|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
 Below Par Sep 03, 2009
It is with great disappointment that I have to give a two star rating to this album. I would like to think that this was an experiment to deviate from her usual sound, but the result is somewhat lacking in the smooth sweet piano sounds that are the hallmark of Keiko. "After the Rain" started off with familiar South African guitar but immediately switched into saxophone, then weaves back into the South African guitar and out again. Somewhat confusing, because you are expecting to hear Paul Simon in one of his cross-cultural collaborations, but then you don't hear it.
So it is almost through the entire CD. One is unable distinguish between this music and any other bland jazz. Usually I am able to get attached to two or three songs on her CDs, but this time I listened to the CD a few times just to make sure I did not miss something, then I set it aside, hardly returning to it. Maybe Keiko is going through some sort of renaissance, because "Walls of Akendora" was also disappointing. Regardless, Keiko is coming to my city Atlanta GA in three weeks, I already have my reservation as I always do when she comes to town. She remains my favorite, her concerts are awesome even when a new CD is below par.
 Purer piano Jul 16, 2009
3 1/2
While the stilted pacings of a smooth-jazz release do appear now and again throughout these mostly engaging, Latin-leaning, non-threatening cultural fusions, the majority of interplay displays a synergistic integrity previously lacking.
 Disappointing - Consider For Keiko Completists Only Jun 18, 2009
As of 2009 November 10, I've decided to get rid of my Keiko collection. I listened to Moyo one final time and almost couldn't get through it. The male lead vocals totally ruin this CD for me. And while I wish Keiko and Kazu well, I have decided to stop patronizing (supporting) them financially. They are wealthy. I am not. I was a Keiko completist; now I am a Keiko deletist. Peace Out.
....
I was annoyed when I first wrote this review, so I decided to revise it....
I've been a Keiko fan for many years and have all her CD titles that I'm aware of, and a couple Kazu CDs as well. While I'm not a musician, I do know what I like to listen to. My first listen to Moyo has left me wondering how much I will play this CD again.
The opening vocals were surprising. I don't care for them. The music is good, but as another reviewer mentioned it does sound too much like Kenny G (heavy on the sax) and so-called 'smooth jazz' (commercial radio stuff). In fact a couple tracks on Moyo made me think I'd heard them before. Track 11 is a full vocal track. But I don't buy a Keiko CD to hear male vocals. I buy to hear her keyboards. Now if it were Keiko herself singing, that would be great, but it's some guy.
Note: some music fan-atics revere these recording artists as saints or deities; I do not. A serious problem is that after years and money invested in supporting an artist, a fan is likely to reinforce a
pseudo-reality (to justify the investment) that a particular artist is uniquely special and every recording is another entry in a sacred canon. Well, Moyo has served to jar me out of that trance.
Track 11 may keep me from listening to this CD more than 5 or 10 times in my lifetime.
I paid $11 for this CD, but after hearing it, I wouldn't pay more than $5 to $7. Overall, this CD is disappointing. Maybe I will make myself listen to it 11 times total, and feel that I've gotten my $11 worth of it. That will teach me to finally stop admiring certain artists so much that I buy their CDs without question.
While I appreciate Keiko wanting to express her personal life evolution -- or whatever she's going through; most performers do that -- this 'world music/ethnic' trend has become transparently commercial, such as it did with the neo-Celtic, as nauseum. Just give us good music, and don't experiment so much on us.
Moyo may be the end of my being a Keiko 'completist.' If her next CD continues this disappointing trend, I may seriously consider selling my entire Keiko collection. In fact, I'm going to listen to every one of her CDs again, and weigh the entire collection in the balance. I've enjoyed her music through the years, and she's made plenty of money off me. But loyalty has its limits when it comes to entertainment. And with nearly 7 billion humans on the planet, and more performers than ever before, it's a listener's market. There are plenty of other good performers to invest time, attention, and money in.
Or, just turn on your local smooth jazz radio station. That's what Moyo sounds like.
No disappointment Jul 06, 2008
As she is my favorite artist, I always have high expectations for every new CD of hers. She delivers again, this time on the first CD she has ever produced.
But no matter who produces it, the end result is inevitably a high-quality CD. This CD is as enjoyable as any of her other efforts, and she's so good at alternately carrying the tune and adding inflections when another person takes over, often the sax player as she's had a few good ones over the years and has Paul Taylor and Gerald Albright on this one.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Keiko making exciting music again Dec 12, 2007
I have loved Keiko Matsui's music for years now and have attended many of her live shows. This album reminds me of her earlier jazzy works as opposed to the more recent "new age" style (although that was beautiful in its own way). This album is definitely a must have as it is a fine work of jazz showmanship and has many exciting world beats. Keiko produced this album herself and she did a masterful job. Great addition to any record collection.
|
| |
|
![Up (4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51V%2Beipy8-L._SL75_.jpg "Up (4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD) [Blu-ray]")
![Across the Universe [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51T24FuHPEL._SL75_.jpg "Across the Universe [Blu-ray]")
![Underworld Trilogy (Underworld / Underworld: Evolution / Underworld: Rise of the Lycans) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51F27VzUl%2BL._SL75_.jpg "Underworld Trilogy (Underworld / Underworld: Evolution / Underworld: Rise of the Lycans) [Blu-ray]")
![Shakira: Oral Fixation Tour [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RQUEopdlL._SL75_.jpg "Shakira: Oral Fixation Tour [Blu-ray]")
