Customer Reviews

Pavilion Of Dreams

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was fortunate to run into this album just as I started suffering of insomnia the last few days before the arrival of our new baby boy. I now see two great uses for this beautiful music by avant-garde artist Harold Budd: playing it to sleep (yourself) and playing it to a baby in the tummy -it proved to calm him down when he was moving like crazy.

On a more musical note, this album opened up the early seventies' work of Budd to me. I wasn't familiarized with his collaborations with Brian Eno, of which this would be only the first, with Eno sitting in the producer's seat. A very nice starting point or point of arrival for ambient explorators and in general, for those who appreciate the subtlety of a work that stands for the mellow California minimalism.

Music of contemplative nature creating a soundscape full with absolute stillness. It is evocative of long forgotten memories and puts one in a state of floatation or ethereal feelings. As an early CD by Mr. Budd it obviously hints on the direction he were to take for his following work. Four stars...

I have owned this album for more than ten years and it is truly beautiful. It is best on a warm rainy day. Harold Budd is usually classified under New Age, which is a shame, given what garbage one finds under that genre.

I own 5 or 6 Harold Budd CDs and this one is my favorite. It is different from the others because to me it expresses calm, tranquil joy. For me,it brings to mind being on a beautiful South Pacific island, on the beach, completely in the moment, existing only for now. Sometimes the music makes me think about diving and watching the schools of fish sweep and twist like smoke on a breeze. My favorite piece is Madrigals of the Rose Angel. It's an etheral women's choir and a minimal space piano. It's somewhat like the last movement of Holst's The Planets but more etheral and mysterious. Budd uses some interesting combinations of instruments on this CD. There's a piece featuring the mellowest sax, he's pretty heavy on ambient women's voices, oddly a marimba is here and of course his piano. It all fits nicely. Surely when we finally become angels lounging out on the clouds,this CD is what it's going to sound like.

This album is a compilation of early tracks, recorded and composed between 1972 and 1976, with the help of well-known friends like Brian Eno and Michael Nyman. I must confess that I've bought this CD merely because of "Juno". In my opinion this is one of Budd's greatest songs, a very colorful and vivid composition. Coming up with sometimes even uptempo, pearling piano runs and bright melodies, "Juno" leaves a lasting impression. Unfortunately, the rest of this album is almost lifeless and very lame. These female choruses tend to touch new age cliches, just as the harps and saccharine wind instruments do. Not really bad, but I don't think that this is avantgarde. I wouldn't even want these tracks to be played at my burial, because I'm afraid of my funeral train being bored to death. If "Juno" wasn't on this album, I would rate it with 1.5 stars only. If you want to hear a really inspired and enjoyable neoclassical record by Budd, check out "She's a phantom".

This is the quintessential chill out & mystical music. You can play it again and again without getting bored about it. The emotions it can communicate are the purest and I just can highly reccomend this: get this CD! It will be a jewel in your collection and, what's more important, in your soul...

This was Harold Budd's first full release, originally on Brian Eno's important Obscure label in the mid-70s. These works still show a fascination with jazz, particularly Coltrane's work as well as that of Lonnie Liston Smith and Pharoah Sanders of the 'New Thing' period. But while that music was often tinged with rhythm and fire, this is filled with tranquility and liquid peacefulness. Those expecting the electronic and processor-based atmospherics of his later works should note that on here, Budd gets the job done with some complex ensemble work, and not a lot in the way of processing and studio tricks. But by no means does this diminish this excellent, beautiful New Music collection. Very, very important work here.

Yes, I am a Harold Budd fan, but you have to be a hardcore Harold Budd fan for this album. The best thing about this album is it helped me understand where the album "The Pearl" came from. I found the tracks in this album hit and miss. The vocals aspect of the CD sounds like a funeral in slow motion. I would buy "Luxa" or "White Arcades" before I purchased this CD.

This CD is a must. Every track is filled with tranquil melodies and inspires deep relaxation. If you are looking for a relaxation or romantic mood piece, this is it.

This is absolutely the most beautiful piece of music I have ever heard in my life. I own many new age and ambient works, but this cd is in a class by itself. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for exquisitely beautiful heavenly music.