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Nice music - Weak liner notes

Stephen Reddy | 02/18/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The music is lovely. I'm disappointed with the liner notes and packaging design. The photo that appears as cover art is on the cardboard sleave and not repeated in the plastic case (so I can't throw it away). The fat booklet in the cardboard is ALL ADVERTISEMENTS for other CD's. In the plastic case is a booklet with uninformative cover art and 15 pages of loosely spaced text. Eight are German or French. Two are more advertising. Only five are English liner notes. There are two thumbnail size, black and white pictures of the musicians.I think I was spoiled by the liner notes in the Lomax collection CD's. For example, the "East Indian Music in the West Indies" CD has 11 pages of dense text plus six black and white and one color photo.Again, the music for "Afganistan: A Journey to..." is lovely. It's pleasant and exotic. You could listen to it during a dinner party. My only gripe is that I learned so little about what I was hearing."

Afghanistan - World Network

Stephen Reddy | Brisbane | 06/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A nice collection of "pre-troubled" Afghanistani music, recorded by the German WDR group in 1974, prior to the bulk of the political and religious upheaval that's taken place in the intervening decades. Thanks to the time frame of this recording, the traditions haven't been altered forcefully for the most part (though there are hints at Islamization of works from the Nuristani region). While the pieces hail from around the country, there is a focus on the Herat region and the region of Mazar-E-Sharif (where the works were recorded). The music itself runs the gamut from a simple, barely accompanied shepherd paean to full, harmonium-equipped ensembles backing up trios of singers. The highlight of the disc is the bareness of the music in many cases, which allows a seemingly more heartfelt song to be sung over the accompaniment. The opening love song from Herat is a prime example, with the plaintive cries of a lover filling the room. Just watch the volume when the child singers come on."