Search - Jade Warrior :: Way of the Sun

Jade Warrior Is A Band That Should Be Heard By More Listener

Blabberless | In the world somewhere | 08/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Way of the Sun" is a more upbeat album than their previous 3 releases, blending Eastern sounds with soft fusion and progressive. Soft flute passages mix with acoustic guitars and lush percussive waves, similar at times to Mike Oldfield and even Gandalf."

It's A Masterpiece

Stephen KEEN | Western Australia | 01/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I first began to collect Jade Warrior's "Island era" albums on vinyl in the seventies I commenced with "Waves" [1975], & for a while I thought that Tony Duhig & Jon Field had reached some peak of musical achievement. I was quite mistaken. My next purchase [out of sequence with the chronology of the four albums] was "Way of the Sun" [1978]. I promptly gave up trying to define or predict anything about Jade Warrior's music ever again.

Whatever this album's title & cover art suggest is only a thin representation of the musical depth within. The music is built around ethnic Central American themes with segments that can sound majestic & sometimes almost orchestral, while much of it is exotic, haunting, & mystical.

I have always loved the sound of flute, & this album is a flute lover's delight. Once again Jon Field's flutes evoke celestial beauties & harmonies in partnership with Tony Duhig's guitars, both electric & acoustic. But Tony's electric guitar playing on this album is nothing short of mesmerizing, especially on the final track.

The first track "Sun Ra" creates a vivid impression of a sunrise. Then "Sun Child" is centered around a delightful flute tune, with picollos also, & the enchanting sounds of harp played by a guest musician. "Moon Tears" is a sweetly earthy tune played with both wooden flute & conventional flutes as well as guitars, & a myriad of small bells & chimes as it drifts into "Heaven Stone", a beautiful flute piece with cool jazz-like accompaniment largely from acoustic guitars. "Way of the Sun" ventures into a more familiar Latin American influence with Tony Duhig's electric guitars multi-tracked. Then "River Song" has multi-tracked flutes producing joyful trills & flutters. "Carnival" has a lively rumba-like rhythm, followed by "Dance of the Sun", based on a tribal percussion beat.



Most tracks contain modest keyboard backing with Duhig's electric guitar frequently drifting in & then fading out of the various musical segments. As with the earlier masterpiece "Waves" there is a real musical & recording mastery in this album. At the very least this music may send you somewhere else for a while.

But nothing will prepare the listener for the awesome final track titled "Death of Ra" which has Tony Duhig's electric guitar & Jon Field's flute harmonising with sad overtones which are tearfully beautiful.



Where on Earth did two men find the inspiration to create music like this? "Way of the Sun" is the last of Jade Warrior's "Island era" albums. I can certainly recommend all of them, but don't miss this one, it's a masterpiece."

One of my favorite albums

Blues_King | Chesapeake, VA USA | 09/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love Jade Warrior's spacey mood music and this album is one of my favorites. From the first song to the last it paints a great cohesive picture that kind of reminds me of Egypt and/or South America. It demands serious, not casual listening however. You can't be walking around or washing the dishes and appreciate this album(or other Jade Warrior albums). The use of many different instruments sound great through my Altecs and peak with "The Death of Ra". The Death of Ra is a great emotional funeral songs with great guitar work in the mold of Santana. I recommend this album if you like percussive, spacey instrumental type music. It ain't Chuck Berry!"