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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hypnotic, otherworldly., July 21, 2004
I mean those words almost literally - at its most powerful, Nusrat's extraordinary voice really did seem to transcend our world and reach out to the stars. Its setting of qawwali (Pakistani devotional music) is based around smooth repetitions of simple chants, building a hypnotic trance with steadily building intensity, until the experience moves beyond the notes and words and reaches to touch something intangible. If you're looking for a more fusion-y blending of traditional and modern, there are synth/guitar-backed offerings like Mustt Mustt or Night Song to start with. Shahen-Shah (meaning 'Brightest Star') is pure traditional qawwali at its ecstatic peak.
It probably won't literally transport the average listener to some state of personal satori (I'm generally as unenlightened as you can get, really), but that doesn't mean these performances aren't mesmerizing. Pulsing tabla beats and handclaps form the backing rhythm, a sinuous melody is provided by the harmonium (a kind of squeeze-box that you'd swear sounds just like an accordion), and the lead and backing voices communicate above them. Sometimes it's a call-and-answer between the repetitions of the lyrics, sometimes it's an improvised scatting that's almost jazzlike. Nusrat uses his voice like an actor, conveying an entire spectrum of emotions across this disc.. there's hope, longing, joy, sadness, passion and ecstatic rapture, immediate and almost tangible even when you can't understand a word.
If the idea of so much steady repetitive chanting and droning hasn't scared you away, you'll probably be very pleased with this disc. Don't worry if it doesn't draw you in right away; the more you're willing to drift along with this heavenly trance, the less time seems to matter at all. At the very least it's a prime example of how amazing this man's voice truly was.. and that is something every serious music fan should experience regardless. Believe all the raves.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Voice of God, May 28, 2006
Having grown up with Led Zeppelin, the Who and being a fan of modern artists like Bruce Springsteen and Co., I was somewhat surprised when a rock obsessed friend of mine gave me Shahen-Shah to listen to in September 2005. His words were "man this is freaky". Thinking it was some middle eastern music of a large man I put this CD into my CD player and well, what can I say? I have listened to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in some form or another for the last 9 months every day.
Make no mistake. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (the Shahen-Shah himself)is the best vocalist of the 20th century and were it not for his untimely, tragic death in 1997, he would be revered all around the world today. How different the world would be post 9/11 etc with this man around to sing and make it all better. If God (whoever he is) could choose someone to sing on his behalf, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Nusrat would be it.
Traditional Qawwali is raw, repetitive, rythmnic and long. "Shahen-Shan" provides a perfect snapshot into this genre of music (for those who are novice listeners) and also the deep spirituality that is associated wth hearing NFAK sing. And then there is the Nusrat factor itself. How scary it must have been to see this musical monument sing live. It is the greatest regret in my life that I discovered him too late. His improvisations, voice, control and charisma that is evident just by listening to him is amazing.
If there were more than five stars, I'd give it more. Nusrat is the best ever. If you haven't heard him, you are missing out.
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26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nusrat's BEST,, October 1, 2002
By A Customer
I have heard most all of nusrat's tapes, videocassetes, and cd's-- this one's his best and i will say specifically why. The other cd's such as "dust to gold" have the group when they are young; this cd shows the effects of their experience together: they weave in and out of each other creating a rich tapestry, building off successive phrases/alaps/taans. Listen to beginning of track 3 and last track especially. I don't know why "dust to gold" has been so highly rated because it lacks in this - everything's isolated, nusrat says a line, everyone repeats, he says a taan, etc. it's just formulaic moving from one thing to the next, on this cd they are reveling. The group is not concerned with being fashionable, rather more focused on bringing out the best of their music, and because Qawwali is based in traditional music, the best of their music is found in this. The cd has incredibly beatiful alaps, and when the amazon reviewer says the recording is not rush, and therefore better, it's because mainly the group members don't feel that every alap needs to be a thunderbolt, not forced to stupid taans introduced by the appearance Rahat that stun only the virgin listener, but are stale and boring to the inspired listener. A reviewer noted that Rahat is not present in this CD, for good reason. Rahat's voice is of nill value for Classical music there's no richness, no layers characteristic of all the Nusrat party vocalists-- it's too thin and undeveloped, his alaps sound like an old lady screeching -- the only reason he later appeared with the group is when they needed to become "fashionable," take notice and you'll see he starts coming in once the group started to sell out trying to rebase the foundations of their music on Jazz/Pop.
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