irish folk band has recorded with James Galway, Roger Daltrey, Nanci Griffith, Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson, and many more. For The Long Black Veil, they made their biggest haul yet: the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Marianne Faithfull, Mark Knopfler, Sinead O'Connor, Tom Jones, Sting, and Ry Cooder. Knopfler, Faithfull, and O'Connor wander off-key in their vocals. Sting, Jones, and Mick Jagger stay on key in theirs, but never quite connect with their chosen songs nor with the ancient folk tradition the Chieftains tap into each time they play. A powerful musical connection is forged three times on the album, however. Morrison patiently builds his own "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" to a grand climax over flute and pipes; Ry Cooder adds a mysterious Mideastern guitar part to an instrumental version of "Dunmore Lasses;" and on "The Rocky Road to Dublin," Charlie Watts's ceili-swing drumming holds together a loose adventurous jam session which features Kevin Coneff's lead vocal and wild exchanges of the Chieftains' twin fiddles and the Rolling Stones' guitars. Three epiphanies may not be enough to justify the Long Black Veil project, but you can find a whole album of such moments on Van Morrison & the Chieftains' 1988 Irish Heartbeat, one of the greatest Irish recordings ever made. --Geoffrey Himes

worthy of 5 stars, 20 Nov 2008
Fantastic album. If you're already a fan, then this is certainly worth it. This album has the vibe and feel good factor coming straight from Dimanche a Bamako. Chilled out and up-beat, it's beautiful music to listen to especially track 5. Buy and enjoy.

A great Nitin album, 11 Nov 2008
I saw Nitin play in Bristol in early November 2008 and he gave the best performance of the 5 times I have seen him. A delicate and sensitive gig, with Nitin mainly playing acoustic guitar, accompanied by some sublime cello playing and indian flute and tabla playing - all mixed with dreamy singing. This album reflects all that. A true concept album - a 45 minute journey through life today. Such a wide variety of influnces - how wrong the last reviewer is! This is a great Nitin album,and I've loved him from the start. Turn it on, lie back on the sofa and let yourself drift away.

Pure rubbish, 02 Nov 2008
Its been coming for some time and finally Nitin has done it. I felt that the last two Nitin CDs lacked some imagination and this CD is by far the worst he has produced. The pop songs which start the album are derivative and when he finally gets to doing what he does best- the Indian influenced music towards the end- its all been heard before. Added to that the worst piece of music he has ever produced- 'My Soul'- 'sung' by Paul McCartney and I found myself sitting there shaking my head in disbelief. Come on Nitin- you had such promise in your early CDs- lets see a return of that spark!

Sounds like heaven., 21 Oct 2008
Days Of Fire is performed by Natty, an artist starting to get recognition and critical acclaim with his own album Man Like I. This was actually inspired by Natty's own experience of the July bombings in London in 2005. It's a good track, very easy to listen to, and catchy. It sounds like London and it's upbeat and a little bit gritty. A great opener.

October Daze features Tina Grace, who I admit I had not heard of prior to this release. She has a good, dulcet voice. The track reminds me of Portishead in its sound.

Bring It Home includes vocals from the talented Imogen Heap, and starts off very dreamy, slow and ambient but then changes tempo and becomes upbeat and funky, like a track you'd hear in a funky, upmarket wine bar in the city.

Interlude 1 includes spoken vocals by Paul McCartney and it's overall a great introduction to the following track, My Soul which features Paul McCartney himself.

My Soul was written as Paul's first real public expression of emotions regarding what transpired with his ex wife. Very moving and poignant piece with beautiful, subtle female vocals in the background which sound very classical Indian.

Interlude II is comprised of spoken Spanish in a sensual tone, speaking of the mountains. The wood instrument at the end is haunting and again, flows effortlessly into the next track.

Distant Dreams has gorgeous jazz instrumentals and the vocallist sounds very familiar, despite me not being familiar with her by name (Roxanne Tataei).

Interlude III is the most Nitin-Sawhney-esque piece so far; classic funky Indian music and vocals.

Shadowland is much the same as Interlude, although the female vocallist there has been replaced in this track by a male.

Daybreak....The song would not be out of place in some fancy Indian restaurant or on Brick Lane. Gorgeous.

Ek Taan contains mind-blowingly beautiful female vocals and a very relaxing piano instrumental, and it melds into an easy, relaxed next track.

Transmission is relaxed but for me not a track I like because it sounds a bit too monotonous in terms of the vocal register used.

Last Train To Midnight is much the same as Transmission.

Firmament is a gorgeous instrumental, classic Nitin Sawhney. Simple, moving, understated and beautiful.

The album closes with Charu Keshi Rain in collaboration with Anoushkar Shankar, and this, along with My Soul, is my favourite track on the album. Beautiful sitars and relaxing, effortless grace.




WOW...SIMPLY AMAZING!, 10 Nov 2002
This is a terrific CD, with its wild meld of celtic, pop, folk, and country strains. The Chieftains, accompanied by such music greats as Sting, Mick Jagger, Sinead O'Connor, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, among others...who would have thought such an assemblage would result in such a cohesive recording of such wildly divergent music? Of particular note are Sting's mournful rendition of "Mo Ghile Mear" and Sinead O'Connor's stylization of "The Foggy Dew" and "He Moved Through The Fair". Mick Jagger also does justice to "A Long Black Veil". This CD is simply a great recording overall!

Fiddles, whistles and rock stars!, 27 Apr 2001
This CD certainly proves that The Chieftains have friends in high places! This album is packed full of rock stars (Mick Jagger, Sting, Sinead O' Connor, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Tom Jones and Marianne Faithfull) singing traditional Irish songs. This is an interesting album and the songs do work better than I expected them too. This is a lively collection of songs and none of the artists sound out of place, but I think I would still prefer hearing these songs sung by folk singers. Nonetheless this is a good introduction to The Chieftain's style of music and an essential buy if you are a fan of the artists involved.

You could never accuse Damon Albarn of resting on his laurels. Whether it's forming supergroups (The Good, The Bad & The Queen), working with cult animators (The Gorillaz) or making music with musicians from Mali, the former Blur frontman has nurtured a restless, questing spirit not normally encountered in Britop stars. As if to underline his diverse interests, he now turns his attention to Chinese theatre. Monkey: Journey to the West is a theatrical collaboration between Albarn (music), Jamie Hewlett of Gorillaz fame (designs, costumes) and Chinese opera specialist Chen Shi-Zheng. The show itself is an explosive 90-minute circus featuring Chinese acrobats, martial arts experts and contortionists, though the album condenses the experience into 22 songs lasting an hour or so. Recorded in London and Beijing with a mix of European and Chinese musicians, Monkey ... is a genuine attempt at East-West fusion. Featuring a dizzying array of instrumentation--rock guitars, electronics, harps, mandolins, drum machines, strings, plinky-plonk keyboards, giggling girls, chants, even pigs--it's the sort of project that could so easily have gone awry. Yet Albarn, who allegedly mastered the Chinese pentatonic scale, seems to have made it work. Songs like the fluttery "Heavenly Peach Banquet" and the wistful "The Living Sea" are utterly beguiling, and stand in stark contrast to guitar-heavy behemoths like "Battle in Heaven" and the climactic "Monkey Bee." These longer songs are punctuated with incidental pieces such as "Iron Rod", "Into the Eastern Sea" and "Out of the Eastern Sea". While such interludes may distract from a 'normal' album experience, there's enough melodious charm and imaginative whimsy scattered throughout to satisfy even ardent skeptics. --Paul Sullivan

worthy of 5 stars, 20 Nov 2008
Fantastic album. If you're already a fan, then this is certainly worth it. This album has the vibe and feel good factor coming straight from Dimanche a Bamako. Chilled out and up-beat, it's beautiful music to listen to especially track 5. Buy and enjoy.

A great Nitin album, 11 Nov 2008
I saw Nitin play in Bristol in early November 2008 and he gave the best performance of the 5 times I have seen him. A delicate and sensitive gig, with Nitin mainly playing acoustic guitar, accompanied by some sublime cello playing and indian flute and tabla playing - all mixed with dreamy singing. This album reflects all that. A true concept album - a 45 minute journey through life today. Such a wide variety of influnces - how wrong the last reviewer is! This is a great Nitin album,and I've loved him from the start. Turn it on, lie back on the sofa and let yourself drift away.

Pure rubbish, 02 Nov 2008
Its been coming for some time and finally Nitin has done it. I felt that the last two Nitin CDs lacked some imagination and this CD is by far the worst he has produced. The pop songs which start the album are derivative and when he finally gets to doing what he does best- the Indian influenced music towards the end- its all been heard before. Added to that the worst piece of music he has ever produced- 'My Soul'- 'sung' by Paul McCartney and I found myself sitting there shaking my head in disbelief. Come on Nitin- you had such promise in your early CDs- lets see a return of that spark!

Sounds like heaven., 21 Oct 2008
Days Of Fire is performed by Natty, an artist starting to get recognition and critical acclaim with his own album Man Like I. This was actually inspired by Natty's own experience of the July bombings in London in 2005. It's a good track, very easy to listen to, and catchy. It sounds like London and it's upbeat and a little bit gritty. A great opener.

October Daze features Tina Grace, who I admit I had not heard of prior to this release. She has a good, dulcet voice. The track reminds me of Portishead in its sound.

Bring It Home includes vocals from the talented Imogen Heap, and starts off very dreamy, slow and ambient but then changes tempo and becomes upbeat and funky, like a track you'd hear in a funky, upmarket wine bar in the city.

Interlude 1 includes spoken vocals by Paul McCartney and it's overall a great introduction to the following track, My Soul which features Paul McCartney himself.

My Soul was written as Paul's first real public expression of emotions regarding what transpired with his ex wife. Very moving and poignant piece with beautiful, subtle female vocals in the background which sound very classical Indian.

Interlude II is comprised of spoken Spanish in a sensual tone, speaking of the mountains. The wood instrument at the end is haunting and again, flows effortlessly into the next track.

Distant Dreams has gorgeous jazz instrumentals and the vocallist sounds very familiar, despite me not being familiar with her by name (Roxanne Tataei).

Interlude III is the most Nitin-Sawhney-esque piece so far; classic funky Indian music and vocals.

Shadowland is much the same as Interlude, although the female vocallist there has been replaced in this track by a male.

Daybreak....The song would not be out of place in some fancy Indian restaurant or on Brick Lane. Gorgeous.

Ek Taan contains mind-blowingly beautiful female vocals and a very relaxing piano instrumental, and it melds into an easy, relaxed next track.

Transmission is relaxed but for me not a track I like because it sounds a bit too monotonous in terms of the vocal register used.

Last Train To Midnight is much the same as Transmission.

Firmament is a gorgeous instrumental, classic Nitin Sawhney. Simple, moving, understated and beautiful.

The album closes with Charu Keshi Rain in collaboration with Anoushkar Shankar, and this, along with My Soul, is my favourite track on the album. Beautiful sitars and relaxing, effortless grace.




WOW...SIMPLY AMAZING!, 10 Nov 2002
This is a terrific CD, with its wild meld of celtic, pop, folk, and country strains. The Chieftains, accompanied by such music greats as Sting, Mick Jagger, Sinead O'Connor, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, among others...who would have thought such an assemblage would result in such a cohesive recording of such wildly divergent music? Of particular note are Sting's mournful rendition of "Mo Ghile Mear" and Sinead O'Connor's stylization of "The Foggy Dew" and "He Moved Through The Fair". Mick Jagger also does justice to "A Long Black Veil". This CD is simply a great recording overall!

Fiddles, whistles and rock stars!, 27 Apr 2001
This CD certainly proves that The Chieftains have friends in high places! This album is packed full of rock stars (Mick Jagger, Sting, Sinead O' Connor, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Tom Jones and Marianne Faithfull) singing traditional Irish songs. This is an interesting album and the songs do work better than I expected them too. This is a lively collection of songs and none of the artists sound out of place, but I think I would still prefer hearing these songs sung by folk singers. Nonetheless this is a good introduction to The Chieftain's style of music and an essential buy if you are a fan of the artists involved.

Disappointing, 17 Nov 2008
I'd been really looking forward to this release, unfortunately I have to say it's the worst of Damon Albarn's career.

I was equally disappointed with the opera itself, which I saw last weekend. A few parts were very very good, but on the whole it's really dull.

Quite interesting, incidentally ... (6/10), 11 Sep 2008
I have been a keen advoate of all things Damon Albarn post-Graham Coxon (i.e., Blur's `Think Tank` and beyond) so was understandably quite excited by the album release of `Monkey, Journey to the West`. I had not seen the Chinese opera-spectacular which this album scores but I didn't let that dissuade me from pre-ordering this one from Amazon. What I hadn't realised was that this 22-song collection largely comprises incidental compositions from the opera and doesn't stand up as an album in its own right. Unless you have seen the opera - in which case this might make a compelling souvenir - I feel duty-bound to warn you not to expect something on the scale of other Albarn side-projects such as Gorillaz' `Demon Days`, `Mali Music` or `The Good, the Bad and the Queen`.

There are handfull of lovely individual songs - particularly the Himalayan Kate Bushisms of `Heavenly Peach Blanket' - but the majority are sonic doodles of varying interest. Predominantly comprising synths and drum machines, fleshed out with guitar, harp and strings, some are diverting enough - even narrational - in their own right, but most score some unseen action intelligable only to those who have seen the production. The effect is sometimes frustratingly akin to being stuck in a theatre foyer ticketless while the action gets underway without you in the audience. And unlike a traditional opera, the music seems rather secondary - or at least only complementary to - the action on stage, rather than the other way around. As a souvenir, it's an attractive package, but I've never been a fan of Jamie Hewlett's artwork - Gorillaz for me was always just about the music.

good but great?, 03 Sep 2008
is this any good, yes. would it be any good without damon albarns name on it? yes but surely wouldn't make the light of day on western charts. its a great opeara score and the good thing is even without having seen the show, its easy to imagine how track names complement the music.. worth buying, still undecided.

A beautiful banquet for the ears, 03 Sep 2008
Just received the album this morning, and on the first listen I am taken to a different world of sounds, which spark so many emotions. I feel as if I am traveling with monkey and his pals.

I haven't seen the opera, but this certainly gives me a private peek into how this amazing project came together!!! Good work boys!

could try harder, 02 Sep 2008
Well, there is no doubt Monkey at the Royal Opera House was one of the events of summer 08 in London and I went and was certainly entertained. As a spectacle I think the whole thing came together and there should have been a DVD. Many would like to have seen this who didn't get an opportunity - rather exclusive compared to Gorillaz. So, the music. Does it stand up? Just about. Unlike Gorillaz and Good, Bad Queen you can really hear the joins in this. It's not the production, which is quite masterful. There's electronica, choirs singing in large spaces, brass, trad Chinese instruments etc. all vying for a place in the mix and I feel this works. You could use this CD to show off your hifi for sure. But I hear all the joins in the musical composition (sorry Damon!): there are vocal melodies directly parallel to what you hear on Good, Bad, Queen (Albarn trademark or DNA I guess); the 'chinese' melodies I feel are fairly standard - sort of thing you you hear on Buddhist chant records (where they add percussion and mellotron). There is LOTS of Michael Nyman style rhythm (which is why it won't sound like Gorillaz anywhere)- particularly with orchestral 'strings'. On one track (March of the iron army) this is added to a vocal reminiscent of the score for Nevsky - so if a Nyman/Prokoviev mash up is your thing...Basically, though I want to support the whole idea of this kind of production - there's only Damon Albarn doing all these really interesting projects and, dare I make the comparison with the Beatles, very few composers are able to imagine things that reach such a broad cross-section of the public - I like the idea of the blue rinse set listening to Good Bad Queen and buying art by the 'zombie flesh eaters'!

worthy of 5 stars, 20 Nov 2008
Fantastic album. If you're already a fan, then this is certainly worth it. This album has the vibe and feel good factor coming straight from Dimanche a Bamako. Chilled out and up-beat, it's beautiful music to listen to especially track 5. Buy and enjoy.

A great Nitin album, 11 Nov 2008
I saw Nitin play in Bristol in early November 2008 and he gave the best performance of the 5 times I have seen him. A delicate and sensitive gig, with Nitin mainly playing acoustic guitar, accompanied by some sublime cello playing and indian flute and tabla playing - all mixed with dreamy singing. This album reflects all that. A true concept album - a 45 minute journey through life today. Such a wide variety of influnces - how wrong the last reviewer is! This is a great Nitin album,and I've loved him from the start. Turn it on, lie back on the sofa and let yourself drift away.

Pure rubbish, 02 Nov 2008
Its been coming for some time and finally Nitin has done it. I felt that the last two Nitin CDs lacked some imagination and this CD is by far the worst he has produced. The pop songs which start the album are derivative and when he finally gets to doing what he does best- the Indian influenced music towards the end- its all been heard before. Added to that the worst piece of music he has ever produced- 'My Soul'- 'sung' by Paul McCartney and I found myself sitting there shaking my head in disbelief. Come on Nitin- you had such promise in your early CDs- lets see a return of that spark!

Sounds like heaven., 21 Oct 2008
Days Of Fire is performed by Natty, an artist starting to get recognition and critical acclaim with his own album Man Like I. This was actually inspired by Natty's own experience of the July bombings in London in 2005. It's a good track, very easy to listen to, and catchy. It sounds like London and it's upbeat and a little bit gritty. A great opener.

October Daze features Tina Grace, who I admit I had not heard of prior to this release. She has a good, dulcet voice. The track reminds me of Portishead in its sound.

Bring It Home includes vocals from the talented Imogen Heap, and starts off very dreamy, slow and ambient but then changes tempo and becomes upbeat and funky, like a track you'd hear in a funky, upmarket wine bar in the city.

Interlude 1 includes spoken vocals by Paul McCartney and it's overall a great introduction to the following track, My Soul which features Paul McCartney himself.

My Soul was written as Paul's first real public expression of emotions regarding what transpired with his ex wife. Very moving and poignant piece with beautiful, subtle female vocals in the background which sound very classical Indian.

Interlude II is comprised of spoken Spanish in a sensual tone, speaking of the mountains. The wood instrument at the end is haunting and again, flows effortlessly into the next track.

Distant Dreams has gorgeous jazz instrumentals and the vocallist sounds very familiar, despite me not being familiar with her by name (Roxanne Tataei).

Interlude III is the most Nitin-Sawhney-esque piece so far; classic funky Indian music and vocals.

Shadowland is much the same as Interlude, although the female vocallist there has been replaced in this track by a male.

Daybreak....The song would not be out of place in some fancy Indian restaurant or on Brick Lane. Gorgeous.

Ek Taan contains mind-blowingly beautiful female vocals and a very relaxing piano instrumental, and it melds into an easy, relaxed next track.

Transmission is relaxed but for me not a track I like because it sounds a bit too monotonous in terms of the vocal register used.

Last Train To Midnight is much the same as Transmission.

Firmament is a gorgeous instrumental, classic Nitin Sawhney. Simple, moving, understated and beautiful.

The album closes with Charu Keshi Rain in collaboration with Anoushkar Shankar, and this, along with My Soul, is my favourite track on the album. Beautiful sitars and relaxing, effortless grace.




WOW...SIMPLY AMAZING!, 10 Nov 2002
This is a terrific CD, with its wild meld of celtic, pop, folk, and country strains. The Chieftains, accompanied by such music greats as Sting, Mick Jagger, Sinead O'Connor, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, among others...who would have thought such an assemblage would result in such a cohesive recording of such wildly divergent music? Of particular note are Sting's mournful rendition of "Mo Ghile Mear" and Sinead O'Connor's stylization of "The Foggy Dew" and "He Moved Through The Fair". Mick Jagger also does justice to "A Long Black Veil". This CD is simply a great recording overall!

Fiddles, whistles and rock stars!, 27 Apr 2001
This CD certainly proves that The Chieftains have friends in high places! This album is packed full of rock stars (Mick Jagger, Sting, Sinead O' Connor, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Tom Jones and Marianne Faithfull) singing traditional Irish songs. This is an interesting album and the songs do work better than I expected them too. This is a lively collection of songs and none of the artists sound out of place, but I think I would still prefer hearing these songs sung by folk singers. Nonetheless this is a good introduction to The Chieftain's style of music and an essential buy if you are a fan of the artists involved.

Disappointing, 17 Nov 2008
I'd been really looking forward to this release, unfortunately I have to say it's the worst of Damon Albarn's career.

I was equally disappointed with the opera itself, which I saw last weekend. A few parts were very very good, but on the whole it's really dull.

Quite interesting, incidentally ... (6/10), 11 Sep 2008
I have been a keen advoate of all things Damon Albarn post-Graham Coxon (i.e., Blur's `Think Tank` and beyond) so was understandably quite excited by the album release of `Monkey, Journey to the West`. I had not seen the Chinese opera-spectacular which this album scores but I didn't let that dissuade me from pre-ordering this one from Amazon. What I hadn't realised was that this 22-song collection largely comprises incidental compositions from the opera and doesn't stand up as an album in its own right. Unless you have seen the opera - in which case this might make a compelling souvenir - I feel duty-bound to warn you not to expect something on the scale of other Albarn side-projects such as Gorillaz' `Demon Days`, `Mali Music` or `The Good, the Bad and the Queen`.

There are handfull of lovely individual songs - particularly the Himalayan Kate Bushisms of `Heavenly Peach Blanket' - but the majority are sonic doodles of varying interest. Predominantly comprising synths and drum machines, fleshed out with guitar, harp and strings, some are diverting enough - even narrational - in their own right, but most score some unseen action intelligable only to those who have seen the production. The effect is sometimes frustratingly akin to being stuck in a theatre foyer ticketless while the action gets underway without you in the audience. And unlike a traditional opera, the music seems rather secondary - or at least only complementary to - the action on stage, rather than the other way around. As a souvenir, it's an attractive package, but I've never been a fan of Jamie Hewlett's artwork - Gorillaz for me was always just about the music.

good but great?, 03 Sep 2008
is this any good, yes. would it be any good without damon albarns name on it? yes but surely wouldn't make the light of day on western charts. its a great opeara score and the good thing is even without having seen the show, its easy to imagine how track names complement the music.. worth buying, still undecided.

A beautiful banquet for the ears, 03 Sep 2008
Just received the album this morning, and on the first listen I am taken to a different world of sounds, which spark so many emotions. I feel as if I am traveling with monkey and his pals.

I haven't seen the opera, but this certainly gives me a private peek into how this amazing project came together!!! Good work boys!

could try harder, 02 Sep 2008
Well, there is no doubt Monkey at the Royal Opera House was one of the events of summer 08 in London and I went and was certainly entertained. As a spectacle I think the whole thing came together and there should have been a DVD. Many would like to have seen this who didn't get an opportunity - rather exclusive compared to Gorillaz. So, the music. Does it stand up? Just about. Unlike Gorillaz and Good, Bad Queen you can really hear the joins in this. It's not the production, which is quite masterful. There's electronica, choirs singing in large spaces, brass, trad Chinese instruments etc. all vying for a place in the mix and I feel this works. You could use this CD to show off your hifi for sure. But I hear all the joins in the musical composition (sorry Damon!): there are vocal melodies directly parallel to what you hear on Good, Bad, Queen (Albarn trademark or DNA I guess); the 'chinese' melodies I feel are fairly standard - sort of thing you you hear on Buddhist chant records (where they add percussion and mellotron). There is LOTS of Michael Nyman style rhythm (which is why it won't sound like Gorillaz anywhere)- particularly with orchestral 'strings'. On one track (March of the iron army) this is added to a vocal reminiscent of the score for Nevsky - so if a Nyman/Prokoviev mash up is your thing...Basically, though I want to support the whole idea of this kind of production - there's only Damon Albarn doing all these really interesting projects and, dare I make the comparison with the Beatles, very few composers are able to imagine things that reach such a broad cross-section of the public - I like the idea of the blue rinse set listening to Good Bad Queen and buying art by the 'zombie flesh eaters'!

Oceans of Venus, 24 Feb 2008
Dengue Fever are a group of eclectic LA hipsters fronted by a bona fide Cambodian pop star (Chhom Nimol), who make a heady brew informed by retro spy-movie soundtracks, psychedelia, lounge jazz and rock and roll. Apparently influenced by organist Ethan Holtzman's trips to Cambodia in 1997 when a unique local 60s-era rock was still prevalent, the band's sound is fleshed out with wide ranging influences from Ethiopian jazz, surf, and garage rock. Nimol's sings mostly in Khmer, giving it distinct Eastern melodies, while the sonic landscape is a mish-mash of retro stylings that would make it ideal for a Quentin Tarrantino or Jim Jarmusch soundtrack. In fact, if you like this you would do well to pick up the latter's Broken Flowers OST, which features the likeminded Holly Golightly and a selection of tracks from the Ethiopian Jazz scene popularised by the Ethiopiques series of compilations.

Beyond all the esoterica, however, Venus on Earth is simply great fun, a collection of left-field pop songs full of hooks and hypnotic grooves. It varies from the Cambodian pyschedelia of opener 'Seeing Hands' to the more American rock'n'roll infused 'Tiger Phone Card' and 'Sober Driver', which feature male back-up vocals and English lyrics. Dengue Fever are strongest, though, when Nimol is allowed to soar and dip alone like a Khmer Liz Frasier. 'Clipped Wings' and 'Woman in the Shoes' do this best, with the vocals beguiling over brooding and intoxocating atmospherics. In the latter, Nimol shifts stealthily between Khmer and English, and you're caught off guard when the lyrics gain a sudden eerie lucidity: "close to me, holding hands at the bottom of the sea / I'll hold you tight until you can't breath".

Foreign language music is often given the rather summary and dismissive categorisation of 'World Music', but this is a narrow and dogmatic viewpoint. Just as current buzz acts such as Vampire Weekend and Yeasayer look further afield for musical reference points, there are numerous acts on the World circuit making exciting and adventurous music that seems set to be embraced by a wider audience. If you like this, try aforementioned artists or soundtracks, or check out Crammed label's '20 Ways to Float Through Walls'. Open your ears and enjoy.

To gauge the magnitude of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's popularity in his native Hawaii, consider this: following his death in 1997 (at age 38, attributed to his profound obesity), Kamakawiwo'ole's body lay in state in the state capitol, only the second person to receive such an honor. Kamakawiwo'ole's appeal lies in his love for prestatehood, precondominium Hawaii and the expressiveness of his gently passionate voice, which can float through higher registers with an ease that brings Johnny Mathis to mind. Several selections ("Ka Pua U'i," "White Sandy Beach of Hawai'i," the sun-kissed "La 'Elima") feature Kamakawiwo'ole in a traditional mood, using only his ukulele to adorn the charm of his native lyricism. Others, such as the Jimmy Buffett-like "Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man" add playful contemporary touches that suit Kamakawiwo'ole's style. Most touching are the string-backed laments that open and close the album, "Hawai'i '78 Introduction" and "Hawai'i '78," initially a reflection on his father's death, later on the passing of Hawaii's native culture. Best known is his medley "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World," which played over the closing credits of the film Meet Joe Black. --Terry Wood

worthy of 5 stars, 20 Nov 2008
Fantastic album. If you're already a fan, then this is certainly worth it. This album has the vibe and feel good factor coming straight from Dimanche a Bamako. Chilled out and up-beat, it's beautiful music to listen to especially track 5. Buy and enjoy.

A great Nitin album, 11 Nov 2008
I saw Nitin play in Bristol in early November 2008 and he gave the best performance of the 5 times I have seen him. A delicate and sensitive gig, with Nitin mainly playing acoustic guitar, accompanied by some sublime cello playing and indian flute and tabla playing - all mixed with dreamy singing. This album reflects all that. A true concept album - a 45 minute journey through life today. Such a wide variety of influnces - how wrong the last reviewer is! This is a great Nitin album,and I've loved him from the start. Turn it on, lie back on the sofa and let yourself drift away.

Pure rubbish, 02 Nov 2008
Its been coming for some time and finally Nitin has done it. I felt that the last two Nitin CDs lacked some imagination and this CD is by far the worst he has produced. The pop songs which start the album are derivative and when he finally gets to doing what he does best- the Indian influenced music towards the end- its all been heard before. Added to that the worst piece of music he has ever produced- 'My Soul'- 'sung' by Paul McCartney and I found myself sitting there shaking my head in disbelief. Come on Nitin- you had such promise in your early CDs- lets see a return of that spark!

Sounds like heaven., 21 Oct 2008
Days Of Fire is performed by Natty, an artist starting to get recognition and critical acclaim with his own album Man Like I. This was actually inspired by Natty's own experience of the July bombings in London in 2005. It's a good track, very easy to listen to, and catchy. It sounds like London and it's upbeat and a little bit gritty. A great opener.

October Daze features Tina Grace, who I admit I had not heard of prior to this release. She has a good, dulcet voice. The track reminds me of Portishead in its sound.

Bring It Home includes vocals from the talented Imogen Heap, and starts off very dreamy, slow and ambient but then changes tempo and becomes upbeat and funky, like a track you'd hear in a funky, upmarket wine bar in the city.

Interlude 1 includes spoken vocals by Paul McCartney and it's overall a great introduction to the following track, My Soul which features Paul McCartney himself.

My Soul was written as Paul's first real public expression of emotions regarding what transpired with his ex wife. Very moving and poignant piece with beautiful, subtle female vocals in the background which sound very classical Indian.

Interlude II is comprised of spoken Spanish in a sensual tone, speaking of the mountains. The wood instrument at the end is haunting and again, flows effortlessly into the next track.

Distant Dreams has gorgeous jazz instrumentals and the vocallist sounds very familiar, despite me not being familiar with her by name (Roxanne Tataei).

Interlude III is the most Nitin-Sawhney-esque piece so far; classic funky Indian music and vocals.

Shadowland is much the same as Interlude, although the female vocallist there has been replaced in this track by a male.

Daybreak....The song would not be out of place in some fancy Indian restaurant or on Brick Lane. Gorgeous.

Ek Taan contains mind-blowingly beautiful female vocals and a very relaxing piano instrumental, and it melds into an easy, relaxed next track.

Transmission is relaxed but for me not a track I like because it sounds a bit too monotonous in terms of the vocal register used.

Last Train To Midnight is much the same as Transmission.

Firmament is a gorgeous instrumental, classic Nitin Sawhney. Simple, moving, understated and beautiful.

The album closes with Charu Keshi Rain in collaboration with Anoushkar Shankar, and this, along with My Soul, is my favourite track on the album. Beautiful sitars and relaxing, effortless grace.




WOW...SIMPLY AMAZING!, 10 Nov 2002
This is a terrific CD, with its wild meld of celtic, pop, folk, and country strains. The Chieftains, accompanied by such music greats as Sting, Mick Jagger, Sinead O'Connor, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, among others...who would have thought such an assemblage would result in such a cohesive recording of such wildly divergent music? Of particular note are Sting's mournful rendition of "Mo Ghile Mear" and Sinead O'Connor's stylization of "The Foggy Dew" and "He Moved Through The Fair". Mick Jagger also does justice to "A Long Black Veil". This CD is simply a great recording overall!

Fiddles, whistles and rock stars!, 27 Apr 2001
This CD certainly proves that The Chieftains have friends in high places! This album is packed full of rock stars (Mick Jagger, Sting, Sinead O' Connor, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Tom Jones and Marianne Faithfull) singing traditional Irish songs. This is an interesting album and the songs do work better than I expected them too. This is a lively collection of songs and none of the artists sound out of place, but I think I would still prefer hearing these songs sung by folk singers. Nonetheless this is a good introduction to The Chieftain's style of music and an essential buy if you are a fan of the artists involved.

Disappointing, 17 Nov 2008
I'd been really looking forward to this release, unfortunately I have to say it's the worst of Damon Albarn's career.

I was equally disappointed with the opera itself, which I saw last weekend. A few parts were very very good, but on the whole it's really dull.

Quite interesting, incidentally ... (6/10), 11 Sep 2008
I have been a keen advoate of all things Damon Albarn post-Graham Coxon (i.e., Blur's `Think Tank` and beyond) so was understandably quite excited by the album release of `Monkey, Journey to the West`. I had not seen the Chinese opera-spectacular which this album scores but I didn't let that dissuade me from pre-ordering this one from Amazon. What I hadn't realised was that this 22-song collection largely comprises incidental compositions from the opera and doesn't stand up as an album in its own right. Unless you have seen the opera - in which case this might make a compelling souvenir - I feel duty-bound to warn you not to expect something on the scale of other Albarn side-projects such as Gorillaz' `Demon Days`, `Mali Music` or `The Good, the Bad and the Queen`.

There are handfull of lovely individual songs - particularly the Himalayan Kate Bushisms of `Heavenly Peach Blanket' - but the majority are sonic doodles of varying interest. Predominantly comprising synths and drum machines, fleshed out with guitar, harp and strings, some are diverting enough - even narrational - in their own right, but most score some unseen action intelligable only to those who have seen the production. The effect is sometimes frustratingly akin to being stuck in a theatre foyer ticketless while the action gets underway without you in the audience. And unlike a traditional opera, the music seems rather secondary - or at least only complementary to - the action on stage, rather than the other way around. As a souvenir, it's an attractive package, but I've never been a fan of Jamie Hewlett's artwork - Gorillaz for me was always just about the music.

good but great?, 03 Sep 2008
is this any good, yes. would it be any good without damon albarns name on it? yes but surely wouldn't make the light of day on western charts. its a great opeara score and the good thing is even without having seen the show, its easy to imagine how track names complement the music.. worth buying, still undecided.

A beautiful banquet for the ears, 03 Sep 2008
Just received the album this morning, and on the first listen I am taken to a different world of sounds, which spark so many emotions. I feel as if I am traveling with monkey and his pals.

I haven't seen the opera, but this certainly gives me a private peek into how this amazing project came together!!! Good work boys!

could try harder, 02 Sep 2008
Well, there is no doubt Monkey at the Royal Opera House was one of the events of summer 08 in London and I went and was certainly entertained. As a spectacle I think the whole thing came together and there should have been a DVD. Many would like to have seen this who didn't get an opportunity - rather exclusive compared to Gorillaz. So, the music. Does it stand up? Just about. Unlike Gorillaz and Good, Bad Queen you can really hear the joins in this. It's not the production, which is quite masterful. There's electronica, choirs singing in large spaces, brass, trad Chinese instruments etc. all vying for a place in the mix and I feel this works. You could use this CD to show off your hifi for sure. But I hear all the joins in the musical composition (sorry Damon!): there are vocal melodies directly parallel to what you hear on Good, Bad, Queen (Albarn trademark or DNA I guess); the 'chinese' melodies I feel are fairly standard - sort of thing you you hear on Buddhist chant records (where they add percussion and mellotron). There is LOTS of Michael Nyman style rhythm (which is why it won't sound like Gorillaz anywhere)- particularly with orchestral 'strings'. On one track (March of the iron army) this is added to a vocal reminiscent of the score for Nevsky - so if a Nyman/Prokoviev mash up is your thing...Basically, though I want to support the whole idea of this kind of production - there's only Damon Albarn doing all these really interesting projects and, dare I make the comparison with the Beatles, very few composers are able to imagine things that reach such a broad cross-section of the public - I like the idea of the blue rinse set listening to Good Bad Queen and buying art by the 'zombie flesh eaters'!

Oceans of Venus, 24 Feb 2008
Dengue Fever are a group of eclectic LA hipsters fronted by a bona fide Cambodian pop star (Chhom Nimol), who make a heady brew informed by retro spy-movie soundtracks, psychedelia, lounge jazz and rock and roll. Apparently influenced by organist Ethan Holtzman's trips to Cambodia in 1997 when a unique local 60s-era rock was still prevalent, the band's sound is fleshed out with wide ranging influences from Ethiopian jazz, surf, and garage rock. Nimol's sings mostly in Khmer, giving it distinct Eastern melodies, while the sonic landscape is a mish-mash of retro stylings that would make it ideal for a Quentin Tarrantino or Jim Jarmusch soundtrack. In fact, if you like this you would do well to pick up the latter's Broken Flowers OST, which features the likeminded Holly Golightly and a selection of tracks from the Ethiopian Jazz scene popularised by the Ethiopiques series of compilations.

Beyond all the esoterica, however, Venus on Earth is simply great fun, a collection of left-field pop songs full of hooks and hypnotic grooves. It varies from the Cambodian pyschedelia of opener 'Seeing Hands' to the more American rock'n'roll infused 'Tiger Phone Card' and 'Sober Driver', which feature male back-up vocals and English lyrics. Dengue Fever are strongest, though, when Nimol is allowed to soar and dip alone like a Khmer Liz Frasier. 'Clipped Wings' and 'Woman in the Shoes' do this best, with the vocals beguiling over brooding and intoxocating atmospherics. In the latter, Nimol shifts stealthily between Khmer and English, and you're caught off guard when the lyrics gain a sudden eerie lucidity: "close to me, holding hands at the bottom of the sea / I'll hold you tight until you can't breath".

Foreign language music is often given the rather summary and dismissive categorisation of 'World Music', but this is a narrow and dogmatic viewpoint. Just as current buzz acts such as Vampire Weekend and Yeasayer look further afield for musical reference points, there are numerous acts on the World circuit making exciting and adventurous music that seems set to be embraced by a wider audience. If you like this, try aforementioned artists or soundtracks, or check out Crammed label's '20 Ways to Float Through Walls'. Open your ears and enjoy.


A pure easy soaring voice, 18 May 2008
Why oh why have I only just discovered this wonderful man? I have been listening solidly all day to Over the Rainbow and Kaulana Kawaihae, and can't get enough! Both tracks are just so moving, especially knowing Iz is no more. I still have to listen to the other tracks! I have already orderd another cd and that will not be the last. What a shame he wasn't more widely known. Tell everyone about this amazing talent.

Mark, 02 Dec 2007
I first heard "Beautiful World" on Classic FM (Radio) and bought on that basis and did not regret it, OK one or two are not quite my liking, but overall its' beautiful, and other friends have liked it (including one who sings in a classical group), I don't understand some if it (in Hawaiian) but the harmony is brilliant, and would recommend it to anyone whose music taste can run that way (bearing in mind I still think that Ozzy and Sabbath are the best band ever!)

MY NAME'S SAM TYLER...., 15 Apr 2007
Let's add to the ads and films/TV shows Iz's version of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" has already been used in with the final episode of the sublime Life on Mars. As Sam "returns home" this song starts playing...and we all end up with a tear in our eye! Astonishingly not on the LOM Soundtrack CD (nor Tom Wait's "Hope I don't fall in love with you", also featured in the last episode - astonishing omissions) this song is a wondeful contrast to the rest of the series' 70's soundtrack. Know nothing about Iz other than he's no longer with us but with this undoubtedly reaching a new audience expect him to "do an Eva Cassidy".

Sorry, but it's not THAT good., 04 Sep 2006
There are quite a few 5 star reviews here, and I'm sorry to be a dissenting voice, but there's no way that I can give it an unconditional endorsement.
There's no doubt that the boy's got an amazing voice, and most of the songs are rendered very nicely. But, if you're buying this for 'over the rainbow/wonderful world', you may not like what you get. The other songs are of a very different (hawaian) style. Even 'Over the Rainbow' is terminated in a very grating manner (a load of guttural noises that spoil the song) - it was a bad call by Isreal and the recording engineers really ought to have removed it.
Of the remaining songs, some of them are great, if your tastes extend to that style (although 'take me home' doesn't translate well into Israel's style, in my opinion). Personally, I can listen to it, but wouldn't go out of my way to do so. I guess that, in some ways, that makes me a poor person to pass comment. BUT, like others here, I bought this for Over the Rainbow, and put my faith in the other tracks in the review comments here.
What comes across in many of the remaining songs is a strong sense of anger at loss of the native Hawaiian culture. In so many ways this is great, but if you want easy listening, perhaps it's too much like listening to Hawaiian independence protest songs - assuming that you listen to the words. If you can shut of from the lyrics, it really is easy listening Hawaiian style...

MAGICAL!, 16 Aug 2005
I bought this album specifically for the 'somewhere over the rainbow' song, which gets right to my heart every time I heard it on the end of a film/advert. Just listened to the rest of the album and its all absolutely magical! The sound, the words, his voice profoundly exquisite!!! Would recommend this to everyone for a really relaxed mood but also to anyone who appreciates great and original music. Wish I had discovered him sooner!

worthy of 5 stars, 20 Nov 2008
Fantastic album. If you're already a fan, then this is certainly worth it. This album has the vibe and feel good factor coming straight from Dimanche a Bamako. Chilled out and up-beat, it's beautiful music to listen to especially track 5. Buy and enjoy.

A great Nitin album, 11 Nov 2008
I saw Nitin play in Bristol in early November 2008 and he gave the best performance of the 5 times I have seen him. A delicate and sensitive gig, with Nitin mainly playing acoustic guitar, accompanied by some sublime cello playing and indian flute and tabla playing - all mixed with dreamy singing. This album reflects all that. A true concept album - a 45 minute journey through life today. Such a wide variety of influnces - how wrong the last reviewer is! This is a great Nitin album,and I've loved him from the start. Turn it on, lie back on the sofa and let yourself drift away.

Pure rubbish, 02 Nov 2008
Its been coming for some time and finally Nitin has done it. I felt that the last two Nitin CDs lacked some imagination and this CD is by far the worst he has produced. The pop songs which start the album are derivative and when he finally gets to doing what he does best- the Indian influenced music towards the end- its all been heard before. Added to that the worst piece of music he has ever produced- 'My Soul'- 'sung' by Paul McCartney and I found myself sitting there shaking my head in disbelief. Come on Nitin- you had such promise in your early CDs- lets see a return of that spark!

Sounds like heaven., 21 Oct 2008
Days Of Fire is performed by Natty, an artist starting to get recognition and critical acclaim with his own album Man Like I. This was actually inspired by Natty's own experience of the July bombings in London in 2005. It's a good track, very easy to listen to, and catchy. It sounds like London and it's upbeat and a little bit gritty. A great opener.

October Daze features Tina Grace, who I admit I had not heard of prior to this release. She has a good, dulcet voice. The track reminds me of Portishead in its sound.

Bring It Home includes vocals from the talented Imogen Heap, and starts off very dreamy, slow and ambient but then changes tempo and becomes upbeat and funky, like a track you'd hear in a funky, upmarket wine bar in the city.

Interlude 1 includes spoken vocals by Paul McCartney and it's overall a great introduction to the following track, My Soul which features Paul McCartney himself.

My Soul was written as Paul's first real public expression of emotions regarding what transpired with his ex wife. Very moving and poignant piece with beautiful, subtle female vocals in the background which sound very classical Indian.

Interlude II is comprised of spoken Spanish in a sensual tone, speaking of the mountains. The wood instrument at the end is haunting and again, flows effortlessly into the next track.

Distant Dreams has gorgeous jazz instrumentals and the vocallist sounds very familiar, despite me not being familiar with her by name (Roxanne Tataei).

Interlude III is the most Nitin-Sawhney-esque piece so far; classic funky Indian music and vocals.

Shadowland is much the same as Interlude, although the female vocallist there has been replaced in this track by a male.

Daybreak....The song would not be out of place in some fancy Indian restaurant or on Brick Lane. Gorgeous.

Ek Taan contains mind-blowingly beautiful female vocals and a very relaxing piano instrumental, and it melds into an easy, relaxed next track.

Transmission is relaxed but for me not a track I like because it sounds a bit too monotonous in terms of the vocal register used.

Last Train To Midnight is much the same as Transmission.

Firmament is a gorgeous instrumental, classic Nitin Sawhney. Simple, moving, understated and beautiful.

The album closes with Charu Keshi Rain in collaboration with Anoushkar Shankar, and this, along with My Soul, is my favourite track on the album. Beautiful sitars and relaxing, effortless grace.




WOW...SIMPLY AMAZING!, 10 Nov 2002
This is a terrific CD, with its wild meld of celtic, pop, folk, and country strains. The Chieftains, accompanied by such music greats as Sting, Mick Jagger, Sinead O'Connor, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, among others...who would have thought such an assemblage would result in such a cohesive recording of such wildly divergent music? Of particular note are Sting's mournful rendition of "Mo Ghile Mear" and Sinead O'Connor's stylization of "The Foggy Dew" and "He Moved Through The Fair". Mick Jagger also does justice to "A Long Black Veil". This CD is simply a great recording overall!

Fiddles, whistles and rock stars!, 27 Apr 2001
This CD certainly proves that The Chieftains have friends in high places! This album is packed full of rock stars (Mick Jagger, Sting, Sinead O' Connor, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Tom Jones and Marianne Faithfull) singing traditional Irish songs. This is an interesting album and the songs do work better than I expected them too. This is a lively collection of songs and none of the artists sound out of place, but I think I would still prefer hearing these songs sung by folk singers. Nonetheless this is a good introduction to The Chieftain's style of music and an essential buy if you are a fan of the artists involved.

Disappointing, 17 Nov 2008
I'd been really looking forward to this release, unfortunately I have to say it's the worst of Damon Albarn's career.

I was equally disappointed with the opera itself, which I saw last weekend. A few parts were very very good, but on the whole it's really dull.

Quite interesting, incidentally ... (6/10), 11 Sep 2008
I have been a keen advoate of all things Damon Albarn post-Graham Coxon (i.e., Blur's `Think Tank` and beyond) so was understandably quite excited by the album release of `Monkey, Journey to the West`. I had not seen the Chinese opera-spectacular which this album scores but I didn't let that dissuade me from pre-ordering this one from Amazon. What I hadn't realised was that this 22-song collection largely comprises incidental compositions from the opera and doesn't stand up as an album in its own right. Unless you have seen the opera - in which case this might make a compelling souvenir - I feel duty-bound to warn you not to expect something on the scale of other Albarn side-projects such as Gorillaz' `Demon Days`, `Mali Music` or `The Good, the Bad and the Queen`.

There are handfull of lovely individual songs - particularly the Himalayan Kate Bushisms of `Heavenly Peach Blanket' - but the majority are sonic doodles of varying interest. Predominantly comprising synths and drum machines, fleshed out with guitar, harp and strings, some are diverting enough - even narrational - in their own right, but most score some unseen action intelligable only to those who have seen the production. The effect is sometimes frustratingly akin to being stuck in a theatre foyer ticketless while the action gets underway without you in the audience. And unlike a traditional opera, the music seems rather secondary - or at least only complementary to - the action on stage, rather than the other way around. As a souvenir, it's an attractive package, but I've never been a fan of Jamie Hewlett's artwork - Gorillaz for me was always just about the music.

good but great?, 03 Sep 2008
is this any good, yes. would it be any good without damon albarns name on it? yes but surely wouldn't make the light of day on western charts. its a great opeara score and the good thing is even without having seen the show, its easy to imagine how track names complement the music.. worth buying, still undecided.

A beautiful banquet for the ears, 03 Sep 2008
Just received the album this morning, and on the first listen I am taken to a different world of sounds, which spark so many emotions. I feel as if I am traveling with monkey and his pals.

I haven't seen the opera, but this certainly gives me a private peek into how this amazing project came together!!! Good work boys!

could try harder, 02 Sep 2008
Well, there is no doubt Monkey at the Royal Opera House was one of the events of summer 08 in London and I went and was certainly entertained. As a spectacle I think the whole thing came together and there should have been a DVD. Many would like to have seen this who didn't get an opportunity - rather exclusive compared to Gorillaz. So, the music. Does it stand up? Just about. Unlike Gorillaz and Good, Bad Queen you can really hear the joins in this. It's not the production, which is quite masterful. There's electronica, choirs singing in large spaces, brass, trad Chinese instruments etc. all vying for a place in the mix and I feel this works. You could use this CD to show off your hifi for sure. But I hear all the joins in the musical composition (sorry Damon!): there are vocal melodies directly parallel to what you hear on Good, Bad, Queen (Albarn trademark or DNA I guess); the 'chinese' melodies I feel are fairly standard - sort of thing you you hear on Buddhist chant records (where they add percussion and mellotron). There is LOTS of Michael Nyman style rhythm (which is why it won't sound like Gorillaz anywhere)- particularly with orchestral 'strings'. On one track (March of the iron army) this is added to a vocal reminiscent of the score for Nevsky - so if a Nyman/Prokoviev mash up is your thing...Basically, though I want to support the whole idea of this kind of production - there's only Damon Albarn doing all these really interesting projects and, dare I make the comparison with the Beatles, very few composers are able to imagine things that reach such a broad cross-section of the public - I like the idea of the blue rinse set listening to Good Bad Queen and buying art by the 'zombie flesh eaters'!

Oceans of Venus, 24 Feb 2008
Dengue Fever are a group of eclectic LA hipsters fronted by a bona fide Cambodian pop star (Chhom Nimol), who make a heady brew informed by retro spy-movie soundtracks, psychedelia, lounge jazz and rock and roll. Apparently influenced by organist Ethan Holtzman's trips to Cambodia in 1997 when a unique local 60s-era rock was still prevalent, the band's sound is fleshed out with wide ranging influences from Ethiopian jazz, surf, and garage rock. Nimol's sings mostly in Khmer, giving it distinct Eastern melodies, while the sonic landscape is a mish-mash of retro stylings that would make it ideal for a Quentin Tarrantino or Jim Jarmusch soundtrack. In fact, if you like this you would do well to pick up the latter's Broken Flowers OST, which features the likeminded Holly Golightly and a selection of tracks from the Ethiopian Jazz scene popularised by the Ethiopiques series of compilations.

Beyond all the esoterica, however, Venus on Earth is simply great fun, a collection of left-field pop songs full of hooks and hypnotic grooves. It varies from the Cambodian pyschedelia of opener 'Seeing Hands' to the more American rock'n'roll infused 'Tiger Phone Card' and 'Sober Driver', which feature male back-up vocals and English lyrics. Dengue Fever are strongest, though, when Nimol is allowed to soar and dip alone like a Khmer Liz Frasier. 'Clipped Wings' and 'Woman in the Shoes' do this best, with the vocals beguiling over brooding and intoxocating atmospherics. In the latter, Nimol shifts stealthily between Khmer and English, and you're caught off guard when the lyrics gain a sudden eerie lucidity: "close to me, holding hands at the bottom of the sea / I'll hold you tight until you can't breath".

Foreign language music is often given the rather summary and dismissive categorisation of 'World Music', but this is a narrow and dogmatic viewpoint. Just as current buzz acts such as Vampire Weekend and Yeasayer look further afield for musical reference points, there are numerous acts on the World circuit making exciting and adventurous music that seems set to be embraced by a wider audience. If you like this, try aforementioned artists or soundtracks, or check out Crammed label's '20 Ways to Float Through Walls'. Open your ears and enjoy.


A pure easy soaring voice, 18 May 2008
Why oh why have I only just discovered this wonderful man? I have been listening solidly all day to Over the Rainbow and Kaulana Kawaihae, and can't get enough! Both tracks are just so moving, especially knowing Iz is no more. I still have to listen to the other tracks! I have already orderd another cd and that will not be the last. What a shame he wasn't more widely known. Tell everyone about this amazing talent.

Mark, 02 Dec 2007
I first heard "Beautiful World" on Classic FM (Radio) and bought on that basis and did not regret it, OK one or two are not quite my liking, but overall its' beautiful, and other friends have liked it (including one who sings in a classical group), I don't understand some if it (in Hawaiian) but the harmony is brilliant, and would recommend it to anyone whose music taste can run that way (bearing in mind I still think that Ozzy and Sabbath are the best band ever!)

MY NAME'S SAM TYLER...., 15 Apr 2007
Let's add to the ads and films/TV shows Iz's version of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" has already been used in with the final episode of the sublime Life on Mars. As Sam "returns home" this song starts playing...and we all end up with a tear in our eye! Astonishingly not on the LOM Soundtrack CD (nor Tom Wait's "Hope I don't fall in love with you", also featured in the last episode - astonishing omissions) this song is a wondeful contrast to the rest of the series' 70's soundtrack. Know nothing about Iz other than he's no longer with us but with this undoubtedly reaching a new audience expect him to "do an Eva Cassidy".

Sorry, but it's not THAT good., 04 Sep 2006
There are quite a few 5 star reviews here, and I'm sorry to be a dissenting voice, but there's no way that I can give it an unconditional endorsement.
There's no doubt that the boy's got an amazing voice, and most of the songs are rendered very nicely. But, if you're buying this for 'over the rainbow/wonderful world', you may not like what you get. The other songs are of a very different (hawaian) style. Even 'Over the Rainbow' is terminated in a very grating manner (a load of guttural noises that spoil the song) - it was a bad call by Isreal and the recording engineers really ought to have removed it.
Of the remaining songs, some of them are great, if your tastes extend to that style (although 'take me home' doesn't translate well into Israel's style, in my opinion). Personally, I can listen to it, but wouldn't go out of my way to do so. I guess that, in some ways, that makes me a poor person to pass comment. BUT, like others here, I bought this for Over the Rainbow, and put my faith in the other tracks in the review comments here.
What comes across in many of the remaining songs is a strong sense of anger at loss of the native Hawaiian culture. In so many ways this is great, but if you want easy listening, perhaps it's too much like listening to Hawaiian independence protest songs - assuming that you listen to the words. If you can shut of from the lyrics, it really is easy listening Hawaiian style...

MAGICAL!, 16 Aug 2005
I bought this album specifically for the 'somewhere over the rainbow' song, which gets right to my heart every time I heard it on the end of a film/advert. Just listened to the rest of the album and its all absolutely magical! The sound, the words, his voice profoundly exquisite!!! Would recommend this to everyone for a really relaxed mood but also to anyone who appreciates great and original music. Wish I had discovered him sooner!

Not What I Expected, 10 Nov 2008
First off, I would like to say that I love Bruce Parry and his causes and I am pleased at least the CD cost is going to good use.
However, I do like the tribal chanting - but HATE the accompanying soundtrack to it - which is techno/trancey. I was expecting it to be more in tune with the tribal chanting. Not my cup of tea, sorry Bruce - but still love you. Not to worry, it is my dad's birthday at end of November so I shall pan it off to him as a present.


BUY THIS ALBUM - MAKE A DIFFERENCE - THAT EASY, 20 Oct 2008
It could have been syrupy and preachy. Thankfully, it is 'serious' but also fun.

Disc 1 is a collection 10 songs and is the 'serious' album, where as disc 2 also has 10 tracks of corking dance music utilising samples collected by Bruce Parry. Collected running time is about an hour and twenty/twenty five minutes. So you get your pennies worth.

Trust me: if it had been 'wrong' and OTT I would have said so! I usually hate 'charity' records but this really sets a high standard. Great album for a great and important cause. Snap it up!

Parry delivers, 08 Oct 2008
Big fan of Bruce Parry, so bought this when I saw him promoting it. Mostly excellent - Coldplay guy, KT Tunstall and Johnny Borrell in particular. Only one real dud - don't think will.i.am's heart was in it somehow - but 19 decent tracks out of 20 isn't bad, and it's stuff you won't get anywhere else.

Fantastic album, 07 Oct 2008
Survival International's amazing work defending tribal peoples has inspired me ever since I first heard about it. The artists who contributed to this beautiful, eclectic collection clearly feel the same - the album is full of absolutely stunning tracks. I'll be listening to this one over and over again.

Great compilation album, 01 Oct 2008
Came across this album after seeing an advert in NME. Bought it and have been really impressed by the artists and original tracks for this charity compilation album. Very unusual to find original tracks by such great artists. Great charity Survival International who deserve all the support they can get. Go buy.

worthy of 5 stars, 20 Nov 2008
Fantastic album. If you're already a fan, then this is certainly worth it. This album has the vibe and feel good factor coming straight from Dimanche a Bamako. Chilled out and up-beat, it's beautiful music to listen to especially track 5. Buy and enjoy.

A great Nitin album, 11 Nov 2008
I saw Nitin play in Bristol in early November 2008 and he gave the best performance of the 5 times I have seen him. A delicate and sensitive gig, with Nitin mainly playing acoustic guitar, accompanied by some sublime cello playing and indian flute and tabla playing - all mixed with dreamy singing. This album reflects all that. A true concept album - a 45 minute journey through life today. Such a wide variety of influnces - how wrong the last reviewer is! This is a great Nitin album,and I've loved him from the start. Turn it on, lie back on the sofa and let yourself drift away.

Pure rubbish, 02 Nov 2008
Its been coming for some time and finally Nitin has done it. I felt that the last two Nitin CDs lacked some imagination and this CD is by far the worst he has produced. The pop songs which start the album are derivative and when he finally gets to doing what he does best- the Indian influenced music towards the end- its all been heard before. Added to that the worst piece of music he has ever produced- 'My Soul'- 'sung' by Paul McCartney and I found myself sitting there shaking my head in disbelief. Come on Nitin- you had such promise in your early CDs- lets see a return of that spark!

Sounds like heaven., 21 Oct 2008
Days Of Fire is performed by Natty, an artist starting to get recognition and critical acclaim with his own album Man Like I. This was actually inspired by Natty's own experience of the July bombings in London in 2005. It's a good track, very easy to listen to, and catchy. It sounds like London and it's upbeat and a little bit gritty. A great opener.

October Daze features Tina Grace, who I admit I had not heard of prior to this release. She has a good, dulcet voice. The track reminds me of Portishead in its sound.

Bring It Home includes vocals from the talented Imogen Heap, and starts off very dreamy, slow and ambient but then changes tempo and becomes upbeat and funky, like a track you'd hear in a funky, upmarket wine bar in the city.

Interlude 1 includes spoken vocals by Paul McCartney and it's overall a great introduction to the following track, My Soul which features Paul McCartney himself.

My Soul was written as Paul's first real public expression of emotions regarding what transpired with his ex wife. Very moving and poignant piece with beautiful, subtle female vocals in the background which sound very classical Indian.

Interlude II is comprised of spoken Spanish in a sensual tone, speaking of the mountains. The wood instrument at the end is haunting and again, flows effortlessly into the next track.

Distant Dreams has gorgeous jazz instrumentals and the vocallist sounds very familiar, despite me not being familiar with her by name (Roxanne Tataei).

Interlude III is the most Nitin-Sawhney-esque piece so far; classic funky Indian music and vocals.

Shadowland is much the same as Interlude, although the female vocallist there has been replaced in this track by a male.

Daybreak....The song would not be out of place in some fancy Indian restaurant or on Brick Lane. Gorgeous.

Ek Taan contains mind-blowingly beautiful female vocals and a very relaxing piano instrumental, and it melds into an easy, relaxed next track.

Transmission is relaxed but for me not a track I like because it sounds a bit too monotonous in terms of the vocal register used.

Last Train To Midnight is much the same as Transmission.

Firmament is a gorgeous instrumental, classic Nitin Sawhney. Simple, moving, understated and beautiful.

The album closes with Charu Keshi Rain in collaboration with Anoushkar Shankar, and this, along with My Soul, is my favourite track on the album. Beautiful sitars and relaxing, effortless grace.




WOW...SIMPLY AMAZING!, 10 Nov 2002
This is a terrific CD, with its wild meld of celtic, pop, folk, and country strains. The Chieftains, accompanied by such music greats as Sting, Mick Jagger, Sinead O'Connor, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, among others...who would have thought such an assemblage would result in such a cohesive recording of such wildly divergent music? Of particular note are Sting's mournful rendition of "Mo Ghile Mear" and Sinead O'Connor's stylization of "The Foggy Dew" and "He Moved Through The Fair". Mick Jagger also does justice to "A Long Black Veil". This CD is simply a great recording overall!

Fiddles, whistles and rock stars!, 27 Apr 2001
This CD certainly proves that The Chieftains have friends in high places! This album is packed full of rock stars (Mick Jagger, Sting, Sinead O' Connor, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Tom Jones and Marianne Faithfull) singing traditional Irish songs. This is an interesting album and the songs do work better than I expected them too. This is a lively collection of songs and none of the artists sound out of place, but I think I would still prefer hearing these songs sung by folk singers. Nonetheless this is a good introduction to The Chieftain's style of music and an essential buy if you are a fan of the artists involved.

Disappointing, 17 Nov 2008
I'd been really looking forward to this release, unfortunately I have to say it's the worst of Damon Albarn's career.

I was equally disappointed with the opera itself, which I saw last weekend. A few parts were very very good, but on the whole it's really dull.

Quite interesting, incidentally ... (6/10), 11 Sep 2008
I have been a keen advoate of all things Damon Albarn post-Graham Coxon (i.e., Blur's `Think Tank` and beyond) so was understandably quite excited by the album release of `Monkey, Journey to the West`. I had not seen the Chinese opera-spectacular which this album scores but I didn't let that dissuade me from pre-ordering this one from Amazon. What I hadn't realised was that this 22-song collection largely comprises incidental compositions from the opera and doesn't stand up as an album in its own right. Unless you have seen the opera - in which case this might make a compelling souvenir - I feel duty-bound to warn you not to expect something on the scale of other Albarn side-projects such as Gorillaz' `Demon Days`, `Mali Music` or `The Good, the Bad and the Queen`.

There are handfull of lovely individual songs - particularly the Himalayan Kate Bushisms of `Heavenly Peach Blanket' - but the majority are sonic doodles of varying interest. Predominantly comprising synths and drum machines, fleshed out with guitar, harp and strings, some are diverting enough - even narrational - in their own right, but most score some unseen action intelligable only to those who have seen the production. The effect is sometimes frustratingly akin to being stuck in a theatre foyer ticketless while the action gets underway without you in the audience. And unlike a traditional opera, the music seems rather secondary - or at least only complementary to - the action on stage, rather than the other way around. As a souvenir, it's an attractive package, but I've never been a fan of Jamie Hewlett's artwork - Gorillaz for me was always just about the music.

good but great?, 03 Sep 2008
is this any good, yes. would it be any good without damon albarns name on it? yes but surely wouldn't make the light of day on western charts. its a great opeara score and the good thing is even without having seen the show, its easy to imagine how track names complement the music.. worth buying, still undecided.

A beautiful banquet for the ears, 03 Sep 2008
Just received the album this morning, and on the first listen I am taken to a different world of sounds, which spark so many emotions. I feel as if I am traveling with monkey and his pals.

I haven't seen the opera, but this certainly gives me a private peek into how this amazing project came together!!! Good work boys!

could try harder, 02 Sep 2008
Well, there is no doubt Monkey at the Royal Opera House was one of the events of summer 08 in London and I went and was certainly entertained. As a spectacle I think the whole thing came together and there should have been a DVD. Many would like to have seen this who didn't get an opportunity - rather exclusive compared to Gorillaz. So, the music. Does it stand up? Just about. Unlike Gorillaz and Good, Bad Queen you can really hear the joins in this. It's not the production, which is quite masterful. There's electronica, choirs singing in large spaces, brass, trad Chinese instruments etc. all vying for a place in the mix and I feel this works. You could use this CD to show off your hifi for sure. But I hear all the joins in the musical composition (sorry Damon!): there are vocal melodies directly parallel to what you hear on Good, Bad, Queen (Albarn trademark or DNA I guess); the 'chinese' melodies I feel are fairly standard - sort of thing you you hear on Buddhist chant records (where they add percussion and mellotron). There is LOTS of Michael Nyman style rhythm (which is why it won't sound like Gorillaz anywhere)- particularly with orchestral 'strings'. On one track (March of the iron army) this is added to a vocal reminiscent of the score for Nevsky - so if a Nyman/Prokoviev mash up is your thing...Basically, though I want to support the whole idea of this kind of production - there's only Damon Albarn doing all these really interesting projects and, dare I make the comparison with the Beatles, very few composers are able to imagine things that reach such a broad cross-section of the public - I like the idea of the blue rinse set listening to Good Bad Queen and buying art by the 'zombie flesh eaters'!

Oceans of Venus, 24 Feb 2008
Dengue Fever are a group of eclectic LA hipsters fronted by a bona fide Cambodian pop star (Chhom Nimol), who make a heady brew informed by retro spy-movie soundtracks, psychedelia, lounge jazz and rock and roll. Apparently influenced by organist Ethan Holtzman's trips to Cambodia in 1997 when a unique local 60s-era rock was still prevalent, the band's sound is fleshed out with wide ranging influences from Ethiopian jazz, surf, and garage rock. Nimol's sings mostly in Khmer, giving it distinct Eastern melodies, while the sonic landscape is a mish-mash of retro stylings that would make it ideal for a Quentin Tarrantino or Jim Jarmusch soundtrack. In fact, if you like this you would do well to pick up the latter's Broken Flowers OST, which features the likeminded Holly Golightly and a selection of tracks from the Ethiopian Jazz scene popularised by the Ethiopiques series of compilations.

Beyond all the esoterica, however, Venus on Earth is simply great fun, a collection of left-field pop songs full of hooks and hypnotic grooves. It varies from the Cambodian pyschedelia of opener 'Seeing Hands' to the more American rock'n'roll infused 'Tiger Phone Card' and 'Sober Driver', which feature male back-up vocals and English lyrics. Dengue Fever are strongest, though, when Nimol is allowed to soar and dip alone like a Khmer Liz Frasier. 'Clipped Wings' and 'Woman in the Shoes' do this best, with the vocals beguiling over brooding and intoxocating atmospherics. In the latter, Nimol shifts stealthily between Khmer and English, and you're caught off guard when the lyrics gain a sudden eerie lucidity: "close to me, holding hands at the bottom of the sea / I'll hold you tight until you can't breath".

Foreign language music is often given the rather summary and dismissive categorisation of 'World Music', but this is a narrow and dogmatic viewpoint. Just as current buzz acts such as Vampire Weekend and Yeasayer look further afield for musical reference points, there are numerous acts on the World circuit making exciting and adventurous music that seems set to be embraced by a wider audience. If you like this, try aforementioned artists or soundtracks, or check out Crammed label's '20 Ways to Float Through Walls'. Open your ears and enjoy.


A pure easy soaring voice, 18 May 2008
Why oh why have I only just discovered this wonderful man? I have been listening solidly all day to Over the Rainbow and Kaulana Kawaihae, and can't get enough! Both tracks are just so moving, especially knowing Iz is no more. I still have to listen to the other tracks! I have already orderd another cd and that will not be the last. What a shame he wasn't more widely known. Tell everyone about this amazing talent.

Mark, 02 Dec 2007
I first heard "Beautiful World" on Classic FM (Radio) and bought on that basis and did not regret it, OK one or two are not quite my liking, but overall its' beautiful, and other friends have liked it (including one who sings in a classical group), I don't understand some if it (in Hawaiian) but the harmony is brilliant, and would recommend it to anyone whose music taste can run that way (bearing in mind I still think that Ozzy and Sabbath are the best band ever!)

MY NAME'S SAM TYLER...., 15 Apr 2007
Let's add to the ads and films/TV shows Iz's version of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" has already been used in with the final episode of the sublime Life on Mars. As Sam "returns home" this song starts playing...and we all end up with a tear in our eye! Astonishingly not on the LOM Soundtrack CD (nor Tom Wait's "Hope I don't fall in love with you", also featured in the last episode - astonishing omissions) this song is a wondeful contrast to the rest of the series' 70's soundtrack. Know nothing about Iz other than he's no longer with us but with this undoubtedly reaching a new audience expect him to "do an Eva Cassidy".

Sorry, but it's not THAT good., 04 Sep 2006
There are quite a few 5 star reviews here, and I'm sorry to be a dissenting voice, but there's no way that I can give it an unconditional endorsement.
There's no doubt that the boy's got an amazing voice, and most of the songs are rendered very nicely. But, if you're buying this for 'over the rainbow/wonderful world', you may not like what you get. The other songs are of a very different (hawaian) style. Even 'Over the Rainbow' is terminated in a very grating manner (a load of guttural noises that spoil the song) - it was a bad call by Isreal and the recording engineers really ought to have removed it.
Of the remaining songs, some of them are great, if your tastes extend to that style (although 'take me home' doesn't translate well into Israel's style, in my opinion). Personally, I can listen to it, but wouldn't go out of my way to do so. I guess that, in some ways, that makes me a poor person to pass comment. BUT, like others here, I bought this for Over the Rainbow, and put my faith in the other tracks in the review comments here.
What comes across in many of the remaining songs is a strong sense of anger at loss of the native Hawaiian culture. In so many ways this is great, but if you want easy listening, perhaps it's too much like listening to Hawaiian independence protest songs - assuming that you listen to the words. If you can shut of from the lyrics, it really is easy listening Hawaiian style...

MAGICAL!, 16 Aug 2005
I bought this album specifically for the 'somewhere over the rainbow' song, which gets right to my heart every time I heard it on the end of a film/advert. Just listened to the rest of the album and its all absolutely magical! The sound, the words, his voice profoundly exquisite!!! Would recommend this to everyone for a really relaxed mood but also to anyone who appreciates great and original music. Wish I had discovered him sooner!

Not What I Expected, 10 Nov 2008
First off, I would like to say that I love Bruce Parry and his causes and I am pleased at least the CD cost is going to good use.
However, I do like the tribal chanting - but HATE the accompanying soundtrack to it - which is techno/trancey. I was expecting it to be more in tune with the tribal chanting. Not my cup of tea, sorry Bruce - but still love you. Not to worry, it is my dad's birthday at end of November so I shall pan it off to him as a present.


BUY THIS ALBUM - MAKE A DIFFERENCE - THAT EASY, 20 Oct 2008
It could have been syrupy and preachy. Thankfully, it is 'serious' but also fun.

Disc 1 is a collection 10 songs and is the 'serious' album, where as disc 2 also has 10 tracks of corking dance music utilising samples collected by Bruce Parry. Collected running time is about an hour and twenty/twenty five minutes. So you get your pennies worth.

Trust me: if it had been 'wrong' and OTT I would have said so! I usually hate 'charity' records but this really sets a high standard. Great album for a great and important cause. Snap it up!

Parry delivers, 08 Oct 2008
Big fan of Bruce Parry, so bought this when I saw him promoting it. Mostly excellent - Coldplay guy, KT Tunstall and Johnny Borrell in particular. Only one real dud - don't think will.i.am's heart was in it somehow - but 19 decent tracks out of 20 isn't bad, and it's stuff you won't get anywhere else.

Fantastic album, 07 Oct 2008
Survival International's amazing work defending tribal peoples has inspired me ever since I first heard about it. The artists who contributed to this beautiful, eclectic collection clearly feel the same - the album is full of absolutely stunning tracks. I'll be listening to this one over and over again.

Great compilation album, 01 Oct 2008
Came across this album after seeing an advert in NME. Bought it and have been really impressed by the artists and original tracks for this charity compilation album. Very unusual to find original tracks by such great artists. Great charity Survival International who deserve all the support they can get. Go buy.

Branching out, 13 Oct 2008

It's taken me a while to fully appreciate this album. At first I found it slightly dull melodically, and lacking a ballad with the same emotive power of her much-loved 'O gente da minha terra'. But it's grown on me, and those songs that have the sad beauty typical of fado music have thoroughly eclipsed the few that don't do it for me. Ten successful tracks out of 14 is pretty good value for money, I reckon.

Technically, it's perfect: Mariza's voice is as pitch-perfect, controlled and expressive as ever, the musicianship and production are superb, and it's more diverse than her previous albums, with some jazzy, laidback trumpet and piano, occasional flamenco influence, and a Cape Verde-style song (featuring Tito Paris, who sounds uncannily like Cesaria Evora, but with an attractive rasp). This diversity has cleverly avoided the danger of 'sameyness' inherent in album after album of music that conforms to a certain style, but isn't extreme enough to lose her fan base. It's a classy album, and a cut above the rest.

Almost The Best Singer In Portugal Today, 16 Jul 2008
Let me begin by saying, I don't like Mariza's version of "Alfama". As a friend of Amalia Rodrigues and Maria da Fé, I don't like to hear anyone sing Alfama. That said, this new album by Mariza is a fado lover's dream.
Every syllable deliciously prounounced. I first heard "Ja me deixou" last year at Maria's place Senhor Vinho performed by Beatriz de Conceicao, one of the finest fadistas to draw breath, and Mariza equals her. "As guitarras" truly brings a lump to the throat, and "Pequenhas verdade" adds
a new meaning to class. I could go on and on, folks....
JUST BUY THE ALBUM!!!!

Beautiful Fado, 16 Jul 2008
More beautiful Fado music by the talented Portuguese singer. This is up there with the best of her other albums and is highly recommended. Gets you in the traditional Portuguese state of mind and reminds me of sitting in an old restaurant abroad soaking up the native culture.