Customer Reviews

In Celebration

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

 

 

This box set is a good overview of Ravi Shankar's career. The classical Cd is especially good. Perhaps the set should have been at least 6 cd's with the additional discs being pure classical since R.S does constantly insists he is a purely classical musician.

I find parts of the East-West and Vocal and Experimentation disc to be dated and contrived ,not too interesting after a few listenings and as a result I rarely play these discs.

Listening to this set will enhance your appreciation for Indian classical music and for Pandit Ravi Shankar.

The accompanying booklet is quite nice , although I would suggest R. Shankars book Raga-Mala. I also think that the current remastered Angel CD 's are a good value. For those looking for good overview of Hindustani music check out the Raga Guide: Survey 74 Hindustani Ragas .

It's true, the quality of the music varies greatly from disc to disc and sometimes from track to track, but that's a concomitant of the fun, part of the exploring. My favorite piece is the Yehudi Menuhin collaboration. (Mr. Menuhin reveals in his autobiography he never learned to improvise, but you couldn't tell it by this: he plays with conviction and spontaneity.) The "classical" disc is consistently good; the movements for sitar and orchestra are fascinating; the pop song "I Am Missing You" is amusing. The set is attractively packaged and includes a lengthy biography of Ravi Shankar with historically significant photographs.

Also recommended (for sitar players too): PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

Initially this set was the jewel of my Hindustani collection, but overtime, some of the experimental music gets tiresome (especially disc 4) The classical sitar CD is excellent and shows Pandit Shankar in his prime with the masterful accompaniment of tabla player, Ustad Alla Rakha. The ensemble disc is really nice too, getting to experiment with the likes of south Indian players like violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam. The east/west disc is exhilarating at first, but the more familiar one becomes with the music, the sillier some of these collaborations seem. OFten what happens with the east meets west things is that one of the musicians leads with the other following/immitating (often blindly and lost). I do want to emphasize though, that the easterner is not always the leader or the one with superior understanding of how to collaborate. Anyway, this set serves well to introduce people to north Indian classical music, but some of it is too fabricated to stand the test of time. For pure sitar playing, I would suggest Nikhil Banerjee's "raga S.KHamaj/Manomanjari" double disc on the Raga label.

In the history of recorded music, few artists- if any- have brought the world such a wide variety of material over such a long period of time as Ravi Shankar. In 1995, to commemorate his 75th birthday this career compilation was released. The purpose, in the words of the late George Harrison, who co-produced the project, was to "show the different aspects of Ravi's music". Disc by disc, I will now attempt to do the same...

Disc 1-Classical Sitar. This is probably the CD that will sound most like the Ravi Shankar you've heard before, especially if you've bought any other Shankar CDs. It consists of 5 ragas (that is, traditional India pieces; I don't really know any technical info here), each of lengthy duration, for the westerner anyhow. Each is enjoyable in its own uinque way: the first two have an exhilerating, playful atmosphere about them (especially the first, Charu Keshi), while the third is an interesting, if simple, piece composed by Ravi for his daughter, who plays sitar on it. For those unprepared, track four is an evening raga, and is VERY slow for the most part but it is still enjoyable if, and only if, you really take the time to sit down and listen. 5/5 for disc 1.

Disc 2- Orchestral and Ensembles. I have already said that disc 1 will be most like the Ravi you've heard, but if, on the other hand Arpan is all you've heard before coming to this compilation, these tracks will sound more familiar. All the orchestral tracks, the first two for me especially, are enjoyable and fairly vibrant and varient. Highlights here include: V 7 1/2, and a track played entirley by an ensemble of Ravi and his sitar students.

Disc 3- East-West Collaboration: Starting off with a violin/sitar duet, and carrying through several movements of Ravi's various Sitar Concertos-- and even stopping for an incredible live track, Indo-Japan Finale-- this disc never seems to let up. These are just awe-enspiring collaborations. Highlights include: Sitar and Violin Duet, the second and third movements from Ravi's Sitar Concerto number one, as well as the afformentioned Indo-Japan Finale. Also of note is a beatiful track called Morning Love, in which Ravi duets with a classical flutist, Jean Pierre Rampal


Disc 4- Vocal and Experimental: I have read some reviews claiming that this disc often sounds "dated and contrived". Well, I'm here to tell you that it is neither. This disc is a favorite of mine, and unless you fall into the catagory of "Hindustani Purist", or easily see things as "dated" (corny, weird, insipid--whatever) there is no reason not to open your mind to this disc. For starters, Friar Park is an absolutley GORGEOUS track recorded at George Harrison's mansion; behold how autoharp, sitar, and marimba mix, soncially. Then I suggest a huge favorite of mine, the funky West Eats Meat (what a title!), in which Ravi and several other Indian musicians jam with a jazz bassist-- the result is fun, and often weird (lookout for Ravi's utterances of random fraises in Bengali.) Fire Night is brilliant piece sure to win over jazz lovers, and Dispute and Violence, another huge favorite, starts off with unaccompanied vocals but quickly evolves into an irresistably catchy piece with a brilliant hook.

On the vocal side, Hay Nath-- recorded with Philip Glass, featuring Raviji on lead VOCALS-- has a soothing, almost "New Age" aura (and that's no bad thing to this firmly experimentalist reviewer). Tana Mana--dedicated to Ravi's mother-- is relaxing in an almost hypnotic way, while I am Missing You, sung in English by Ravi's sister-in-law, Lakshmi, is gorgeous in different sort of way than the other tracks: lyrically it emulates emotion and innocence and, despite arguable over-prodcution, still comes across as something fresh and different. From a historical point of view, Oh Bhagawan, the track Shankar recorded for a charity EP in aid of the Bangledesh disaster of 1971, is a notable track. Even the vocal pieces I haven't mentioned here are often provocative, and nearly always have beautiful lyrical translations.

The sound qaulity is very good (except for a track or two where Gramaphone Company of India, Ltd, seems to have preserved material poorly), the mixes, and instruments are brilliantly clear (you can really hear those tablas), and the booklet is sewn into the package, so you won't be loosing it easily*. The booklet offers a biography of Ravi, photos, and info on all the tracks, including Ravi's own notes-- from which I draw much of the information for this review*. Also, lookout for George Harrison's brief introduction, which I quoted during this review.

Let's celebrate Ravi!

* It is not true--as insinuated by The Curmudgeon--that I plagarized material from the booklet contained within this boxed set for my review. As I make quite clear in my response to his post under the Comments forum, I only used the booklet to get information on both the composer and his compositions-- in addition to quoting George Harrison's introduction to the work, an act which, according to Mr. Curdmudgeon, is a sin of some kind. I wish it to be known that I forgive him for his short-sightedness in making these accusations. He is extremely astute and appears skilled at his chosen hobby, so I am surprised--almost shocked--that he could actually, honestly believe what he wrote below. Afterall, to any rational person who reads this review, it must seem like the most ignorant, absurd, short-sighted, and frankly arrogant thing to say!
Peace to all (including Him).

All the records that I heard of Ravi Shankar's performances are masterpieces. Thanks to Ravi Shankar, I learned that good music does not mean only Western music.

I am very pleased to add this box-set to my collection. The selections are well organized and the booklet is full of facinating information as well as photographs. Of course the music contained on the 4 cds is what makes this a first rate addition to anyones soul and collection.

This collection contains selections from other records/CDs, but gives an excellent overview of this artists mastery over many and varied forms of music: classical sitar and its "fusion" with western classical music, jazz, and alternative music. I would highly recommend it for this reason.