Unique, alive and delightful at every listening...
A. Sivyer | Kent, UK | 05/16/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"What does it take for an artist to be considered in her own light? That Pia should be constantly compared to Enya, as Tori Amos has been to Kate Bush, is incredibly tedious and also inaccurate.
Have you ever listened to Enya and then put on Pacifica directly afterwards? They are very different - completely different and... not at all alike.
Pacifica is a work of great thoughtfulness and energy. Uplifting, real and direct. It is a unique and original album, from a unique and original artist. I have all three of Pia's albums and would buy a fourth without hesitation."
Moving and brilliant
Doremi | CA, USA | 05/17/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Dear Potential Purchasers of Pacifica.
I have never before felt compelled to write a review for anything I've bought on Amazon. THEN... I was given Benediction Moon by Pia for my Birthday (April 1st - April Fool!), and I loved it, found it relaxing and extremely moving in big dollopy measures. SO then, I felt compelled to find out if this girl had anything else to hear - I became greedy for more of the tasty delicacies offered in BM.
I purchased both Magical Eclipse (cool CD, shame about the title... forgive me but it says NOTHING to me about the contents which are more than magic and more than a dumb ol' eclipse! I LOVE SHYAM!!!) and Pacifica.
Now, the reason I'm not writing a review for the other 2 albums is this. PACIFICA ROCKS MY WORLD, BABY.
The title track begins the journey for me (forgive me but I wasn't much into the intro, mainly because I found, without the song the instrumentation was rather clumsy....YET! keep reading it gets good).
The lyric begins 'You kiss stolen lands with your sacred mouth.', and when I heard those words my heart broke and as Pia took my hand and led me into the waters of Pacifica, rather than drowning or floundering, I was buoyant and blessed.
This woman is a mystery to me, She is clearly someone white skinned, yet her soul is rainbowed and iridescent, partaking of the gifts and splendor of the Universe, and generously giving back. Her heart is HUGE! And, darnit, you can hear it in her voice!
The next track, Open Your Eyes, has a sensual vocal and a slightly 'coming of age' quality to it. The marriage of both 'traditional' ethnic instruments and synthetic pads works real well and the overall sound made me cry. The words aren't sad, it was the MOOD, the essence, if you will.
And the entire album has this mood. Perhaps, as is suggested in the cover notes, 2003 was a year of great loss for Pia, with dedications to a list of friends who are now departed. This may be the reason for the melancholy you can detect beneath the angelic overtones in her remarkable voice.
I disagree with the reviewer 'hedwig schmidt' (great name by the way), because there is nothing on this album to suggest tired or repetitive. But of course this is my opinion.
This is an audible coming of age, a transition into womanhood. There is nothing childlike in this recording, although, believe me, there is hope and innocence scattered like flower petals amongst the tears and loss.
When I listen to the songs Pia sings in Bengali and Hindi, I don't notice they aren't in English, and for me that's a good thing. A big compliment.
So now, I eagerly await your next collection of heartfelt, beautiful, heartbreaking, sugar-sweet recordings. Let it be soon, and please, allow us, your curious fans, to find SOME info about you on the net. The New World Music site has NOTHING.
My favorite track? IF I were forced to choose.. well, A Woman Song. The sweetest song with, yes, an undertone of delightful sadness with a coating of sweet innocence. BRAVO.
"Can you hear my tears falling? Can you feel my voice calling? Can you taste the rhythm of my grief? Can you hear me when I'm smiling? Can you feel me praying, dying? Can you taste my feeling of relief?"
My arm didn't take too much twisting.
BUY THIS CD!!
Oh, and does Shyam by any chance have a brother? ;>
"