ワールドミュージックとエスノサウンドに、日本の要素が感じられる音楽が、プログレッシブ・ロックやサイケと融合した一枚。メロディアスで深く雰囲気のあるサウンドが、まるで古代日本の風景を頭に描かせるような作品だ。目を閉じ、心を静めて聴くとその情景が広がる。もしPINK FLOYDが日本のバンドだったら、こんな音楽を作っていたかもしれない。『Benzaiten』のアレンジは、70年代初期から中期にかけてのイギリスの名バンドたちの作品を彷彿とさせるが、民族的なアプローチが異なるだけで、むしろさらにプログレッシブだと言える。

A1. Benzaiten - God Of Music And Water
A2. Taiyo - The Sun
A3. Tengu - A Long-Nosed Goblin
B1. Benzaiten (Reprise) - God Of Music And Water 
B2. Whoma - Immortality

World music and ethno sounds with an obvious Japanese origin meet progressive rock and psyche. The result is a captivating piece of melodic and deeply atmospheric music that paints pictures of life in ancient Japan into your mind when you lay back, close your eyes and listen closely with your thoughts turned off. If PINK FLOYD were Japanese their music might have sounded like that. The frequency of the arrangements on „Benzaiten“ reminds of what our English heroes have created in the early to mid 70s just with a different ethnical approach. „Benzaiten“ is even a more progressive effort than anything most British bands have ever managed to fabricate and still utterly natural and vivid concerning the flow of the music. All participating musicians here are professionals and their performances are tight and still passionate. The sound is warm and vivid, the song structures are wide open and welcome you to slip inside. East meets West on this record and Osamu Kitajima and his companions really grab you by the soul. Electronic elements in the percussion section add some oddity to the whole musical picture. Not sure what Osamu Kitajima and his band intended when they recorded this record but I am certain they achieved it. The cool aspect of „Benzaiten“ is the rocking guitar which keeps the whole album together. Must be the Japanese pendant to German acts like AMON DÜÜL II, EMBRYO and GURU GURU. Well, there is definitely some truth in this comparison. Anyway, this album will enchant you!