This Kitaro CD is one of the lushest, most ravishing of all. A fusion of spirit and nature. If there was music in the Garden of Eden, this would be it. It is the essence of Mother Earth singing to us.

His music flows and ebbs in so many ways. He is the master of his art and is one of the better composers of this time. Your mind can take the journey into a realm that is not quite human, but is deeply moving and spiritual. It envolves the mind, body and spirit which he implements to the fullest to make the best mixture of nature, music and spirit. I could not recommend a better CD to anyone who wants to relax or meditate and feel the moods of emotion that he lets the listener become a part of. Music this good should be shared by all.

I'm not a huge fan of Kitaro. Yes, he's a prolific electronic composer, but productivity doesn't necessarily equal quality.

Kitaro's impressive output aside, much of his instantly recognizable music is same-sounding and unaffecting (i.e. stellar as opposed to cardiac). He's not the type of artist that makes me rush to buy his latest release.

His music has over the more recent years also become a little too Yanni-like bombastic for my liking. I prefer his earlier more quieter and modest records, from the Eighties and Nineties. Toward The West (1985), for instance, I play quite often, and includes one of my most-cherished Kitaro songs: the surprisingly melodious, emotionally-laden and uplifting Auspicious Omen. Considering that Jon Anderson is one of my favorite singer-songwriters, I also enjoy Kitaro's 1999 collaborative album, Dream, especially the two spine-tinglingly beautiful ballads: Lady Of Dreams and Island Of Life. (Though it is Jon Anderson that provides much of the heart here, what with his irreplaceable and invaluable, moving and majestic vocals.)

As for Gaia Onbashira (1998), for me it's the musician's capstone. It is distinguishable among Kitaro's oeuvre due to its refreshing departure in sounding more natural than synthetic. Included here are some non-electronic instruments for a change, other than just his signature synthesizer. Besides electric guitar, in parts we also can hear bird-calls and what sounds like a babbling stream. Dissimilar to most of Kitaro's CDs, Gaia Onbashira (6 tracks; 49:20) is less spacey and contains a much-welcome indigenous ingredient; the album makes you feel like you're outdoors rather than in a recording studio, which I like.

Two tracks, in particular, are outstanding.

The opener, Yamadashi, is a 13-minute-long, slowly evolving composition highlighted by an amazing, belted chant that begins at about the 7-minute mark (and which lasts for roughly two minutes), whereupon it segues into and is topped off by a musical passage that begins at 9:35 - a catchy and repeated phrase that impresses itself upon the mind and lingers there long afterwards, and which carries out the opus until its spectacular, climactic ending. Wow! Yamadashi is exotic, powerful, and memorable and so different in style than much of Kitaro's sound.

Wood Fairy is another notable track. It's my favorite Kitaro song of all. Like its song title says, it takes the listener to a magical place home to storybook forest fays.

Gaia Onbashira is vintage Kitaro and unlike anything else he has produced.

Color it blue.Penetrating,somber and at times diconnected and disturbing:this work is potent and may lead us ito depths of our personal exploration ;an emottional vehicle for releasing our imaginations. Sounds casting incantations conjuring specters of spirits and arcane worlds; finally crying out in the face of a universe both magnificient and horrific.Yet leaving us with a sense of hope and acceptance.

With the release of Gaia, Kitaro proves once again that he is one of the most talented artists of our time. Gaia Onbashira is a MUST for any serious Kitaro fan and a very welcome addition to anyone's music collection. This album gets into your soul and stays there.