Customer Reviews

Ragas & Talas

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The musicianship displayed by Ravi Shankar here is absolutely phenomenal! I am fairly new to the works of Shankar, this is only the 5th cd of his I've heard. By far though, it is the best. I am not 100% knowledgeble on the techniques and characteristics of Indian music yet as I am a novice, I am basing this review mostly on how the music makes me feel. The sound quality is incredibly crisp and life like; sounds just like it was recorded yesterday! Considering this was originally recorded in 1964 the sound here is very impressive, a very good remastering job! The liner notes are very informative, yet thankfully brief. They give a nice run down of ragas and so forth, in terminology that non-seasoned listeners like myself can comprehend. An excellent choice for the relatively low cost! I would definitely recommend this for newcomers to the wonderful world of sitar music.

It is hard to select any particular CD from "The Ravi Shankar collection" so I've been buying all of them. Jogiya has a melancholic mood associated to it and is beatifully rendered here. One can find a lot of sad songs in Hindi movies based on this Raga.
While most of the Kauns' are among the heavier ragas this one (Madhu-Kauns) is exceptionally beautiful. Also, it is the most evenly paced recordings I've heard of this raga. It all happens in about 20 minutes! It starts with a slow, sad mood which keeps tugging at your heart. Once you are almost satisfied with the alaap, it gets into a medium paced momentum which gives a feeling of having a leisurely walk in a park with lots of little nooks with a variety of flowers. A little more that half way into the raga, it starts running, taking small flights at times, which give you brief flashes of even more beautiful scenes. One can feel the rhythm in the background, but the tabla is not playing yet ! Its an amazing feeling !
I usually stop at this point but to all the die-hard fans of tabla, there is still more. The last few minutes build up a dancing crescendo between the Sitar and the tablas which takes you to a climax.

P.S: Listen to it with no distractions, headphones preferred. Keep a cigarette ready just in case.

This cd is awesome! It is the first Ravi Shankar cd I've bought, and I was very happy with it. The first track starts out slow, and when the drums kick in it's like you are instantly transported into a deep meditative state. I'd highly recommend this cd for anyone interested in this genre of music!

I've been listening to Ravi Shankar's work for a long time. It's always nice to see when great songs are remastered, but I agree that this was not the best mastering job and therefore give it just 4 stars. The overall feeling of the CD is great and I still enjoy listening to Ravi's mastery!

This is excellent, especially if you are new to Indian sitar music. I put it on for relaxation.

All music is art. The feeling of this recording is one of happiness and playfulness. The interplay between sitar and tabla makes for an exciting listening experience. Truly a masterpiece by the master, Mr. Shankar and Mr. Rakha. Highly recommended for this genre.

The music is amazing. The artistry and creation of the movements is fantastic. Unfortunately, the playback is marred by poor mastering. The first track in particular is noticeably panned to the right channel.

What this means is a listen on headphones will make you feel as if you have water in your left ear, because it sounds muddy on that side. Still, as a lowfi recording it's pretty good. It may have been a poor source recording -- unsure on that score.

In any event, the bottom line is that the music is great, but the production of the CD is kind of subpar.

This is a very nice album of Ravi Shankars. I recommend it highly.