1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - #111. Ravi Shankar - The Sounds Of India

Ravi Shankar - The Sounds Of India

Label – Columbia
Producer – Uncredited
Art Direction – Uncredited
Nationality – India
Running Time – 53:40

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)

1. Introduction to Indian Music
2. Dâdrâ
3. Maru Bihag
4. Bhimpalasi
5. Sindhi-Bhairavi

An interesting record to say the least . It is one of Ravi Shankar’s earliest works and was created specifically for the “West”. The record is an attempt to teach those that were curious “western listeners” about the beauty – if not the complexity - of Indian music and basically tried to tell the listener what is going on!
There are four ‘ragas’ performed, Maru-Bihag, Bhimpalasi, Sindhi-Bhairavi, and Pancham-se-Gara, which is played during the piece titled "Dadra," which is actually a ‘tala’. Confused? Well, throughout the album there are short lessons in the forms and techniques given by Shankar himself before the various pieces are then performed. If you are looking for a pure Indian music record, you should then perhaps pass no this one. This is more of a historical document of both Shankar's amazing abilities, as well as his love of spreading the word for his music and teaching others. If you were thinking of delving into some of Ravi’s other works – this may be the best place to start just to help you understand what is going on in the music. This music is popular in the “West” mainly because Ravi Shankar taught George Harrison and, mainly through the Beatles, brought Indian Music to the West. And by all accounts Shankar is definitely the master of ragas, his technical prowess and improvisational capacity is astounding.
The first track is composed of Ravi Shankar explaining the music, and at the beggining of each track he gives a little introduction of what each track is and how it is structured. Not terribly entertaining, but educational. For that reason alone it is recommended.