A fusion of East and West , creative and stimulating
10/13/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It was first heard 30 years ago, but it is as relevant today as it was then. The dreams of a talented musician who studied music in the USA, and who came from the famous classical Sitarist Shankar family. Ananda Shankar was a musician who liked Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin and had a dream to combine Eastern and Western Music. So hear what happened. Hear how an ancient instrument, full of dignity, grace and sentiment and depth of human emotion clashed with the Moog synthesiser, and brought into creation a rock sitar music. Ananda creates a whole bright new sound. Like the music pioneers of the 60's and 70's Ananda has made his mark as the father of a new form of music. A music which has no name, but blows the lid off convention, as true music pioneers do, Like Jimi Hendrix and electronic guitar effects. So many Indians have tried to follow Ananda but cheated by westernsing Indian Music. This album is not "Westernised Indian Music". Oh no - this album is for real. It still sounds like its years into the future. Maybe a sound of tommorrow waiting to be explored. It is as relevant today as any other form of music. Classics like Jumpin Jack Flash leap out at you. Light my Fire gives a gentle and soothing introduction - hear this track first if you've never heard this kind of music. It encompasses all of Ananda's talents. For clasical fans, the track 'Sagar' calms and soothes. This track is used by many therapists so you might have heard it without realising it. The only vocal track on the album 'Raghupati' is an old Hindu prayer chant, made unique by the dancing atmosphere of the moog synth.All serious musicians will appreciate the talent and impressive creativity shown on this album. The rest of us will find that East meets West is definately worth listening to."
Indian Lounge Music
Robert Carlberg | Seattle | 12/16/2003
(2 out of 5 stars)
"There was a brief flurry of interest in the sitar during the late-'60s/early-'70s, reminiscent of the rise of fake-Hawaiian lounge music in the late-'50s/early-'60s. Both eventually devolved into Muzaky travesties of current popsongs, sure to sound the deathknell of any fad.While the late Ananda Shankar was one of the few practitioners with any real credentials, his solo album also marked the beginning of the end. There are a couple of pretty tunes ("Snow Flower" & "Metamorphosis") one nice traditional raga ("Sagar") and unfortunately a lot of dreck ("Light My Fire," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Mamata," "Dance Indra," "Raghupati") hampered in no small part by extremely dated synthesizer sounds.While it's nice to see this overpriced collector's album finally reissued, it is by no means the zenith of the genre."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1