Customer Reviews

Radha-Krsna Nama Sankirtana

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

 

 

If you want inspirational, devotional music with a great blend of gospel, then this is definately the album for you. Alice does a great job fusing the Gospel mood to devotional Indian chants. "Govinda Jai Jai" has just that; its driving, pulsing rythm is all you need to get you lifted in the spirit. The wonderfully peaceful, even trance-like harp music on "Ganesh" is beautifully evocative, simultaneously stirring the soul, and relaxing the mind - perfect for meditation. A reverberant, beautiful piano piece fronts "Prema Muditha", which then proceeds to pick up the pace bringing an inspirational feeling of upliftment to this chant. If you enjoy the "Hare Krsna" Maha Mantra, and the spirit of Gospel- then you will absolutely love this 4th track. Alice brings such a flavor of joy and upliftment to the Maha Mantra, the Great Mantra, that you can't help but sing along and feel the call of the soul to the Divine. "Om Namah Sivaya" is purely instrumental, lending a very fluid, acid-jazz feeling. Along with some good drumming, and an interesting melody, it is a near-20 minute piece. Overall, this is a great devotional piece, and musical work, therefore I highly recommend this album.

Alice made a series of amazing records in the '70's -inc."Universal Consciousness","Lord of Lords","Infinity","World Galaxy","Eternity","Transcendence","Transfiguration" - and this one is as good as any of them.The chants,Side 1 of the original lp,are beautiful and funky,and the last track is a terrific 18 minute duet with her son John,Jr. on drums and Alice on organ.Alice,it seems to me,has never received due credit as a major innovator in jazz organ - her busy,driving style of investigating oblique melodic fragments is totally unique.My advice - any Alice from the '70's,all of which feature her organ playing,are highly recommended.The earlier,pre-organ,cd's on IMPULSE! are good,but not as wonderful as those mentioned above.

If you want inspirational, devotional music with a great blend of gospel, then this is definately the album for you. Alice does a great job fusing the Gospel mood to devotional Indian chants. "Govinda Jai Jai" has just that; its driving, pulsing rythm is all you need to get you lifted in the spirit. The wonderfully peaceful, even trance-like harp music on "Ganesh" is beautifully evocative, simultaneously stirring the soul, and relaxing the mind - perfect for meditation. A reverberant, beautiful piano piece fronts "Prema Muditha", which then proceeds to pick up the pace bringing an inspirational feeling of upliftment to this chant. If you enjoy the "Hare Krsna" Maha Mantra, and the spirit of Gospel- then you will absolutely love this 4th track. Alice brings such a flavor of joy and upliftment to the Maha Mantra, the Great Mantra, that you can't help but sing along and feel the call of the soul to the Divine. "Om Namah Sivaya" is purely instrumental, lending a very fluid, acid-jazz feeling. Along with some good drumming, and an interesting melody, it is a near-20 minute piece. Overall, this is a great devotional piece, and musical work, therefore I highly recommend this album.

This feels more like a sort of random collection of songs than a full, polished album, so I can understand some of the other reviewers' criticisms. This isn't Alice's best, but it's unique and there are some totally breathtaking, amazing moments. The chants that comprise the first half of the album are incredible. Yeah, it's clear that the singers aren't professionals, but the performances still overflow with humanity and warmth. These songs are intensely spiritual and uplifting, but without a shred of pretension or artificiality. As for the organ-drum jam that rounds out the album, Alice's playing is fantastic, but the drumming by her son is pretty by-the-book. Not really surprising, since I think he was something like 13 at the time. If you don't like the last song, just pretend it isn't there, but don't ignore this album.

After being blown away by Monastic Trio and Journey in Satchidananda I bought up Alice Coltrane's entire back catalogue. The CDs are variable to say the least. This has got to be the worst of the lot. Three of the pieces are Hare Krishna chants by her students from the Vedantic Centre. They obviously arent musicians as the rhythm is quite often suspect. The final 19 minute track features some fine organ work but is totally ruined by the atrocious drumming of her son John Jr.
The only reason I gave it two stars is because of the track Ganesha, which is a beautifully played harp piece. All in all though this CD is best avoided.