Kodo: The Hunted - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Sony/TriStar WK 67202
Reviewed by Jack Donen
With 'Kodo - Live at the Acropolis', we're back to mainstream Kodo. Disciplined,
hard-hitting, sometimes very fast. To me, the group is at its best when
the individual drummers are intuitively weaving into and through each others'
patterns, in a way that makes the whole group into just one living organism.
Recording Kodo's powerful drums live must have been a difficult task for
the technicians, and compared to some of their previous (studio) recordings
there is a slight loss of dynamics here.
Still being critical, I could have done without the last, 14 minute long
number. Here the group takes up the clapping of the audience and starts
a long, partly improvised session that makes more use of effects than art
- constantly bringing back the clapping. The high enthusiasm of the audience
at this stage seems to indicate that being there was more important than
being present.
On the positive side, as a live recording, the album is infused with a sense
of excitement that's not on their other recordings. One can easily hear
the voices of the artists, shouting, sometimes driving each other on, and
the excitement is infectious. So, if you're at all interested in drums and
percussion, you'll easily forgive these master drummers for letting down
their hair and playing up to their audience for the last quarter of this
hour long session.
This review was originally published in print in Djembe Magazine, no. 16, April 1996.
Used with permission.
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