Customer Reviews

Dream

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

 

 

Don't get me wrong - I love the Nusrat / Michael Brooks albums - own two copies of each CD because I've listened to them so much over the years that I'm afraid I'd scratch or otherwise wreck the CDs.

This is the other CD I have 2 copies of. South Indian classical music (a.k.a Carnatic music) is very different from what one usually hears as Indian classical - or Hindustani music.

The latter is closer to Jazz, with a central theme and mood to each piece, and soaring improvisations that embellish it. Carnatic music, on the other hand, is much closer to Western Classical music - bounded by more rigid notions of form, pace, rhythm and structure. It is more about discipline and appreciation of a piece that everyone knows the way is going to be played. Precisely the reason I used to hate this music while growing up - my folks would play it every day!

This album however makes two big departures. One, of course, is that U Srinivas is simply one of the most talented instrumentalists to come out of India in a long time. A prodigy at 13, his relative youth and success have opened him up to improvise a little more freely in his playing.Two, is the amazing ear and production that Michael Brooks has brought to the album. The bass guitar supports, cajoles, and drives home the raga and the mood that Srinivas sparkles off.

Again - you're not likely to see this album in the house mixes at a New York club - it is much more contemplative, calm, and brilliant in its laid-back mood.

I'd love to see Michael Brooks work his wonders with other Carnatic musicians: L Shankar (of Shakti fame), his brother, another Violin maestro, L Subramaniam (check out a great album he released with Stephane Grapelli "Conversations") and Kadri Gopalnath - the amazing alto-sax player from Bangalore.

Michael - or somebody from Realworld / WOMAD - are you reading this?

Michael Brook works his magic again, this time with Indian prodigy, U. Srinivas. "Dream" is an incredible exploration of fusion and improvisation that feels (suitably) dreamy but never loses its focus. A pulsing dark undertone persists throughout the disc. Fantastic.

This is a disc that has to be taken on it's own terms.If you are looking for a place to start with the work of U Srinivas I would reccomend "Rama Sreerama" ( which was produced by Michael Brook just before these sessions took place)this is where you will here some of the most beautiful traditional indian music you will ever hear.This disc also contains some of the most delicate virtuosity and passionate group playing you are ever likely to hear.
I know almost nothing about Michael Brook( Canadian ,guitarist and composer) ,but I do know that he seems to have detractors and admirers in equal numbers ( usually a good sign).
Unlike other recordings of U Srinivas this is very dark and at times almost sombre music.Brook has added some overdubs( including the infinite guitar that seems to have so annoyed at least one other reviewer) but is based on some improvising between the musicians who were around the studio for Realworld's annual fiesta.These include Nigel Kennedy on Violin and Trey Gunn( of King Crimson) on stick .
Although on the surface this is very calming music I am still unsure if I like the dark edginess to some of this disc but I feel that as an experiment it was worth doing and to a large degree it works.
I would also reccomend "Remember Shakti-The Believer" which features U srinivas with John McLaughlin for those who find pure Indian Classical music too much .

I love to read the reviews of critics. You can learn a lot from critics, just by their ignorance, which they so ignorantly (and eagerly) display.

This album is a masterpiece. I admit to my shame that I have only heard half the album. I heard it on HOS 12 years ago and have never gotten it out of my head. It seems to have been the inspiration behind the movie LawnMower Man, whether anyone will admit it I couldn't care less.

The folks who give this less than a four, or even a five for that matter, are suffering from an over-inflated ego, and an excessive desire to hear themselves speak.

If the purpose of new age music is to help transport you into new worlds of thought and reality, then this album has succeeded beyond my hopes and DREAMS. If New age music is something to be criticized, just for the sake of it, then I guess everything is doomed to failure.

For God's sake, I almost vomit when I listen to critics. Walt Disney is famous for asking a room full of "critics" what they think. When they gave their opinions, he would instantly do the exact opposite of their advice. And who do we remember? Walt Disney, or his Critics?

Some times I think the sole purpose of Critics is to ruin the beauty that has been created by artists. I witnessed it with the Titanic, on the first day of it's opening. Critics pounded it. But they were so far from the truth, I was left wondering what their purpose actually was.

Same with this album. If you have a creative sense in your bones, this might be for you. If you like to b..ch about things, then nothing will ever please you.

This album has a lot going for it. It's great for sitting back and listening to, perhaps with eyes closed, or as background to other activities. Very nice while taking an airplane trip. The album sounds like an improvisation, yet I think it was performed with a basic roadmap. It does not have melodies or chord progressions the way that pop music does. Instead, it sets up a groove, adding layers, moving through moods.

It helps that the first three songs blend one into the next. I rather wish the third also blended into the fourth, but I'll take the album on its own terms.

"Dance" has always been my favorite. The opening low bass note sounds nice on my stereo, as do the bass lines that follow, but the musical landscape overall works for me.

"Think" is, as the title suggests, more contemplative. As such, it is slower and more meditative. It blends in to "Run", which brings back some drums speeds things up.

Ending with "Dream," we get more vocalizations than the others, and a few guests.

Curiously, none of these tracks alone is "typical" of the album - they are fairly different, while also having some continuity.

Note that there are only vocalizations - the voice used as an instrument - no actual words are sung.

This one goes past all expectations. For those who are initiated to the world of ambient music, it will ring a lot of bells. And those who aren't are sure to swept off by at least most, if not all of the tracks, like "Think" and "Dream". U Srinivas has been a rather a lowkey performer in his home country and Michael Brook has his shares of critcs blues but in this album, its pure transcendental ambient magic! Love it all the way !!

I was disappointed when my anxiety turned into depression. Clearly the fault lies in the main composer as he is totally oblivious of the south Indian classical music structure. Indian classical music has certain norms and standards that are to be followed. When Srinivas restricts himself to a particular raga, Brooks with his so called infinite guitar touches "unmelodic scales" and finds himself aimlessly playing his instrument. I must admit that Srinivas has however played his part very well. Whoever sang the alap for the last song, i must say that he has to better his skills in it!

After discovering the wonderful mandolin playing of U. Srinivas, I must say that this album came as quite a disappointment. After listening to albums like "Magic Mandolin" w/Zakir Hussein, "Rama Sreerama," "Modern Mandolin Maestro," and his 4-Disc live set "Classical Encounters" (not available from Amazon.com) this album came as a bitter let down. If you're into ambient, spacy, computer filled, production-heavy rambling, then I suppose this is the thing for you, but if you want TRUE karnatak music, this is NOT even close. Granted, I didn't expect pure karnatak music when I picked this disc up, but it is still weak. Michael Brook has the ability to find great artists, but he needs to stop collaborating with them. Pick up one of the above listed albums to hear the amazing mandolin wonder of India! In all fairness though, I do have to say that there is one good track on this album. that's what made it two stars instead of just one.