Search - Kodo :: Best of

Fantastic Album

Douglas A. Wade | San Leandro, CA USA | 03/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kodo is simply the best at what they do. That's to say, Taiko with the emphasis on the music (especially drumming) and less on the festival aspect. It's true that the CD has a tremendous dynamic range, and that if you don't enjoy loud parts you'll be playing with the volume. This would be true if you bought a copy of Beethoven's Ninth, as well. Not all music is supposed to be the same volume all the time. In fact on this CD a number of tracks depend on them changing the volume of the drumbs by huge amounts.I've also heard this CD with and without a subwoofer and although the music is interesting either way, you won't get the full effect if you can't feel the music. I've seen them in person, however, and I can verify that parts are very quiet, and parts will knock your socks off!"

Poor recording

suits_me | Philadelphia - miss Boston's Jordan Hall | 09/13/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The other review is correct about the dynamic range, but the actual problems go beyond that. The transfer is not smooth sounding. I think the recording perspective is often too distant and there is very little low frequency extension, and both of these factors make me reluctant to turn the volume up. Unfortunately, unless you want to gain ride, you must do this in order to hear the quiet parts. It is as though the recording engineer was just learning, or doesn't know any better. And let's not get into typical mastering and production problems. * I see the New York and New Jersey Taiko groups live once in awhile, and that's the way to do this genre, I think, even to a greater extent than with other kinds of music. Of course, Kodo's music and performance is far more advanced than Soh Daiko's...maybe Kodo's other recordings are better."

Best of Kodo CD

work | California | 01/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The music was great and just what I expected. There hasn't been a problem the CD."