Customer Reviews

Gandharva

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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I had limited exposure to one cut from this record, "Walkin' By The River," which was included on "Hot Platters," one of those great $2.00 LP samplers that Warners used to put out back in, well, the '70s. It's basically a gospel number sung convincingly by Clydie King, but in no way prepares one for the rest of the contents of this disc, which range from a somewhat off-kilter blues jam that kicks off the proceedings featuring Mike Bloomfield and Ronnie Montrose, to the completely gorgeous second side of the album, (tracks 6-10) which was recorded pristinely in the Grace Cathedral, whose acoustics are used to the fullest and act as another musical instrument. A rather pioneering disk, this; fusion of the best sort. Early analog synthesizer experiments (no cheese factor, by the way; these guys knew what they were doing) that are organically paired with the marvelous saxophone work of Gerry Mulligan and Bud Shank. Ruminative, contemplative, achingly beautiful, and recommended.

This is a lousy and careless budget reissue on the Collectors Choice label of the classic album Gandharva by Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause, originally released by Warner Bros. in 1971. Side 2 of this album was recorded live at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, and the ambience audible in the original release is chopped out here between each track due to careless editing. To make matters worse, the album gradually fades out to a climax during "Bright Shadows" to a final sustained note - which is cut off on this reissue! A beautiful recording was just plain ruined by the editing hatchet job done to this album.

Gandharva, and its predecessor In A Wild Sanctuary, were first released together on a single CD by Warner Bros. in 1994, and they got it right. Unfortunately, it is now out of print. Try and find the original Warner CD containing both albums if you can. It's a pity that Collectors Choice didn't take the time to do this album right.

While there are what might be considered "dated" segments on this album, this CD is well worth having not only for the historic interest but also for some seriously moving musical experience that holds up today and probably always will. Granted, I spent many moments spacing to this album during the days when it was a new release and have many nostalgic associations with it, but it is in my unbiased opinion a genuine work of music worthy of many listens. Tracks 1 and 3 are my least favorite; track 2 is jammin' groovy in a bluesy kind of way - not so much electronic. From there, it's pretty much as the album title, "Gandharva", suggests - celestial musician.
Walkin' and Walkin' by the River constitute a pair with the same theme from different approaches - spatial spiritual segueing into gospel spiritual. The title track is a bit weak for me, but short. After that, settle in for a transcendental glide of incomparable beauty. There's no mistaking the tracks recorded in Grace Cathedral by the deep, rich atmospheric sound. All in all, a listen everyone should experience during their life. Note: If you don't like sax, you may want to disregard my previous comments for the second half of the CD - there are two of them in a delightful interplay.

Boy, do I ever have memories of this album! My husband (at the time) and I listened to this album frequently, and it's always been one of my favorites. Our second child was born at home, and during my labor, we were listening to Gandharva. "By Your Grace" was the song that I wanted to hear over and over again. I was afraid that I would lose control if I heard anything else. After each time that the song ended, my husband or my birth attendant would jump up, run over to the record player, and put the song on again. We listened to "By Your Grace" over and over again for about 7 hours. I had even considered changing my daughter's name to Grace, in honor of the song. But, we went with what we had picked out months before: Asia.

I like all the other songs, too, but "By Your Grace" and "Walking By The River" are my favorites. Great album, way ahead of its time. Beaver and Krause were geniuses.

heard this a long time ago and had almost forgotten it. for some reason I remembered this CD last month, looked for it at Amazon. And Yes, it was there, great!!

I remember listening to this album in college and just heard it again after a twenty year hiatus. My two favorite cuts, "By Your Grace" and "Good Places" feature Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax), Bud Shank (alto sax), and Paul Beaver (pipe organ). The melodies they interpret are absolutely beautiful and they both do an exceptional job improvising throughout.

They experimented and indulged for hours on end. They were successful in the area of film scores during the late 60's. The melodies and the improvisation which were recorded in a cathedral are simply beautiful. Many musicians have endlessly tried to repeat the atmospheric sound and adapt the same musical ideology that is present on GANDHARVA. Paul Beaver had so much to offer to the music world and he was one of the great pioneers of electronic music. Sadly, we lost him in 1975. Bernard Krause is still active but has taken a different direction in style. I remember as a music fanatic, being disappointed over the seperation of their partnership. They were innovators in a time when many music fans cringed at the sound of electronic music. The early days of Wendy Carlos, Mort Garson, Ruth White, Terry Riley and others. Signed to American record labels and pioneering the synth. Beaver and Krause left us with 5 recordings and GANDHARVA might be the most timeless of them all. good buy!

the only reason i bought this is for the song "saga of the blue beaver" where mike bloomfield lays down some fantastic guitar playing.the rest of the disk {which doesnt have bloomfield on it} is boring.