Search - 12 Girls Band (Joshijunigakubo) :: 12 Girls Band

Esthetically pleasing, Technically impaired

John Moran | Los Angeles, CA | 07/30/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As a television engineer of 32 years I may be more critical than the average listener, and my wife is a professional Traditional Chinese Musician (guqin, guzhenge, erhu, xiao, etc.). The audio CD shows that the girls are skilled and well trained performers. The first problem is that some pieces do not adapt well to traditional Chinese instruments, particularly disappointing was 'New Classicism.' The second problem is the engineering, on several pieces some of the instruments get lost in the mix, something that is unacceptable in modern recording. I would give the audio CD 7.5 points out of a possible 10. The accompanying DVD is another matter. The mastering (audio) is extremely poor. The poor audio, for all practical purposes, ruins the DVD, I would give it 3.5 points out of possible 10. It is unfortunate that the technical problems are so pronounced, they considerably dimish the value of the girls performance. I would like to see them produce some recordings at a USA studio where, I'm sure, the quality would be much better."