Customer Reviews

Journey

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4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Journey was the first Eastern Classical music I ever bought. I know, I know, it's a blending of eastern and western music. That is how I became a lover of eastern music.
I had heard eastern classical music only on TV shows about India, a little here.. a little there.
If I had heard straight eastern music it would have been jarring to my ears. This CD allowed me to listen and enjoy the eastern instuments playing music that I was used to.
I have since bought scores of eastern classical CD's, flutes, sitars, sarods. A little bit of everything, all because of Journey.
Rande G. Jacobson

I became interested in Indian music through a friend, and also through research on the Silk Routes from China to India and points west. The first music that really got my attention was Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. Then I heard of a group called Ghazal, which also melds Eastern and Western styles.

The next step was Indian classical. I took a flyer on a CD by Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute) and was completely enthralled. I've since acquired some vocal classical, and sitar, and sarod. The bansri (flute) is my favorite for its expressiveness.

Sometimes, though, I'm in a different mood, and go back to the blends of West and East. I've heard some that work and many that don't work. Ali Akbar Khan's "Journey" is one that works quite well for me. Somehow these people have mixed the styles and instruments and come up with something that, for me, bears up under repeated listening.

This disc takes the master's music and layers it sythesizers and schmaltzy arrangements that the producers probably think will make it more friendly to western ears. The result is classic Indian music turned into tacky wallpaper. Why can't they just let the great music stand on it's own?