 Kitaro "Aren't all Kitaro albums pretty much the same?" you ask. Well, yes, for the most part. But that doesn't make them less good. All Sonny Rollins albums are pretty much the same too, but quality is quality. Millennia is not the best nor the least distinguished of Kitaro's classic era, but it's a great one on its own terms, full of the deep swirly synths and contemplative sound painting you expect from Kitaro. As I've probably said before, it's a wonder that more people don't get into Kitaro, especially given all the interest in electronic pioneers that has gone around in the past few years. It's the damn "new age" label, I bet. No self-respecting hipster would be caught dead listening to Kitaro. But I predict the day will come when Kitaro is deemed hip, and like Bacharach, people will suddenly realize all the cool shit he did. I don't follow him past like 1986, but the ten or so albums he made between 1978 and then are pretty remarkable. They've got that "Emanuelle" vibe that I like so much, but far spacier. Few people have been as successful at creating their own sound worlds as Kitaro, and it's a world I love to inhabit. This disc has some great ones (I can't really call them "hit singles"): "Hikari No Sono" is one of his best, "Cosmic Love" is another one, "Jiyu Eno Kakehashi" is marvelously epic. You have to love a song called "Space Queen," too, especially one that isn't glam. The album was originally recorded as a soundtrack to an anime film called "Queen Millennia," circa 1982. I'll tell you, compiling accurate discographical information on Kitaro is like visiting the Negative Zone with the Fantastic Four, that is, pure chaos. His albums were originally released in Japan but have been reissued by like five different companies at various times, sometimes multiple times, and sometimes the same album has been reissued by two different labels, and sometimes with different titles. So figuring out the chronology of his output is fairly maddening. I'd love to be able to put this on and go "Ah, yes, '82 Kitaro." That's folly, of course, since his albums are so similar. Plus, I'd be listening to WAY too much Kitaro if that situation ever developed. This is lush, wonderful music, perfect to zone out to or fall asleep to, meditate to, journal to, write reviews of this album to. I connect with Kitaro pretty deeply and I'm not sure why. Takes me back to my new age fixation in high school, but beyond that, the simple melodies and dreamy soundscapes are always an appealing getaway for me. This music controls my brain like the white noise machine in that Kurt Vonnegut story. If it were possible to play it without pause for days, I'd be in real trouble, I'd probably forget to eat. Uh, I think that's a good attribute of an album?
Review by Ted Gallant |