Customer Reviews

Bombay The Hard Way: Guns, Cars And Sitars

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Featuring the music of Indian composers Anandji and Kalyanji, who composed and conducted music for the so-called "Brownsploitation" films from India's 1960s and '70s "Bollywood," this is one of the latest projects of Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, Bay Area producer and music master mind behind Dr. Octagon, with additional beats credit going to DJ Josh Davis, better know as the Quannum Collective's DJ Shadow. Every track on this record sounds as though it were ripped from an American or European spy movie, but with Eastern Indian twists like sitars or Indian chord influenced moog licks. There is nothing of the classic, Middle Eastern modal sound, the kind of convoluted stuff that John Coltrane got into later in his career, but rather, Indian-ized American compositional music, very groovy and full of funk and jazz-based musical ideals. Some tracks owe to the hip-hop influences of the producers, with rough, thuggish beats emphasized and laid out over things like sitar loops, flute solos and heavy string and moog accompaniment ("My Guru," "Fists of Curry," "Punjabis, Pimps & Players"). Other tunes on the record hold truer to their original forms, with emphasis on composition, instrumentation, and most importantly, that tried and true secret agent theme, sometimes presented in go-go style ("Ganges A Go-Go," "Uptown Bollywood Nights"), other times as a surfed-out tribal, disco noise ("Swami Safari"), and other times, just some straight-up, Mission Impossible type stuff ("Fear of a Brown Planet"). With almost no lyrics-save samples from the movies themselves-and no cuts or scratches in the records, this first class joint could almost be considered an illbient album, with an East Indian lean towards The Automator's Dr. Octagon Instrumentalist and Shadow's Entroducing. Worth it for any fan of beat-based instrumental music

this album highlights the best of early dj shadow and dan the automator. hip hop electronic beats with solid interesting melodies. don't expect true "world music", but open your mind to the creative expressions of a handsome boy modeling school graduate and one of the hippest djs still kicking it. the little absurd sound bytes make me smile every time. if you've ever caught a preview of a mainstream indian movie with the singing and dancing or the silly low budget 70's "blackspoitation" movies, then you might find this album appealing. if you're a fan of dj shadow or the automator, then this album is a must.

I first heard cuts from the CD on the University of St. Cloud (Minnesota) radio station (corporate radio isn't going to touch it!) and was intrigued, so I got the CD in 1999 and have loved it ever since.

A prevous reviewer didn't like the modern remixing of or overlays on many of the songs, but this doesn't bother me (it doesn't seem heavy-handed) and it might make the CD a little more accessible to people who aren't familiar with the genre.

The tracks are alternately "groovy", mellow, James Bond-ish, chase-scene-ish, sinister, romantic...basically a late 60's/early 70s adventure movie extravaganza with an Indian twist and a bit of 90s DJ mixing. Somehow all of it flows together, though I suspect the songs come from different movies.

This brings me to just a couple of minor gripes: although there is a great little booklet in the package that explains the sometimes odd and dangerous world of Bollywood, there are no notes about the movies these tracks came from, which leaves me curious, especially since there are some odd sound bites of actors speaking dialogue in Hindi and English--I'd like to know the context! Actually, I'd rather have the movie notes and no dialogue, because it just disrupts the flow a little for me.

This is one of the most unusual CDs I have, and it's great to work to. People who see it on my CD rack or hear me playng it are inevitably curious about it. I love it! If you're curious about the genre or like sountracks or mod/funk sounds in general, this is a nice compilation.

Being Indian, I was curious about how a non-indian would interpret our current music. To a serious listener, the music may sound weird and maybe even bad. But if you stay back a little, then the funky twists can be catchy.

Maybe this is part of the Fusion that some people are talking about. If our Bollywood films and music spread over the world, then other people will make their own interpretations and enrich us all.

Lights, Karma, Action!!

Bombay the Hard Way is a surreal flashback to the deliciously campy sounds of "Brownsploitation" soundtrack music. Comprised of incidental scores from a series of old school, super action films from 1970's India (Bollywood), BTHW plays out like a bizarre marriage of Willie Hutch, Tom Conti, and Talvin Singh, if they were a posse of polyester kung-fu Hindus pimpin' hoes & bustin' caps on the mean streets of the Indian subcontinent.

The music was initially composed by brothers Kalyanji and Anandji Shah back in the day, but here it's pasted together by Dr. Octagon's Dan the Automator and DJ Shadow who add additional production and new beats to a number of tracks. Together the turntablist mega-team reconstructs these cult pop artifacts into jiggified throw-down custom made for the hippest opium dens in the land.

Mesmerising collection of sampler tracks from the composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji. Interspersed with corny dialogues from the movies, which inject humor. Amitabh Bachchan does the honors in Tracks 5 and 9.

The additional beats add to the tempo of the tracks. Good to see such material unearthed from inane, forgotten movies from India. Should be a breath of fresh air to the western audiences looking for something different.

If you're up for a trip to the 70's, via India, this is your ticket. Little bits of dialogue sprinked throughout and great liner notes really make this album a scene.

Okay, so I thought "Yeah, this will be really funny and kitchy and stuff, blah blah blah," I mean with songs called 'Fists of Curry' and ' The Good The Bad And The Chutney' I expected a cheesy '70's exploitation soundtrack. What I got was a completely compatible flavor to what's going on right now and should be going on in the near future. The original scores from these Bollywood films are amazing themselves with the funky horns, guitars, and crazy sitar action, but the added beat production by DJ Josh Davis and Dan the Automator make this a rare treat of authentic trip-hop before hip-hop. The additional beats are so seamless and genuine sounding that it takes a while before you realise that anything has actually been done to the original recordings. Ever since getting this during Thanksgiving, it's been a gathering staple. Everybody loves Bombay the Hard Way.

First things first the Automater is a genius for putting this out, also DJ Shadow had helped out on the songs as well, but honestly I love this music so much, the 70's funk, the Middle Eastern influence. Kalyanji and Anandji maybe two of the greatest composers to ever work on films, cause this is incredible stuff, these guys could've easily fit in with Curtis Mayfield and Isacc Hayes, during the blaxploitation era, but definetly a must have album for anyone who likes music, peace.

I can't stop listening to this cd. It is funky, yet modern sounding, and since I've bought it two weeks ago, I've had five of my friends rush out to get it. This is one of those rare hidden gems. If you are so lucky as to have stumbled upon it here at amazon, do yourself a favor and buy it quick.