Journey To The West

5 points (2 reviews)

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Issued : 26 Aug 2008

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Item Details

Genre :	Rock & Pop	Catalogue Number :	3490.40388
Format :	CD	Label :	XL
Issued :	26 Aug 2008	Item sourced from :	Europe
Number of Discs :	1

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HMV Review

At the height of Blur's popularity, Damon Albarn casually let it be known that he harbored a desire to create musical theater -- a revelation that wasn't exactly a surprise to anybody intimately familiar with the theatricality of Blur's Brit-pop trilogy, particularly portions of The Great Escape which felt as if they were designed for the stage. Albarn abandoned an explicit music hall bent in the aftermath of Blur vs. Oasis, first digging deeply into American indie rock and then getting ever artier, eventually abandoning the very idea of bands themselves in favor of conceptual projects like The Good, the Bad & the Queen. His score for Chen Shi-Zheng's stage production Journey to the West -- based on the ancient Chinese novel Journey to the West -- fits right in with these conceptual works, reuniting him with Gorillaz cohort Jamie Hewlett, who designed the visuals for the opera, while recalling elements of his 2002 Mali Music exploration and traces of his eerie collaborative score with Michael Nyman for Antonia Bird's 1999 film Ravenous. Albarn relies heavily on Chinese instrumentation and harmony on Journey to the West but the score, as a whole, is considerably less explicitly worldbeat than Mali Music, as Albarn weaves in many familiar motifs from his oeuvre, including stiff pre-programmed two-step drum loops, post-punk synths, waves of dreamy textures, circular carnivalesque chords, and the occasional blast of cathartic noise. What he most emphatically does not rely upon is anything remotely pop -- no pop song structures, hooks, or harmonies -- a decision that reads perhaps a bit more bold than it plays, as this is a symphonic suite that is meant to be experienced as a whole, not parsed out in bite-sized bits. This also does mean that Journey to the West is perhaps best experienced on-stage, as it was meant to be heard in tandem with Chen Shi-Zheng and Hewlett's visuals, but heard as its own work, it's hard not to admire, if not exactly embrace, Albarn's achievement here, as his work is not only ambitious, it is serious and understated, the work of a true composer. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Credits

Al Mobbs(Bass), Antonia Pagulatos(Violin), Beijing Tianyuan Chorus Choir(Vocals), David Coulter(Percussion), David Coulter(Synthesizer), Don Wing(Vocals), Dou Wing(Vocals), Fan Tongzhou(Vocals), Fan Zhuqing(Vocals), Fei Yang(Vocals), Gisele Edwards(Vocals), Guillaume Milliere(Trombone), Hannah Loach(Piano), He Zijun(Vocals), Henri Deleger(Trumpet), Jia Ruhan(Vocals), Miao Village(Vocals), Mike Smith(Keyboards), Mike Smith(Keyboards), Mike Smith(Piano), Mike Smith(Piano), Oliver Langford(Violin), Rory McFarlane(Bass), Sato Kotono(Violin), Stella Page(Violin), Tang Ling(Vocals), UK Choir(Vocals), Wang Wei(Vocals), Wang Wei(Vocals), Wang Yingsi(Vocals), Xu Keija(Vocals), Xu Xiouxia(Vocals), Zeng Li(Vocals), Zeng-Quang Li(Vocals), Zhang Wei(Vocals), Zhou Haolu(Vocals), Beijing Tianyuan Chorus Choir(Choir, Chorus), Cong Ruilin(Choir, Chorus), Cui Hua(Choir, Chorus), David Coulter(Handclapping), Francois Testory(Choir, Chorus), Frederic Marillier(Tuba), Fu Haiyan(Choir, Chorus), Fu Jihai(Choir, Chorus), Gao Qi(Choir, Chorus), Gao Xingya(Choir, Chorus), Guan Wenqing(Choir, Chorus), Isabelle Dunn(Cello), Jennifer John(Choir, Chorus), Jonathan John(Choir, Chorus), Josquin Chuffart(Trombone (Bass)), Juliet Russell(Choir, Chorus), Li Chujian(Choir, Chorus), Li Limei(Choir, Chorus), Li Min(Choir, Chorus), Li Mingzhu(Choir, Chorus), Li Xiang(Choir, Chorus), Li Yunkuan(Choir, Chorus), Liu Chunxi(Choir, Chorus), Liu Shanwen(Choir, Chorus), Liu Tang(Choir, Chorus), Paul Gladstone Reid(Choir, Chorus), Rosie Bell(Choir, Chorus), Sarah Villaraus(Choir, Chorus), Shan Lianmeng(Choir, Chorus), Song Dong(Choir, Chorus), Song Xuewei(Choir, Chorus), Sun Shaolan(Choir, Chorus), Thomas Bloch(Harmonica), Tian Hao(Choir, Chorus), Wang Wei(Choir, Chorus), Wayne Hernandez(Choir, Chorus), Wayne Urquhart(Cello), Wu Pei(Choir, Chorus), Xie Yiman(Choir, Chorus), Zhang Tianpu(Choir, Chorus), Zhang Yunfei(Choir, Chorus), Zhao Changjuan(Choir, Chorus), Zhao Yulong(Choir, Chorus), David Coulter(Clapping), David Coulter(Jew's-Harp), David Coulter(Saw), David Coulter(Tom-Tom), Cheng Yu(Pipa), Chuang Cheng-Ying(Zhongruan), David Coulter(Omnichord), David Coulter(Synthesizer Drums), David Coulter(Tamtam), Kate St John(Cor Anglais), Li Fuhua(Erhu), Thomas Bloch(Cristal Bachet), Thomas Bloch(Harmonica (Glass)), Thomas Bloch(Ondes Martenot), Wang Weiping(Pipa), Xiao Ran(Zheng), Xie Qing(Pipa), Zeng Zgen(Zhongruan), Zhen Zeng(Zhongruan), Jason Cox(Engineer), Adam Gale(Design), Damon Albarn(Composer), J.C. Hewlett(Illustrations), Jamie Hewlett(Design), Jason Cox(Mixing), John C.F. Davis(Mastering), Kate McLauchlan(Design), Shi-Zheng Chen(Composer), Stephen Sedgwick(Programming), Chen Shi-Zheng(Lyricist), Chuang Cheng-Ying(Translation), David Coulter(Musical Direction), Liao Weitang(Adaptation), Mike Smith(Recording Supervision), Shi-Zheng Chen(Concept), Shi-Zheng Chen(Direction), Shi-Zheng Chen(Lyricist), Shi-Zheng Chen(Writer), Susie Sun(Coordination), Zhen Zeng(Coordination), Zhen Zeng(Translation), Chuang Cheng-Ying(Vocal Coach), Jamie Hewlett(Animation), Jamie Hewlett(Visual Concept), Liao Weitang(Literary Consultant), Susie Sun

Songs

1

Monkey's World
2

Monkey Travels
3

Into The Eastern Sea
4

Living Sea
5

Dragon King
6

Iron Rod

7

Out Of The Eastern Sea
8

Heavenly Peach Banquet
9

Battle In Heaven
10

O Mi To Fu
11

Whisper
12

Tripitaka's Curse

13

Confessions Of A Pig
14

Sandy The River Demon
15

March Of The Volunteers
16

White Skeleton Demon
17

Monk's Song
18

I Love Buddha

19

March Of The Iron Army
20

Pigsy In Space
21

Monkey Bee
22

Disappearing Volcano

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KINGDOM | 不明 | 25/October/2008

'08年発表｡ともに68年生まれの申年､ﾃﾞｰﾓﾝ･ｱﾙﾊﾞｰﾝ&ｼﾞｪｲﾐｰ･ﾋｭｰﾚｯﾄ=ｺﾞﾘﾗｽﾞのｺﾝﾋﾞは､どうも猿に縁があるようで｡本作は､ﾀｲﾄﾙどおりあの孫悟空と仲間たちの旅にちなんだ異色作だ｡そもそもの発端は､ﾌﾗﾝｽの名門歌劇場の依頼で彼らが音楽と舞台のﾃﾞｻﾞｲﾝを担当した､｢西遊記｣にちなんだ同名のｵﾍﾟﾗ｡各地で絶賛されているこのｵﾍﾟﾗの音楽を､ﾃﾞｰﾓﾝが表現方法を変えてﾛﾝﾄﾞﾝと北京にて録音し､ｼﾞｪｲﾐｰが描いたﾋﾞｼﾞｭｱﾙと共にｱﾙﾊﾞﾑにまとめたのである｡ﾃﾞｰﾓﾝは中国を度々訪れて伝統音楽について学び､五音音階(東洋特有の音階)に則って全曲を書き上げた｡さらに歌詞はあえて北京語で統一｡というのも､ﾃﾞｰﾓﾝがこのﾌﾟﾛｼﾞｪｸﾄを引き受けたのは､今の世界における中国の位置付けに強く関心を抱いて

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俺だよ、俺 | 埼玉 | 不明 | 06/August/2008

これ早く聴きてーよ!ﾃﾞｰﾓﾝの作る音は最高だからよーっ!!

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