| Kites | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Jade Warrior | ||||
| Released | 1976 | |||
| Genre | Experimental rock, progressive rock | |||
| Length | 36:27 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | Jon Field, Tony Duhig | |||
| Jade Warrior chronology | ||||
| ||||
Kites is the sixth studio album by British progressive/experimental rock band Jade Warrior released in 1976 by Island Records. Kites, more layered and complex than Waves, the duo's previous outing, took nine months to record.
Style
Kites presented the band "at their most musically abstract and progressive", featuring a larger number of guest musicians than any previous album. Each side here is a long concept piece: side A – Jon Field's side (partly inspired by abstract artist Paul Klee's painting "The Kingdom of the Air", otherwise meaning to convey the sounds of a kite drifting through skies), on side B, driven by Tony Duhig, the wandering Zen boat monk Teh Ch'eng in 9th century China provided a conceptual focus.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
Casey Elston of AllMusic described the result as "dense and dramatic" and a "rare example of intense ambient sound".
Track listing
All tracks are written by Tony Duhig and Jon Field
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Songs of the Forest" | 3:12 |
| 2. | "Wind Song" | 4:05 |
| 3. | "The Emperor" | 1:58 |
| 4. | "Wind Borne" | 6:52 |
| 5. | "Kite Song" | 3:04 |
| 6. | "Land of the Warrior" | 3:29 |
| 7. | "Quietly by the River Bank" | 3:20 |
| 8. | "Arrival of the Emperor: What Does the Venerable Sir Do?" | 1:06 |
| 9. | "Teh Ch'eng: Do You Understand This?" | 2:32 |
| 10. | "Arrival of Chia Shan: Disclosure and Liberation" | 4:10 |
| 11. | "Towards the Mountains" | 2:03 |
| 12. | "The Last Question" | 0:36 |
Personnel
- Tony Duhig – guitars, percussion, keyboards, production
- Jon Field – flutes, guitar, percussion, production
Studio guests
- Roger Bryson – piano
- Fred Frith – violin
- Pete Gibson – brass, horn
- Coleridge Goode – bass guitar
- Debbie Hall – violin
- Jeff Westley – electric piano
- Graham Morgan – drums
- Joe O'Donnell – violin
- Clodagh Simonds – vocals
- Gowan Turnbull – saxophone
- Geoff Westley – piano
- Willie – drums, percussion
- Elmo – Mexican foot drums
Production
- Tom Newman – audio engineer, engineer
- David Platt – liner notes
- Mark Powell – reissue producer
- Paschal Byrne – digital remastering, remastering
- George Chkiantz – audio engineer, engineer
- Hugh Gilmour – package design
References
- ^ Casey Elston. "Kites album review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
- Thelen, Peter (2001-04-09). "Reviews: Jade Warrior". Gnosis2000.net. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- "A History of Jade Warrior (version of 28 June 2010)". www.radagast.org. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
- "Kites Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-01-01.