A fascinating musical tour
C. M. High | Alexandria, VA United States | 07/15/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Having mostly heard gamelan music from Indonesia, I was dazzled by this collection of mostly non-gamelan styles. This is a great introduction to the Smithsonian Folkways series of recordings from Indonesia. Because the style and mood changes so much from song to song, it is not well-suited as background music. But if you listen to each song to find out what appeals to you, this is the best way to choose from among the 20-odd recordings on Folkways."
Great music, great value
C. M. High | 07/27/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"From one of the world's lesser known great musical traditions, this CD is a cornucopia of lesser known traditional and not so traditional Indonesian music, each one surprisingly different and original. Some of my favorite: the meditative "Padang Magek", crazy hybrid of "Stambul Bla" and the guitar (?) in "Sampeq Penihing" . I am sure the producer had a hard time choosing these 15 songs out of the original 20 CDs. A great valued CD, although now I can't help pondering to collect the whole set!"
One of the most amazing albums in my collection
Lloyd Swanton | Blue Mountains, Australia | 12/28/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My exposure to Indonesian music was pretty much limited to the glories of the Gamelan until I bought this album. What an eye-opener! This one disc offers an awe-inspiring cross-section of the phenomenal diversity and beauty of Indonesian music.
On the strength of it, I eventually went back and bought about three quarters of the albums its tracks are drawn from.
Buy this disc and marvel at the near-endless variety of humankind's musical expression."