Customer Reviews

Shahbaaz

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With most CDs today carrying at least eight to thirteen tracks, the concept of buying a four track disc from a singer of Middle Eastern devotional music must seem bizarre. On this third release for Peter Gabriel's RealWorld records, the international star and musical genius Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan continues to demonstrate the beauty of Sufi devotional music (qawaal). At just under an hour, the CD displays Nusrat's flawless execution and attention to rhythmic and instrumental detail. At points breathtaking in its unexpected energy and beauty, the songs pulse with percussive energy while Nusrat and his singers weave lyrics through the instrumentation. No track stands out as of less quality than the others -- it is a uniformly superb album. "Shahbaaz" is an excellent addition to any collection, and particularly good compliment to the other RealWord releases.

This is the first (of many) Nusrat CDs I bought after hearing him on the Dead Man Walking soundtrack. It remains one of my favorites for a number of reasons. The tracks are relatively succinct, the audio quality is high, and the vocal improvs he does (I'm sure there's a beautiful word for it) are somehow more directed than on other records I've heard. It's trance music, and although I don't understand a single word, I am transported each time I listen. Where? Search me.

Shahbaz is a brilliant piece of work, it is a must for all lovers of the Qawali who are able to understand the plight of Shah Mansoor in the first track and the power and jalal of shahbaz qalandar. The third track is from a poet Iqbal who turned to the sufi path after leading a life in sin and the last but not least jewleh lal takes you to the greatest heights and brings you back down again, a MUST BUY for all aspiring devotees.I loved it !

This is a collection of qawwalis on Shahbaz Qalander, the well known saint from Pakistan. As the story goes, Qalanders are supposed to be in an eternal trance mode. So this selection has alot of emphasis on routing the listener to that path. The audio quality of this CD is excellent and it has one of the best sung Shahbaz Qalander. There have been other CDs as well where Nusrat had this number; but this selection leads the other ones in the music, vocals and built-in traditional element of Shahbaz Qalander. I only like two qawwalis in this selection. Still, I would highly recommend it.

I first heard Nusrat and Shahbaaz in Panjab and was immediately taken by this truly spectacular music. The quality of Nusrat's musicianship and vocal power defies immediate description. The only problem with this album is the total absence of information in the program notes. The lyrics aren't translated on the grounds that Qavvaalii is too esoteric for Westerners to understand -- nonsense!, I've been walked through the translation without any problems. No mention is even made of what languages (Panjabi, Urdu) the songs are in, nor the immense popularity and cultural importance in Panjab and Sindh of that most recognizable of tunes: Shahbaaz Qalandar. It's a good thing that Nusrat and his Party don't need good liner notes to earn 5-stars, heck 6... heck 17. Buy this, but surf the net for the translated lyrics and background info on the Qalandars and Sufism. Enjoy!

Shahbaaz is Nusrat's greatest recording. His intensity and passion are at their peak in this collection of some of his most powerful renderings of traditional Sufi mystical music. Nusrat's version of "Shahbaaz Qalandar" is particularly stunning. You don't have to understand a word he is saying in Persian or Urdu to feel like you are soaring to heaven on the wings of Nusrat's voice and passion.

"I felt a rush of adrenaline in my chest like I was on the edge of a cliff, wondering when I would jump." So wrote the late Jeff Buckley about hearing Nusrat for the first time. Jewleh Laal is the song that proves why Fateh Ali Khan deserves the label: "Ustad" (The Maestro). As the editor acknowledges, "The gem of this CD is the final song." Ustad Khan is at top of his game in this cd. The rhythms are uplifting while Khan's vocals are hypnotic and mesmerizing. The music on this cd will arouse mysticism and transcend the listener into a spiritual realm.

Okay, so I know its a harmonium, but jeez is that instrument tough on the ears. Nusrat's vocals are powerful and inspiring, the tabla sets a nice beat, but the harmonium ruins the show. A little harmonium, OK, but not the WHOLE CD. What you get is Nusrat drowned out by the extremely annoying off-beat, wailing, choppy drone of that awful harmonium. If it wasn't for the passion that Nusrat brings to the recording, this cd would be no better than one star. If it wasn't for the grating harmonium, "Shabaaz" would be a four star effort. For Nusrat's inspiring vocals with a more soothing backdrop, try "The Prayer Cycle". Or buy "Shabaaz" and groove to the agitating vibration of the harmonium.

I havent listened it yet because it is impossible for me to find it in Ankara.But I know a little about Nusret Fateh Ali Khan.I have only one album of him:The Legend.I love his style and his voice.I am very sorry that he is dead now.I know that he died two years ago.I'll try to gethis all albums and learn more about him.