Customer Reviews

Live at Monterey

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first time I heard this album I liked it. I had seen the Monterey movie and I connected with the performance, so when I saw this I snatched it up fairly quickly. Fantastic Record! Eventually I put it down and went about listening to other musicians, musicians such as John Coltrane, a musician I have loved for a very long time, and had read of the influence he found from Shankar's music. I would later return to this album and, WOW. Not only did I rediscover more than ever how great the record is, I saw the obvious influence he had on Coltrane (listen to Trane's work and tell me if you don't hear the drone). Raga Bhimpalasi is a very peaceful efficent way to start a record, it really gets you in the mood. The six minute tabla solo is a very fun way to continue. You can really tell the crowd is amazed by the talent they are witnessing. To close the "recital" they use Dhun (Dadra and Fast Teental), this is the highlight of the disc. This is one of the most impressive statements of music I have ever heard in my entire life. Here is this man from India, and from he and his colleagues flows this powerful energy. Shankar just seems to very easily control all this power, with little glances or quick words. You really feel as if you are apart of something special, because you are apart of something special. I have since bought other Shankar recordings and they are great, but I will always come back to this one, especially for Dhun. Come in with an open mind, and you will soon have something you will never be able to put down!

There are two ways to consider this performance/album. 1) It's impact at the time, and 2) It's musical value within the context of comparing it to other Hindustani artists/performances/recordings.

By the first standard, this performance is a 5. Hindustani LPs had been coming out in the USA since 1955, and some people were listening. Consider that John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar had been corresponding at least as early as 1961... more like '59 or '60 if memory serves. This was not widespread music here though, and the Beatles only used Ravi and the sitar as sound effects in the "Ooooh that is trippy and groovey, man" sort of way. For many people in the USA this performance/album was their first exposure to the music of Northern India, and as such, of course it holds a special place in the history of this music.

By the 2nd standard though... holding this up next to other Bhimpalasi performances, and or other recordings/performances of other ragas by other artists, this is more like a 3.8 performance. It's not that it isn't good, but let's face it, there is alot of stiff, brilliant competition in the world of Hindustani music. Ravi's affiliation with the Beatles, and Harrison's constant (for decades) hyperbole as to Ravi's status and ability within that world have hyped Ravi up to a level to which he does not actually stand. Were you to believe Harrison's constant blathering, you'd think the Hindustani world is Ravi bathed in light on the mountain top while all the other musicians gaze up at his artistry, hoping one day to attain half his brilliance. That is absolutely not the case, though. Of course proving this to people is often difficult because many of the people who believe Ravi to be The One & Only have never heard any other sitarists. They just took Harrison's word for it and left it at that.

I don't want anyone to just take my word for it. If you like or love this disc, particularly the alap, jor, and jhalla in Raga Bhimpalasi, I strongly recommend that you search "Nikhil Banerjee". Then scroll through his recordings until you reach the "Afternoon Ragas" disc. There you get Rags Bhimpalasi and Multani. There is no comparison between Nikhil's rendering and Ravi's. On this disc, Ravi's alap is not much to speak of, and it is almost just a time-killer until the jor and jhalla. Nikhil's alap is a masterwork. He plays some phrases that unfold around you and crawl right into your heart... his melodic brilliance singing to you from the alap through the gats.

I think for most people, the highlight of Ravi at Monterey is actually the dhun. Again I would point you to Nikhil and Kanai Dutta's gats in Bhimpalasi and Multani. The tone, and melodic genius of Nikhil cannot be denied, and as for the style and explosive dexterity of Kanai Dutta, I feel his playing serves as more of a precursor to Zakir Hussain's playing style than did Zakir's own father, Alla Rakha (Ravi's accompanist here, on tabla). In truth, Ravi was not even Allauddin Khan's (Ali Akbar Khan's father) best sitar student, much less the all-time greatest sitarist of the 20th Century.

If you need more proof, look no further than Amjad Ali Khan (sarod) and/or Debashish Bhattacharya's (slide guitar) incredibly powerful renderings of Bhimpalasi. Ravi's performance here is by no means bad, but it generally only stands out as a masterpiece to those who have yet to check out anyone else in the world of Hindustani music.

Having said all this, this performance is easily the highlight of the entire Monterey Pop festival.

Of all Ravi Shankar recordings I have heard (7-8) this is definitely the most "festive." I find few very quiet, personal moments on this CD (I mean this in a positive way.) This is a live recording and the crowd is very much a part of the mix without interfering with the musical quality. You can feel the energy and dialogue between Ravi, Alla Rakha, and the crowd. Very bright and vibrant. This is the Ravi Shankar disc I play when I want to awaken, move quickly, smile, go out in the bright sun. I find it less appropriate for late evening introspection and quietness. One does not have to be a trained listener of Raga to understand that Ravi specifically chose these ragas for the outdoor Monterey Pop Festival. This recording is a real treat from the percussion end as well, as Alla Rakha is truly explosive on the tabla here.

This is one of those awesome live recordings that truly captures the joy of the moment. Review the film and you will regret those moments when the camera is panning off somewhere else when it should be focused on the stage! The Dhun (based on folk melodies)is so bouyant and joyful. The audience is drawn into the performance so deeply that by time the exchange between sitar and tabla concludes they are ready to react with thunderous applause and cheering. Ravi was definitely in exceptionally rare form that afternoon. You will miss Alla Rakha as much as I do after listening to the tabla accompaniment. Bhimpalasi is astounding! Listen and you will understand the beauty and power of the Indian raga. A very transporting piece! This recording is a reflection of the good vibrations in the air on that great day when Ravi played to a crowd as a relatively unknown musician and charmed the masses. Yes, Mama Cass said it best, "Oh, Wow!" Read her lips!

Many people went to the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 not even knowing who Ravi Shankar was or that he was on the bill, and yet they came away fans. The same thing happened to me when I purchased the DVD of the festival. I became instantly enchanted by the Indian classical form. Neither the original film of Monterey nor the DVD show the entirety of Shankar's performance, but this CD includes it all (or at least a much bigger chunk of it), and its breathtaking. "Dhun" will wrap you up in a spell, and when it ends it'll be like waking up from a dream. Absolutely beautiful, magical stuff.

I always like to read the book before I see the movie, or, find more information about a place before actually visiting it. OK, I lied about the first part but you get the point. I read all about this famous concert, including the reviews here. I read the liner notes of the CD in which Raviji describes the tension and depression he went through that cloudy, rainy day in Monterey. One can feel it in his voice as he introduces the first raga, Bhimpalasi. I think that did it ! It set a sad, melancholic mood to this really really beautiful Raga. Since Indian music relies so heavily on improvisations, simply having a talent is not enough and no two performances of the same raga will never be the same. I do have another version of the same raga by Panditji and I must confess the one on this CD is absolutely unique.
Bhimpalasi, as Raviji describes is a late afternoon raga and it helps to enjoy it more if you can imagine a hot afternoon somewhere in rural India. The farmers have come back home with their oxen for some lunch and a siesta. It is so hot that all animal and bird acitivity has come to a stand still. Hence the pace with which the raga begins is very slow. One tries to find a cool spot in the house where some gentle afternoon breeze passes once in a while, you lie on mud floors for a nap and look at the distant banyan trees, see the leaves sway with the breeze and hope that has a cooling effect on you .
Eventhough this concert took place in cold Monterey, I wouldn't be surprised if Raviji was transformed in spirit, somewhere in Maihar.
Raviji plays as if there is no one in the audience. He is not performing for anyone, just getting lost in the music and let the music take over. What a feeling, just to be a listener of this music.

Ravi Shankar, Alla Rakha, and Kamala/ at the Monterey International Pop Festival: Most Westerners had, at best, only heard snippets of Sitar and Tabla being used in Beatles, Stones and Yardbirds songs until they saw the performance that was included in the Monterey Pop movie. This CD gives us their entire performance. Not only is this a beautiful performance, but a truly historic performance as well.

Ravi Shankar's LIVE AT THE MONTEREY INTERNATIONAL POP FESTIVAL is a living testament to the infinite spectrum of progressive-pop recordings that embodied the mid-late 1960's. Even though it is a modest compilation of three songs, Ravi's sentimental movements contained within the pieces (in particular, the first and second ones) help listeners get lost in a myriad of distorted sitars and, sometimes under certain chemical enhancement, sets a mood for mellow enjoyment and meditative peace that I'm sure many people at the time had sought themselves. This album is truly a classic, on both ends of the world.

What can you say? Ravi Shankar is beautiful and his music exemplifies this.

If you are a newcomer to Indian classical music, don't worry- just go into it with an open mind, and you won't be able to stop listening. Very lively, and rarely languid, this CD captures the spirit of the occasion perfectly. If you get a chance to see the Monterey Music Festival movie, I recommend that also.