Ravi Shankar - "Inde"

When Ravi Shankar a short time ago ended his earthly life, one must say that it was a legend that left us. Many people associate him with the Beatles and his influence on popular western music through this connection has been great. All psychedelic songs, both contemporary and ancient, where a sitar is included we have Mr. Shankar to thank (and George Harrison who was the man who welcomed this instrument). Yes, even non-psychedelia can actually include a sitar to beautify the experience.

But of course Ravi Shankar had a life before the Beatles and a long and successful career afterwards. You may correct me if I'm wrong, but he is probably the practitioner of traditional non-Western music that has reached out to the most and whose name almost everyone knows. He received the Polar Music Prize in 1998.

I'm no great knower of either Ravi Shankar or the music from India in general. In my collection there are a few titles with traditional Indian music of various kinds, of which today's theme is one. The reason I got these albums were initially simply because I thought it was pretty druggy and fuzzy music. The tones of the sitar and rhythms the tabla created a cozy and mysterious atmosphere. Throw in a nice flute to add some variety and the dish was complete.

On Inde we hear Ravi Shankar play sitar and Chatur Lal on tabla. I don't know what year the album was released, but I guess somewhere in the 60's. The label is Fontana and Inde was part of a French serie of releases with music from different parts of the world, as I understand it. We hear Ravi Shankar play the sitar relatively quickly. It's not an album if you want to lie down, close your eyes and fly away on a floaty Indian sound carpet. Some songs may start at a lower pace, but soon Ravi has increased the speed and his fingers seem to fly over the sitar. Perhaps India's answer to Yngwie Malmsteen? Accompanied only by a tabla, the sitar is in the center of the music.

I think the album is OK. Generally, I like the calmer and slower Indian music better, so sometimes it is a little too fast for me at Inde. But there is no doubt Ravi mastered the sitar to the fullest, it is a dazzling display given. At times one wonders how it's possible to play so many notes in such a short time.

Do I recommend this album? In general I find it difficult to give recommendations on traditional music, just because it's so different. It's more than usual a question of individual taste. But if you like Indian music this is surely an album as good as any other. And in general, I encourage people to explore other continents traditional music as there are lots of exciting discoveries to make.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Kafi-Holi

2. Dhun

3. Mishra Piloo

Side B

1. Raga Puriya Dhanashri

2. Raga Charu Keshi