Considering his prolific output over the last couple of decades -- 102 albums and counting, including compilations and live records -- the work of Japanese
new age
composer
Kitaro
cannot be contained "definitively" by a single disc; it would need to be a box set at the very least. What's more, this ten-cut selection issued by the
Dono Music Group
feels slapdash at the very best. With its skimpy black-and-white cover photo and a single color photograph that lists more credits by the package assemblers and producers than by the man himself, it feels like a budget-rack special. These tunes feel as if they were chosen haphazardly -- at best -- and do nothing to illuminate the rather unique story and contribution
made to his chosen genre. Even if one were completely taken in by this little set, you would have to do a boatload of research simply to find out which albums these songs came from. (The point of a compilation is to avoid such labor.) The best advice to the listener, or potential listener, is simply to avoid this disc altogether, as there are far better and more instructive compilations by
out there just waiting in the bins of your favorite CD emporium or online retailer. ~ Thom Jurek