[Review] Kitaro: From the Full Moon Story (1979)

The beautiful soundtrack to one man’s musical meditation on the moon.

Kronomyth 2: The land of the rising moon.

The moon speaks, a court
of cuckoos stops to hear a
story of the stars

I’m cuckoo for this album, and not just because of the calming cuckoo calls and bubbling stream that usher the listener into this celestial comoonion of natural and electronic music. Kitaro’s first album, Astral Trip, introduced the idea of mixing traditional Japanese and European electronic music to good effect. From the Full Moon Story does the same to great effect, one idea flowing seamlessly into the next (except for the disruptive chanting that leads into Fuji), creating a peaceful world of percolating space sounds, koto, percussion and even Indian instruments (on From Astral). The precedent here is again the work of Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream (cf. Heavenly Illusion), with elements of Vangelis (Full Moon) and even Jon Anderson (Aurora), although the sum is clearly the vision of Kitaro. From the Full Moon Story bridges natural sounds with electronic meditation and beautiful melodies. It’s a unique world that feels more familiar with each sitting. The opening trio of KRPA (spelled out as “Kuripa” on the US release, which would translate as “Christmas party”), “Aurora” and Hikari No Mai (dance of light) is magical. The second side of music is closely aligned to the longer electronic journeys of Tangerine Dream or the space music of Vangelis (e.g., Albedo 0.39) although, here again, emanating from a more peaceful place. I’ve only heard a handful of Kitaro’s albums to date, so I couldn’t tell you if this is one of his best albums (I can tell you it’s one of his worst titles for an album, since it sounds like an excerpt from a longer, boring work, which it is not). At the moment, however, it’s my favorite Kitaro album and serves as an excellent entry point into his musical world.

Original elpee version

A1. KRPA (Kuripa)
A2. Aurora
A3. Hikari No Mai
A4. Fuji
A5. Full Moon
B1. Resurrection
B2. From Astral
B3. Heavenly Illusion
B4. New Lights

All songs composed, arranged & played by Kitaro.

The Players

Kitaro (all instruments). Produced by Takayo Nanri; recording engineered by Kitaro; remixed by Kitaro and Sakae Sexine.

The Pictures

Liner design by Taji Ohe. Cover design by Yukio Hamaguchi. Art direction by Masa Mikage.

The Plastic

Released on elpee and cassette in 1979 in Japan (Zen, ZEN-1006) and Germany (Polydor, 810 945-4).

1. Re-issued on elpee in Japan (Invitation, VIH-7065) with gatefold insert.
2. Re-issued on compact disc and cassette in 1985 in the US (Geffen, 24083-2/M5G 24083) with different cover.
3. Re-issued on compact disc on June 21, 1990 in Japan (Invitation, VICL-2034).