Turning Japanesa
gaseousclay | Minneapolis, MN USA | 03/30/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Silent Poets, aka Michiharu Shimoda and Takahiro Haruno, compile the finest remix album to date with mixes by Taxi, Two Banks of Four, King Britt, Kid Loco to name but a few. A delicious blend of house, dub, hip hop and more. The Silent Poets are quite possibly the most consistent electronic act to date and Japan's best kept secret. They've put out remix albums for practically all of their full lengths and have assembled an impressive roster of artists/DJ's to remake their music. Prior remixers include the likes of Coldcut, Peshay, Nightmares on Wax, Attica Blues, DJ Cam, Fila Brazillia, SkyLab, Jungle Brothers, DJ Yas, etc. Buy all of their albums, you won't be disappointed."
One of my favourite CD's
Stephen Waller | Vancouver, BC, Canada | 07/26/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I can't begin to explain how good this album is. it is easily in the top ten of all my cd collection. and I have A LOT of cd's. this is pure and simply an amazing release, moving, haunting, catchy, subdued and quietly affecting. a beautiful album. I hate to compare artists, as I think it devalues the work. however, if your looking for a quick and easy reference point, then you couldn't do much worse than to call them the japanese massive attack. but it really is much more unique and original than that. the use of strings is handled better here than on any other album I can think to mention, and the vocals are varied and yet seems to blend into one another with subtle brilliance. Don't bother getting the European release, it's not the real thing, Get Ready belongs on 'For Nothing' (Silent Poet's previous album that is almost as uniformally excellent as this one) and you'll want to have the proper version of 'I Will Miss This Holy Garden' rather than the Dub Version (which can be found on the "To Come 2... another version" (again, not european one!)). The guest appearance are spot on. the tunes are great. and even better than that, even if you love it the first time, it will grow on you more and more than you'd expect. Buy this album straight away, I promise you you won't be dissapointed. Highly highly highly recommended."
A must listen
Brian K. Rinaldi | CA USA | 10/16/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Trip-hop this is. It is a fabulous piece of art in my opinion. You won't get quite the 'japanese' feeling from it like you would from DJ Krush's album Jaku, but it has a different style. I would like to say it seemed more hip-hop or beat oriented, but "Where the Sidewalk Ends" sounded beautiful with the female vocal, much like a Portishead track. All in all it was a great album, a must listen if you like trip-hop."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1