Customer Reviews

Be the Change

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is an exquisitely crafted work of art by an extremely gifted and skilled musician. To me, it's a must hear/keep for all world/jazz listeners. It is very different because in Prasanna we have a very unique guitarist so well versed with the nuances of both the eastern carnatic and western jazz. All the songs in the album convey the artist's strong and very melodic carnatic message packaged in the overall jazz & blues context. The fusion is totally seamless. So to a listener unexposed to this form of eastern music, it may also come accross as a new exotic expression to jazz, which it is in many ways. And guess what, the singing too by both Prasanna and his wife Shalini sound very smooth and fit well in the album.
Not to forget,what makes the album stand out is also the top brass accompanying artists on the rythm,bass,wind sections. The excellent arrangement of it all makes the album a sure winner.
Kudos to Prasanna for this beautiful piece of art.

This album is pure genius. It combines at once two very serious improvisational art forms, carnatic
(south indian classical music) and jazz, and brings it to an audience which is bound to have a very
unique experience. This album is bound to change your view of jazz -- forever. Never before has
multicultural collaboration been attempted at this honest and serious a level. Ok, maybe Akamoon is
probably as serious (apparently Prasanna plays with them regularly in Europe), but how often do you
hear odd-signature songs this accessible? If you are an avid Shakti fan and are wondering what to
listen to next, not only should you listen to this album, but also check out Prasanna's "Peaceful,"
which I believe is available through his website at guitarprasanna.com. In "Peaceful," you will find
Prasanna shining in a freer setting, with some renditions of traditional carnatic -- meant clearly to
showcase his absolute genius as a guitar player and his very creative ideas as a musician.
Pick up "Be The Change" for compositional integrity, pure genius guitar playing, the grammy-winning musicians, and the use of a rare (musical) vocabulary.

Be the Change is probably the best CD album that I have heard in a while. Prasanna weaves in soulful guitar lines on a backdrop of hypnotic harmonies over complex time signatures. His guitar playing is unique, playing in both a contemporary Jazz style such as Scofield, Stern and Metheny as well as in an Indian Carnatic music style. The CD is 70 minutes long....almost as much music as a double-CD set. Every guitar player whether they play Jazz, Rock, Funk, Classical or Fusion should buy this.

Be the change is a showcase of Prasanna's talent (along with the likes of Victor Wooten, Alphonso Johnson, Andy Suzuki et al) juxtaposing two of the highly developed musical art forms (Jazz and Carnatic music).

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this album as an embodiment of Jazz-Carnatic(-funk-R&B-Rock-Blues ...) fusion.

Try it, it's an excellent choice.

If guitar is your favourite instrument and would like to hear it sound in a different dimesion then you need to pickup this album. Along with this try peaceful also. I have never heard anybody sound guitar like this before. If Jimi hendrix revolutionised the way electric guitar sounds. Listen to prasanna's guitar work you will not be disappointed.

MY favourite track in the album is

Ta ka ta ki ta Blues

In the peaceful album try

Jagadaanda Kaaraka

I am stuck on these two tracks and don't get enough of these no matter how many times I listen to them. Hope this review helps.

I am in the music industry for more than 15 years. I have a few words to say about Prasanna's new project.

Guitarist Prasanna is at the very edge of what is possible lyrically, rhythmically, texturally, harmonically, and emotionally.
"Be The Change" blends Carnatic Music, Jazz, Rock, Pop, Classical, Brazilian, and other styles of music in a perfect musical context. Each of the compositions in this album demonstrates brilliant and passionate writing. The performances are stunning.

In my opinion, "Be The Change" is one of the best records of all time; it truly defines the cutting edge of man's musical sophistication in blending sophisticated styles at the advent of the new millennium. I keep his cd with me all the time wherever I go (I own more than 2,500 albums).
Prasanna definitely brought a new sound to the world of contemporary music. Prasanna's CD will change your musical perception or...at least prove that it is still possible to create wonderful original masterpieces nowadays.

If you are looking for something fresh and new, don't think twice...BUY IT NOW! *****

A very intriguing album that grows on you each time you listen to it. It's one of those rare gems in this day where sound effects and other superficialities take the back seat and most emphasis is on enunciation of music itself. It is a great leap forward in the sense that Carnatic music has found itself well seated in a Jazzy couch, unlike shakti (more so carnatic in Carnatic/ Hindustani) and Remember Shakti (a bit more Jazz in Carnatic/ Hindustani). Another observation is that quite a few tracks are is largely deep rooted in Indian philoslophy and music, which is what probably what gives that strong sense of awe and places the album in the stack that would be cherished for a good long time to come.

This is really a very enjoyable album. The variety of styles on this album make it a true fusion record in every good sense of the word. The complete absence of "dull moments" that plague most other records will ensure that this album makes it to and stays on the top rungs of your cd rack.

Prasanna matures with every release. "Be The Change" has been in my CD player for like 2 months in a row. It is just so absorbing. The wait has started for the next CD..
Just go and get it..you will love it!

Most of the reviews deal with a different album Be the Change instead of Electric Ganesha Land. Did
Amazon make a mistake? It's all confusing to a potential buyer.