If you are a fan of David's past recordings, you know already that you've been chartered across to all points of the globe and back again. If there were a CD that showcased all his musical attributes into one, this would most certainly be it. Just about every sound vacation that he's brought to life over the past twenty years is here and then some.

"Tree of Life" consists of an interesting blend of instruments in an Arabian setting - reminds me much of his one of his past cd's "Caravan of Light".You might think you're on a tropical island at the beginning, until the flutes and drums hit you.

"Legend of Bell Rock" has a very "Celtic Book of Days / Spirit of Ireland" feel to it. It starts off calm and vibrant, and then whisks you away into a celtic jig. Sounds a bit too similar and simple after a while, but definitely not a bad thing.

Back to the Middle East again with "Song of Sheherazade". This one starts off with a vocal solo that eventually makes you feel as though you are wandering an endless desert or Arabian marketplace. Add a little more ambience/trance and you've got a surprisingly catchy beat.

If you've listened to any of "Ah*Nee*Mah's" cd's (David and Diane Arkenstone), then you'll find "Daughter of the Sun" to be charting familiar territory. Authentic Native American chants in a toe-tapping setting with wood flutes and a rather interesting acoustic setting. This one begs to be played with the included ambience cd. What's really surprising about this track is near the end, it breaks out with an electric/rock guitar and multiple sets of instruments. It's quite a dramatic finish indeed and it works!

If you loved "Atlantis" (2004), you might very well enjoy "Oceanus" Although this one is far more `chill-out' than anything that was on that cd, you can't help but think of a tranquil waterscape where you are floating endlessly.

Fans of David's (2001) "Sketches From an American Journey" should enjoy the next track "Across the River" as it charts the main elements of that cd quite well. It's another style from David we've come to know and love.

"The Wolf's Head", starts of like something out of the Medieval Ages then accelerates into a very bouncy tune. If you enjoyed "Quest of the Dream Warrior / Celtic Book of Days", you'll get a nice wake up call here with this track. If you've suddenly got the urge to mount your stallion and take part in some dramatic quest after listening to this track, I won't shun you any =) Enjoy the dramatic finish as always.

"Temple of Isis" isn't yet just another Arabian tune, although one could see it that way immediately, but it goes back even further towards the time of the great Egyptians. Nothing too unpredictable here if you've listened to similar tracks like this before, but still another wonderful track as always.

Finishing of a cd after eight great tracks is never an easy task, you've got to put the finishing touches on the "journey" and leave the listener with a lasting impression. I actually can't recall too many moments in the past where David has had a track that resembled anything of Spanish nature. The Spanish guitar really highlights the track and then leads us into a heralding beat. Before you know it, "that sound" hits you like a ton of bricks and then marching drums! This track had a big role to fill and it does its job nicely.

As for the acoustic cd, I was able to listen to it on my computer alongside the regular cd (I'm sure you'll get a more rewarding system if you actually hook it up to two separate computers/sound systems and two sets of separate speakers as suggested), but I was able to pick up on some of the sound differences with my setup. It's a very interesting concept indeed and nothing that I've seen done before.

But you know, out of the entire package, I really, really, enjoy the DVD. Thanks to the power of computer animation, you will be able to experience, for the first time, a visionary journey in addition to the sounding of the tracks. I cannot emphasis how wonderful of an addition this is. It's like "watching" the music come to life, as corny as that may sound. With DVD-Audio sound, you'll be able to pick up the difference from standard CD-Audio, especially if you have a better sound system for your DVD Player. There are also interviews with David Arkenstone and director Johnny Wilson as stated in the item description. It's pretty fulfilling to be able to listen for a few minutes from one of the greatest American new age composers his personal thoughts of his own cd.

The final recommendation is this: Just get it! If you're a fan of David Arkenstone already, then you should have already made up your mind just by knowing who the composer of this cd was! When you know of his capabilities, then you know you can rarely ever be truly disappointed. For those who have never heard David's work, but love new age/world music, consider this to be a great introduction to the marveled musician. You'll get but a small taste of his creative spirit and then if you want even more of a particular "sub-genre", you can further divulge in the appropriate cd for that sub-genre. Considering the price tag often coincides with the price of regular cds, you're getting an unprecedented value here with the sweet extras.

David Arkenstone. Twenty years later, and he shows no signs of stopping his addictive musical infection, and I'm a listener who is not ashamed to admit that I'm glad I caught the strand of musical delight.

This is one of the best Arkenstone albums ever, and the short films and music videos on the DVD present the stories and fantastic images his music has been conjuring for two decades now, each very elaborately and professionally done. Each song is better that the last, and the triumphant closer "El Dorado" will transport you.

As a fan of David Arkenstone's, I look forward to every new venture. There have been a few klunkers in his past, but this isn't one of them.

This is typical Arkenstone, admittedly, and he uses a lot of familiar riffs and themes, but I got from it what I wanted; a good, solid musical sojourn, something to inspire me as I write. Although in a previous work, "Atlantis", he held to a common enough line that you could easily envision Atlantis in its entirety, "Myths" skips around; it's a march by ancient soldiers through the mountains; it's a swashbuckling pirate battle on the high seas; it's a tucked-away corner of a castle, with a courtier fingering a lute.

Mr Arkenstone's music lends itself to tone (and tune) poems, freeing the imaginative mind to flights of fantasy that nobody else, currently, seems capable of. His music is the perfect foil for a bad day at work; as I've said, I use it a lot to write by, but it's pretty good as just something to ease off the pressures of everyday living. And "Myths" delivers. I'm glad I added it to my library.

With a temporary return to his record home base Narada, David Arkenstone released the very impressive Atlantis three years ago. With Narada's lack of activity especially in the New Age genre, the relatively new kid on the block, Gemini Sun Records, managed to whisk this legend away resulting in Arkenstone releasing his latest adventure land Myths and Legend. With the title sounding somewhat like a compilation this is quite the contrary as the album represents not only all brand new material from the master of New Age but also another technological advancement from this cutting edge artist.

David Arkenstone's recording debut began back in 1987 with the release of the electronic themed Valley In The Clouds. To this day it is considered one of the genres classic and landmark albums. However, Arkenstone has refused to be stagnant always exploring multiple genres and sub genres such as Renaissance, Celtic, World, Middle East, Asian and Native Indian themes. Myths and Legends swathes his entire career exploring all of the above genres yet with brand new compositions that are intricate in detail yet with bold majestic strokes of musical colors and tones. And it all starts with the magical "Tree Of Life" with an opening passage of wonderful foreign instrumentation in the graphic detail that one has come to expect with Arkenstone including swirling synthesizers, precise percussion and strings.

Celtic themes can be found on the bouncy and cheerful "Legend Of Bell Rock" though the moody opening passage with a distant bell contradicts such a conclusion. Give it about two minutes at which time the song assumes its highland groove but the wait is worth its weight in gold. A similar pattern is found in the Renaissance inspired "The Wolf's Head" though this time it only takes about 30 seconds before the penny whistles are complimented by the animated percussion and strings inspiring you to grab a turkey leg and watch the knights in combat.

Worlds away there is the extremely exotic vocal chants of Kathleen Fisher on the introduction of "Song Of Sheherazade". Once again at about the two minute mark a slow but bold percussion beat drives the song taking you to the lands of Persian. One can only imagine a sultry yet conservative beauty dancing in a palace before the royal court gorging on a banquet of spicy foods. A similar theme is played out the equally exotic "Temple Of Isis".

The Native Indian, Eastern and electronic themes are also captured respectively via "Daughter Of The Sun", "Across The River" and the spatial "Oceanus". Ultimately, David concludes the audio portion of the album with the bold "El Dorado" that probably best represents his cinematic new age rock. However, if is this is still not enough a complimentary audio disc that includes supplementary ambient textures can be played simultaneously with its counterpart but to do so you will need another musical source. That said, those of you who lean towards electronic chill out music may enjoy the complimentary disc as a stand alone musical experience. Visually there is also the DVD part of the Audio Visual Connect series that also include your typical videos, computer animated productions and of course insightful interviews.

David Arkenstone is considered one of the genres best multi instrumentalist capable of creating masterpieces at the drop of a hat. Myths And Legends would fall in this category with clear evidence that Arkenstone's ear for a melody continues to extend to the detail and patience that he has as a producer and arranger. Unemployment is not an issue this gifted artist need ever fear.

It takes some work to get the sound synchronized perfectly for the two disks. I eventually ripped both discs to my computer and mixed them together into a DTS CD. After that it was a matter of putting that into my DVD player and enjoying it easily through my surround sound system (as a bonus, I was able to put both discs together in stereo for my mp3 player).

A unique album and a great presentation. The bonus DVD is also very nice.