Devotional Songs

Needed to be on drugs or something for this one

This is feels like a culturally significant piece of music but it just didn't resonate with me.

Listened to 3 songs and enjoyed it but found that to be sufficient. The vocals are a lot but the music is good but won't listen again. 4.5/10 (2.25/5)

The albums come thick and fast and I didn't dedicate much time to it due it it being challenging. Found a song I like in Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam though.

It's not on Apple Music, so I couldn't listen to much. Seemed like stereotypical Indian music.

would never have listened to this if not on this list....super weird and interesting

"He was described as the fourth greatest singer of all time by LA Weekly in 2016." If this isn't an endorsement I don't know what is!!!! Musically its fine, not my jam tho.

Tough to evaluate, as it’s very different than what I’m used to. The spirit can be infectious, and the vocal warble is impressive. Vocal flourishes with intense power or speed really ice it. Vocals are the heart here, there isn’t much melodic accompaniment. Percussion is minimal but consistent to keep you connected. I’m happy to have been exposed to it, but don’t expect to find myself looking for this again.

Not for me thanks

Might have just been me but I had trouble finding this particular album in one spot so I just listened to his music for about an hour. Let me tell you he has a LOT of music out there to sample from. It really is impressive the volume of music he put out. Looking at his discography on Spotify it seems like he put out around 10 albums a year for decades. I appreciate the work effort but the music is not my style. Obviously I don't know what any of the lyrics mean which will always hamper my score. All in all it was okay.

I have no idea if this is good or not, but I would never listen by choice.

Couldn't get into it. Different yes but I prefer East Indian music that's instrumental over vocals.

Not the kind of music I woult typically listen to, the songs were very long but quite enjoyable. He has a very nice voice and the instrumentals and background singers were always impressive especially when you really concentrated on them. Even without understanding the lyrics, the songs really made you want to dance. However, I wouldn't necessarily want to listen it again.

I don't necessarily have anything 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 Punjabi worship music. It started out quite pleasant with some nice melodic guitar sounds and his impressive vocals. It soon wore me down though. It got a bit repetitive and monotonous.

I respect this but this is not for me.

Couldn't find it to stream, so couldn't listen to it

Good background music. Maybe if I understood Arabic, this album would be more of an impact.

Sorry - I'm not a Bollywood - fan

did not do a full listen, its a vibe though

Not unlistenable but yikes

It's not my kind of music. This album appears to be obscure, as it lacks a Wikipedia page. I do like the instrumentation. The fact that Ali Khan's family had been musicians for centuries is amazing. My favourite from the album is the final song because it's different. 2 stars for "Devotional Songs".

Not my cup of tea. Songs sound very same-y

I appreciate the intent to expose listeners to the music of other cultures. I'm not going to give this a one star because I didn't listen to it all the way through. My active listening state is not tuned to this sort of thing and I think it ever will be.

Nice. Not for me.

lungo

Not for me. 20 seconds into each song, it sounded like same song. Not familiar enough with anything about the style to hear why it stands out amongst its peers.

Love and Devotion – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan | Dub / Reggae / Electronic (1988) | Avg: 3.46 | Favorite Song: None Alright, I’ll be honest with this one—it started off with some promise, but got painfully repetitive fast. Most of the tracks landed squarely in the 3-range for me, and not because they were offensively bad, but because they just didn’t evolve. There’s only so many times you can ride the same groove before it starts feeling like a loop rather than a song. Nothing stood out as unlistenable, but nothing stood out as necessary either. I get the appeal if you’re zoning out or using it as background music, but from a critical standpoint, there’s just not a lot of substance to grab onto here. It’s the kind of album that blends into itself and leaves you checking how many songs are left. If there was supposed to be a deeper meditative arc, it got lost somewhere in the monotony. Especially after hearing 12 7+ minute songs, I got sick and tired of it. Not a total disaster, but very much a one-note experience.

Me queda muy lejano el estilo de la música pakistaní

I 100% own up to being an uncultured American, but this just didn't do much for me. Long songs with lots of repetition annoy me in every genre, and I just couldn't connect much with this. I can definitely hear the talent, and I do appreciate whenever I come across some of the (minimal) cultural diversity on this list. But personally this wasn't for me. Definitely understand why it's on the list, but I wish I had more similar to compare it to than having to stand on its own.

There seems to be some discrepancy on Spotify, as the app shows this album having twelve tracks, whereas only nine tracks appear. After listening to the nine tracks, I think I’ve got the sense of what the other tracks would sound like. This Pakistani guy does a lot of scatting on the album, which is lengthy. I appreciate getting the opportunity to hear this type of music, but it’s not my favorite genre.

Could do with a lamb bhuna

Ugh. This album is not short. And a lot of it sounds the same. I feel like I’m at an all you can eat buffet Indian restaurant. "Have you had their tikka masala? It’s really good, but it’s spicy. Be careful." In all sincerity, this just wasn't my bag. I honestly can't give it a 3, but it also doesn't deserve a 1, so it will likely get a 2 to fill the category of either, (1) I don't get it, or (2) this just isn't for me.

What are "Songs that could be used as a music bed for any Hollywood middle eastern action thriller?" Some of these were more upbeat and enjoyable than I thought. Having said that, this is still not bag of chips. The constant tabla and droning instruments really do wear on your sanity after a while. I appreciate his contributions to this style of music, I don't have any connection to this culture and really haven't enjoyed what I've heard.

..

ok i gues

Not on Amazon music

This grew on me a bit and I liked it more than I thought I would after not loving the first 30 seconds…still not my favorite, but 2.5 rounded down.

Day542 - i’ll give him credit for quantity, he has over 200 albums on itunes,but not this one.

*Uplifting middle east music. *Enjoyed it - good background music. *Research - Nursat Fateh Ali Khlan is Pakistani and died in 1997 at age 48. RATING - 6.5/10

Not my thing

The problem with world music is often not knowing any context: Was this groundbreaking?, did it set trends? etc. All I can judge it on is "Did I enjoy it? No!

-Listened on Spotify which is missing three songs -Songs are too long for my terrible westerner ears -"Un Ke Dar Pen Pohchne to Payen" is probably my favorite off the album

Culturally distant. Unappealing to my ears.

I'm not used to this kind of music but it's quite o.k. and I really like the cover artwork.

pretty repetitive. got old quick

I’m unsure why, but that album just didn’t really do much for me. I’ve really enjoyed some other traditional Indian music such as Ravi Shankar, but for whatever reason this just didn’t tickle my ears in the same way. There were definitely catchy parts, and it’s far from being awful music, but this one’s just not for me.

Sounded fine, I don't know enough to know

I don't have any context for this

Two discs, 3/12 tracks missing on Spotify, but no way this doesn't get rated poorly Yeah not for me, although groovy

It's pleasant enough to listen to, but it feels very repetitive (made worse by it being in non-English). If I was Pakistani, I think I'd be a big fan of this.

Not really into this, though it was fine background music for an afternoon. I didn’t annoy me, which is more than I can say for a lot of music.

Very upbeat vibes. Songs seemed a bit long and repetitive though.

It was fine. Do I feel like I needed to hear this before I died? No. Did I still enjoy it? Kinda.

I always struggle with things that are so foreign to me. This was pleasant enough to listen to but not anything I’d revisit.

I enjoyed this listen. It was very removed from what I'm typically spinning and I think that made me want to pick out details more. I really loved hearing all the different instrumental layers and melodies. It was a bit long but was a decent vibe all the way through.

1. parda - 2 2. halka - 1 3. zada - 1.5 4. payen - 1.5 5. allah - 1.5 6. meka - 1 7. ali - 2 8. dam - 2 9. mazt - 2

This was an experience! This is the kind of album this list was made for. It was fun for a couple songs, but I didn't need 90 minutes of it.

Good background music I guess

needs more guitar.

Had to listen to this on YouTube since it wasn't on spotify and some of the songs seemed cut-off. Kind of repetitive

This album, although not my cup of tea was an enjoyable listen. I rarely listen to middle eastern music so this was a completely new experience for me to hear an entire album. The musicianship was very good and the singing, although I have no idea what they are saying was clear and concise. Best songs were “Allah Hoo Allah Hoo”, “Haq Ali Ali Haq”, and “Ni Main Jogi De Naal”.

Better than Coldplay

1,5

My man Nusrat! I see he goes by NFAX. Just imagine a concert with NFAX and NOFX. That would definitely be a banger. Unfortunately, Nusrat is no longer with us. I always believed that effort and enthusiasm helps make anything a better experience and this guy has it. Maybe It's because I just got done with a Crosby Stills & Nash, some of the most uninspiring music I've heard in a bit, but I thought this album was at least interesting and full of energy. Btw, did you see how many albums this dude has made? Holy shit..... Can't say I'll ever seek this guy out, but somehow, I think I'll remember the name. Who knows, next Shank get together, I may have to throw on Allah Hoo Allah Hoo just to see the reaction. 2

2 Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not particularly cultured in music from non-English speaking countries, and that there’s probably a lot of great stuff out there to discover if I continue to explore… but this ain’t it for me, dawg. Though, to NFAK’s credit, it did grow on me somewhat over the course of my listenings. During my first listen, at the gym, I thought it was annoying, and I was over it probably less than a minute in. Listening to it during work, I found it to be okay background music, and sitting here now after an additional listen, I can admit there’s a degree of fun to this. Still, a lot of these tracks sound kind of the same, and most feel overly long. If you listen to the version of this album that’s on Spotify - Love and Devotion - it’s actually a combination of two separate albums put together, Love Songs and Devotional Songs, respectively. I personally didn’t find a striking difference between the two, but for some reason that I can’t explain, I want to say I liked Love Songs just a touch more. Overall though, a bit too much of this one sound, which definitely started to wear on me. One of the things I’ve seen people praise about this guy is the emotion and intensity in his voice (dude could apparently go full send for several hours), and while I hear what they mean, I have a hard time connecting with it. That’s definitely the language barrier, but as one of those pretentious a-holes that connects with lyrics, it made this album somewhat of a challenge for me. I guess that’s more of a “me” problem though - if you look at the list of artists this guy supposedly inspired, it’s kind of crazy: Mick Jagger, Peter Gabriel, Eddie Vedder, and Red Hot Chili Peppers just to name a few. Hell, Jeff Buckley even referred to my guy as his “Elvis”. Not my Elvis, nor am I probably likely to return this album, but no regrets in opening my mind a bit. Maybe I’ll understand it the next time I’m in Pakistan.

Erm.... it's like I walked in to two people making out in the supply closet at work but they don't work there.

very interesting Pakistani album, it's nice !!! it's just cool music and nothing much outside of it, good to be on the 1001 for diversity of differing music

Not something I'd listen to for pleasure, to be honest, because it's... Just a bit too unknown for my ears to enjoy. You can tell it's well played and produced, and it's a breath of fresh air to get something on this list that isn't more or less American or British mainstream/mainstream-adjacent stuff. Still... Hard to go for more than 2 stars.

Not really my thing. Seemed quite devotional which I’m sure others will find resonance with. 2.5/5

Not something I would ever listen to by myself so glad for the chance to listen to it but its not for me obviously not terrible musically just in a style not for myself.

Traditional ethnic music is kind of a dick move in some ways, I have zero background on how to form an opinion as I know nothing about Pakistani music, and I am not sure I have the time or desire to learn more about it.

Nope. No thanks

I’m a big lyrics person so listening to songs in other languages is hard for me to connect with. But I appreciated the vibe of this.

would just like to let everyone know that I submitted my essay w/ 28 seconds left. really living on the edge. woohoo. anyways I grew up hearing brown ppl devotional music I think alot of it is really fucking annoying to listen to. i dont mean that in a disrespectful to god way but I also am not religious so I guess it doesn't matter. I do think some carnatic music is really nice tho and theres def been some performances n stuff my mom dragged me to that I really enjoyed. I thought this was too long and not that enjoyable tho. I think Carnatic music is better than this in general tho, I guess im biased. idk everytime(everytime!) we have an album I feel to the smallest degree somewhat culturally related to I have a lot of opinions

4/10 - It was kind of boring and all of it ended up sounding the same. None of it was necessarily bad which makes it a 4 and nothing lower.

Listened at gym. Twas pretty annoying

01) Allah Hoo Allah Hoo - 7,0 02) Yaad-E-Nabi Gulshan Mehka - 6,0 03) Haq Ali Ali Haq - 5,5 04) Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam - 5,0 05) Mast Nazroon Se Allah Bachhae - 5,0 06) Ni Main Jogi de Naal - 5,0 TOTAL: 5,58 (56/100) Current ranking: 412/486 Just to clarify, the link takes you to the double album "Love and Devotion", of which disc 1 is the album "Love Songs" and disc 2 is "Devotional Songs". Since the latter is on the list, I decided to listen to only that one. You're welcome.

Non fa proprio per me. Sono contento che nei 1001 album si incluso qualcosa che non sia inglese o americano, ma l'album è qualcosa di troppo distante da quello che sento abitualmente da non saper come valutarlo

LONG...I suppose it is ok. Nothing I would ever choose to listen to however. 1.5/5

So excited to see what I got on my birthday, but I got this and it’s not even available. Boo. I did listen to some on YouTube, though, and well, what? I guess I actually enjoyed whatever was happening, and I wish I could easily listen to the whole thing without creepy ads after every song.

As a fellow reviewer said: "Better than Radiohead"

2/5

Not the type of stuff I'd listen to normally, but I can definitely appreciate the musical talent on this album.

Qawwali High…Qawwali low. Lots going on and I’ll buy into this gent is one of the best. Don’t expect to listen again on purpose but accidentally I wouldn’t complain.

Not for me. It all sounds very similar to me. Definitely didn't need to hear a double album.

Not my bag

It sounds repetitive to me because I don't recognize the lyrics, and the songs do go on for quite a while.

I mean, sure.

Interesting to listen to for a while, but not my kind of music. Gets tedious after the first half-hour or so (90 minute album). By my self-imposed scoring system, this is either a high-2 or low-3 star rating.

2.5

I'll be honest, I did not listen to this whole album. After the first couple of songs they started blending together and I just could not appreciate the music properly. It's probably my western bias but I find it hard to enjoy this music.

It’s okay but not to my taste

Not my thing at all, can't really judge it but okay to have on in the background

I’ll be honest, I only listened to about the first 20 minutes of this. Not sure it was gonna take any different directions in the subsequent 70

2.5 The music seems very well made and the guy has a good voice and there were moments where I was rocking out, but overall this isn’t my type of thing.

I like listening to this but 90 minutes is just too much devotion for one sitting.

Bruh

Muzikaal is dit oosterse album vrij toegankelijk. Het draait meer om de zang. Voor mijn ongetrainde westerse gehoor is het weer die bekende trillende oosterse zangvorm. Maar dit is blijkbaar een heel specifieke vorm: Qawwali. Ik kan dat onderscheid helemaal niet maken en een tekst of oordeel over dit album van mij is dus waardeloos. Maar we willen wel de 1001 doorwerken, dus we luisteren en we schrijven gewoon. Dat eerste nummer duurt wel heel lang zeg. Acht minuten! Eens kijken. O, wacht de rest duurt ook zo lang. En twee cd's vol. Pfff.... Wiki vertelt mij dat de meerwaarde van de zanger vooral zit in zijn vermogen om urenlang zo intensief te zingen. Laten we vaststellen dat die schrijver een andere maatstaf heeft dan ik heb voor het uitdrukken van muzikaal genot. Als de nummers iets korter waren en het beperkt was tot één schijf, dan had ik het juist meer gewaardeerd. Dan had ik waarschijnlijk voor de toegankelijkheid drie sterren gegeven. Nu heb ik het luisteren in drie blokken geknipt en zag ik behoorlijk op tegen het derde blok. Te lange albums krijgen standaard een sterretje minder. Dit album verdient dezelfde behandeling.

It's really just not my thing

After a while a bit too much.

I appreciate this being on the list, but boy is it not my jam. I struggled through this one.

I'll just leave it as "not for me". I can appreciate the talent, but it was not my thing.

Interesting......

Artistilla on taipumus puristaa kaikki mehut hyvistä ideoistaan. Poiminta: leppeämpi toinen raita. 2+

Felt like I was trapped in the raiders of the lost ark movie Sorry not my jam

The tabla and harmonium is roughly what I expect. I didn't expect there to be what sounds like Spanish guitar and similar influences on some tracks. I get that Nusrat has impressive voice control and I can sense there's feeling there, but I don't speak the language so I can't really connect.

This album just isn't all the interesting, and it doesn't seem to do much to set itself apart (but I also know nothing about world and Punjabi music). It wouldn't be bad if it was half as long, but an unremarkable 90 minute album is a bit rough.

This was a long ass album considering that all the songs sounded the bloody same

So, I accidentally listened to the Love & Devotion reissue, i.e. twice as much qawwali music as I ever really needed. Love Songs (1/5) was a very repetitive, uninteresting release, which perhaps preemptively soured me for Devotional Songs (2.5/5), whose tracks' energy and power I vibed with more. I feel no desire to listen to this again and sometimes wonder whether wishing 1001 Albums Generator had more genre diversity is a monkey's paw situation.

I think this is the actual link https://open.spotify.com/album/4m7Du1Wc5NpDQkaC2QXsAM?si=d6ISo-17SdONvLadKhEtqA I don't even know how to review this - kinda cool but also not my thing

1.66

I liked the album and rhythm, but could not listen to it the 2nd time I played the album.

Be careful what you wish for. Am I glad I listened - yes. Am I glad that I listened to the whole first side, decided to give up and then got told that it was just the second side I needed to listen to - no. I so so want. I definitely preferred the second side (the actual album) But yeah I do not have the ear for telling the songs apart so it all sounded samey to me.

Can see Niles and Frasier getting tickets for the Seattle leg of any early-90s tour. Not familiar enough with this style of music to judge whether I'm into specific albums or not, especially after just one day. Nice to have it on in the background while working. And good to see something like this is on the list. Can't say I'm tempted to explore the genre further, however.

Interesting to learn about Qawwali music. Maybe good to introduces to this stuff in small doses. Taking on a 2 sided album was abit of an overload. Impressive voice.

No context to rate it, the genre is our of anything I listen to. I could enjoy and appreciate it though which worth something

Pakistani Devotional Music. Love that this album is included here. Quite repetitive, obviously. Easy to listen to but nothing I would listen to again.

Normally when I have my headphones on people ask me what I'm listening to. Thank God that didn't happen today because that would have been a bloody nightmare trying to explain.

I enjoyed it at times, the droning nature of it. The man’s voice is great for what he does. Got tired at other times, and although there’s real spirit behind it I didn’t find the “songwriting” very compelling. When I judge world music by the same criteria I judge other albums, it often gets low scores. It’s a bit hard to meaningfully compare this to other music. I would say I actually appreciated it but I feel I have to rate this one a 2 for now

The Spotify link takes you to an album called ‘Love and Devotion’ which is 12 songs and 1.5 hours long so I recommend using the YouTube link or googling the album for the Spotify link to ‘Devotional Songs’ which is only 6 songs, 45 minutes. This is very beautiful music and there’s no denying the high level of musicianship and the incredible voice of NFAK. However, the production and mix are poor, especially for 1992. Everything is absolutely drenched in terrible digital reverb, Khan’s voice is way back in the mix, and there’s a doumbek front and centre that just plays nonstop. This album would benefit greatly from a remix and despite the beauty of the music I can only give it 2/5 as an album.

Seems well produced, but I don't connect with it on any level.

I didn’t hate this album, but it just didn’t click with me either.

I can't relate to the music, and not understanding the texts didn't help. So this review will be unfair... Sometimes this was like listening to someone getting tortured, with all the wailing. "Ali Maula..." send me into a nice trance, though, but it didn't last.

Hmm will Pakistani hit any better than classical Indian? I mean I actually do kinda dig the vocals here with the call and response between lead and support. I'll say that an hour and a half of this is far too much. I'm tapping out after Disc 1. Heard enough to know that this is never going beyond a 3 or lower than a 2 for me. And given that it is so long and I derive so little direct enjoyment from the experience, I'm going with the lower end of the spectrum. I promise I'm not closed off to "world music" I just don't particularly care for those selected in this list.

Nothing about this is really bad, but it just feels like the same thing over and over again. Basic song structure + repetitive chanting is pretty much it.

I'm sure this is great in the Punjabi community and I respect why it's here, but this ain't it for me.

Not for me

Top tip people - the Spotify linked album includes a whole other album. You just want disc 2, so you can cut the time of this in half. It's something I'm glad I knew ahead of time, because I tend to listen to these things all the way through, and this one isn't really for me. It's made with skill and there's some nice enough rhythms in there. I like some of the compositions and the back and forth vocals, when it's not being super repetitive. I don't vibe with world music at all in general, so I guess 2/5 is actually somewhat of an endorsement in that respect...? I'll actually go a 2.5 rounded down, because it was easy enough to listen to in the background.

Indisch traditionelle Folklore, weit weg von indischer Film-Musik

Very popular within its context. Very impressive vocal skills from the middle east.

2.2 1x started this a few times, but started again and listened through on 11/13/24. Love and Devotion (1h30m on Spotify)

Not an easy listen for me. I think I would need to listen a number of times to really have a feeling for this.

Meh. At times it worked well as background music while I did some work but I would never put it on a second time.

The deepest blessings to anyone who loves this music. My bro put out like 11 albums the same year as this. That's amazing. But it's not my thing and there's so much of it.

Tonnes of atmosphere but nothing in it for me sonically.

- gefiel mir besser als gedacht, aber wird trotzdem nicht meine Musikrichtung werden - energiegeladen und geht irgendwie in den Körper

I was interested when this first popped up but it didn't catch me at all. I can't hear what is apparently in here.

I wanted to enjoy this but for the most part I did not. I don't know if it's just my ignorance when it comes to this type of music or if it just wasn't for me, but unfortunately I could not get into it and was waiting for it to end.

Not my jam. Definitely not.

At this point I think I’ve heard enough Indian music before I die and now I’m just interested in the context of these albums more than anything. Looking at the wiki makes me think qawwali music like this is meant to only be heard live because I’m not really getting the acclaimed endurance and range that the wiki page talk about but it’s fascinating to read about how this guy is considered one of the greatest singers ever and his influence stretches from Jeff Buckley to Eddie vedder to Zayn Malik to mick jagger. I’ve never heard of him even though he’s basically Elvis and Gandhi in one person (although he seemed to really take after Elvis in his later years) which is so wild to me and as I learn more about him the music even sounds slightly better but it still feels like a grind as I hear the end of the second disc.

Good album.

not bad.

I tried. But I can only handle a couple songs of this at a time. Kudos to this homey for being at the top of his game and I give much respect. But not for me.

Good if you are in the modd.

Weird

I love listening to the effect South Asian music has had on western music since the mid-'60s. But I've realised that I don't like listening to that music for any length of time. Not my cup of tea.

Without knowing the language or understanding the cultural context, these songs all sound exactly the same to my ear. This album may very well be a masterpiece, but I don't have the tools to tell the difference.

I tried to get into this back in the 90s when Eddie Vedder was dueting with him. I soon realized that I only enjoy western music. And that's fine.

Not my thing

good to see this generator is also highlighting some non western artists

They play, and play, and play. He sings, and sings, and sings.

Pakistan's answer to Bob Dylan or something idk

Clima de meditação fluindo espontaneamente.

Did not need 1.5 hours of this. One or two songs to experience something different, fine. It just wouldn’t end.

sure. a full album was a bit too much of this back to back for me but individual songs were perfectly enjoyable. 2.5

Not something I would ever listen to again, I may be anglocentric though

¿Por qué nos hacéis escuchar esto?

The first thing I know about this guy is Jeff Buckley said "He's my Elvis." I can tell you this for nothing - Elvis is my Elvis. I'm glad to have been introduced to qawwali music (that's why I'm doing this list - to be exposed to new stuff) but it's not for me. I'm going to come across as a philistine here I'm sure, but all the songs are so loooooonnnnnnnngggggg, and I find it hard to connect with some music if I can't understand the lyrics. I wouldn't listen to devtional music in English, so this definitely gets thrown in the bin. Sometimes it borders on parody "Team America" as Gary dicusses his goats getting burned alive. Sorry. Best Tracks: Yeh Jo Halka Saroor Hae; Sanson Ki Mala Pey; Mast Nazroon Se Allah Bachhae

Good vibes, but without understanding any of the lyrics, and a lack of variance between songs, it was like listening to the same song for an hour and a half.

Realistically not something I'm going to listen to again but it was fine for background music and therefore a 2.

The tracks are a little one-dimensional for my taste. The only variation within tracks is (most often) vocalists joining with new melodies or fading out again. The percussion, in all the songs where it's prevalent, is so consistently simple that it may as well not be included in the mix. Consider an 8-minute Led Zeppelin track where Bonham is playing the exact same bar of drumming with no complex rhythms on repeat for the entire song. Or Neil Peart of Rush doing the same thing. It wouldn't be nearly as fun to listen to, right? The vocals, though – especially those of the lead vocalist – are very strong. Confident, melodic, exciting, and playing along to the mood of each song. I found myself wishing the tracks were a bit shorter (the average track length was around seven and a half minutes) but the lead vocals made it bearable. The acoustic guitar(?) in Ali Maula and acoustic strings on Ni Main Jogi De Naal are also worth a shoutout. 2/5 Key tracks: Allah Hoo Allah Hoo, Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam

+1 for being a unique thing on this list, and another +1 for this dude's vocal stamina. 2/5

I love eastern rhythms, but that was a lot of them. Couldn't eat all in one sitting.

The guy's got some pipes (and apparently like 1,000 albums on spotify?) but this was a very, very long album. It was decent background music and honestly not the worst thing I've ever heard. 2/5

IDK how I can reduce an entire culture to a numeric score. I don't want to listen to this album again, so I guess that makes it a 2, but that doesn't make a ding for value.

This was hard going for me, heard plenty of his stuff before thanks to BBC radio evening shows over the years, but none of it ever really stuck with me. This one sure was a palate cleanser compared to the rest of this list, but I found the vocals repetitive, I guess that's part of it's style, but not my sort of thing, also a bit shouty. Well done for putting it on the list.

I was okay with a few songs, but just didn’t find that it distinguished itself in a good way. It is funky, and maybe just not my cup of tea.

It was interesting. Better than ravi shankar. I wouldn't listen to it as an album but appreciate it.

It’s bad criticism to say you don’t “get it.” Whether you’re a professional critic or a casual observer, saying you don’t understand a work of art, and therefore don’t enjoy it, just means you’re missing the context that makes it a great work of art. Whether that’s context of influences and lineage, context of the medium’s history or genre’s history, or the context of its creation, not “getting it” is, in my opinion, not a critique of the art, but a critique of the critic. Especially when every audience is capable of enjoying a great work of art at face value, intrinsically based on its essence, at least if it’s truly a great work of art. I won’t say I don’t get it, and I won’t say this isn’t a great work of art, either within the context of its technical ability [obviously great] or within the history of a genre I know very little about. But I will say I’m missing a ton of context that would help me understand why this album above all others has been included here. On face value, I will never listen to this again, under any circumstance. I totally acknowledge, though, that I lack anything to hold it up against, no comparable album that shows a different version of this style of music. I’m also missing a ton of cultural context, so I’m unsure if this album is closer to Bach or Pet Sounds. Is this "classical” music or modern “pop” music? Finding a comparison routes me back to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, an important figure in “world music,” but….why? Was this because of Enya and the Gregorian chants, or is there a specific trigger from Pakistan at the time that isn’t just a contemporary Bollywood remix from the 21st century? Is this even the album to actually start with? All of it feels like a lot of work for a personal project like this challenge, and while it’s good to expose yourself to new voices, obviously, sometimes, you can be in over your head. And at face value, if you don’t love something, you don’t love something. And I cannot think of a context in which I’d listen to this. Maybe I’m missing that context, but I also maybe don’t care if that’s bad criticism. I just don’t get this.

Interesting, but nah. All sounds the same after a while.

pretty music but not my style

Something different. I was surprised I wasn't intraced with it. Got bored with it after awhile.

This was the album(s) I have had the most trouble listening through so far. It’s not my least favourite and it’s not even that I disliked the music, it just became tiresome for me relatively quickly and the music is very repetitive. Listens: 1 Fave Track: ? (They all sounded similar to me) Rating: 2

These are indeed songs for the devoted. Unfortunately, we're pretty noncommittal. The music is fine but not our thing.

No radio length edits here

I like the percussion, but the relentless nature of the singing is rather overbearing after a while and rather drowns out the other instrumentation. It would be OK in small doses, but not for me as an album.

It's dense. I think it would take a lot of listens to really embrace. Didn't mind it, though. 2.5

Sounds nice but not my kind of music.

as a westerner myself, this isn't something I'm truly drawn to. I love the representation, it surely is good, but just not something I'll listen to on a regular basis.

Not exactly my jam and was very hard to actively listen to but once I spaced out and it was just in the background it wasn't actively painful to my ears.

Indian music. I mean, you can tell that it’s quality, but I can’t really say much about it. Album is super long, and I cannot understand what’s being said. It is good, but it’s nothing I’ll come back to or understand. Awesome album cover though. Standouts: Yeh Jo Halka Saroor Hae, and Haq Ali Ali Haq.

I'm sure Nusrat is the very best at what he does. It's just not for me.

12 six minute+ songs and they aint hittin that hard.... they are quite upbeat tho which i quite enjoy its just very long 2.4/5

I listened to just enough to know this isnt for me. It'd probably be a great live experience though

I wanted to like this but I just couldnt get into it. I like the arrangement of instruments and sounds but two songs in and it just felt like a chore.

Pretty perky for prayers. The Episcopalian hymnal could take a lesson. Not my preferred listening material though.

It's not bad. I would not recommend it to anyone.

Horrible

Hade kunnat vara en stark trea om det var hälften så långt

¿Por qué nos hacéis escuchar esto?

This would have been way more accessible if all the songs were half their length. You get a minute of "this is pretty interesting" followed by three to seven minutes of "enough already."

usually diversity is a good thing, but this really ..... is something special.

Wenn ich die Stücke höre, bedaure ich, dass ich die Texte nicht verstehe, da ich die Sprache nicht spreche.

Great getting ready music, not great driving music

The music was great but the vibes were not.

Someone’s hands must have been sore after that recording. Great sitar playing.

Appreciate the listen for a new perspective. Unfortunately just kinda sounds generic for me. Maybe if I spent more time with the genre I could have a more informed opinion. However, I probably won't Will I listen to again: 0%

I'm not racist, but, this didn't do anything for me.

Great to listen to something different. Unfortunately, I totally lost interest after 10 minutes.

While this was a nice LP to mix things up culturally on what has been an extremely Western-centric project, it was simply too damn long for my taste. The sitar compositions are rich and recorded wonderfully, but even the most beautiful instrumentation would struggle to carry an hour-and-a-half album. The tonal center doesn't deviate much either, meaning things blur together after a while.

Didn’t finish. YouTube being a pain in the ass. Got through enough to allow me to rate it. It’s ok.

Not for me.

This was quite a challenge; not really my thing but has interesting flourishes dotted through the long runtime. Crassly, reminded me of a night out on Brick Lane. Veers into 1* territory at times, but I'll chalk that up to my general ignorance of the style. He can certainly sing for long periods uninterrupted! As another astute reviewer here points out, "better than Radiohead"

I don't understand the lyrics, and musically, it just ain't my bag. Perfectly okay, but a bit bland.

Not for me

Genre: Bollywood (?) Instruments: 3/5 Modern Translation: 3/5 Dance Potential: 1/5 Listening Location: while writing a contract Heard it before: no Favourite Song: NA Made me feel: good album to work to since I can’t understand anything. Impressive range and was upbeat. Probably wouldn’t listen again.

Sounds are interesting and enjoyable. Major drawback is not being able to understand what he is singing about. It seems highly repetitive.

instrumentals are nice-interesting to hear a very different type of music. However....after hearing a couple of the songs, they seem to blend together (same formula, building of music/lyrics, and long). his voice comes off as shouting at times, but there is also a language barrier.

Not meaning any disrespect, but all I can hear is the backing music to people ordering many many pints of Cobra and some jalfrezi with naan breads

¿Por qué nos hacéis escuchar esto?

Not really my thing but im sure its someone's.

I’d be happy to listen to the odd song but a whole album is a bit much

An entry by the King of Kings of Qawwali. Qawwali is a genre of Sufi Islamic devotional music that borrows from ICM (Indian Classical Music) with an emphasis on the dynamic range and intensity of the vocalist. Nusrat is a person who could sing for serious periods of time to awe the audience. He takes the show away. As an album experience, few people want to listen to so many 8-minute tracks over the course of 1.5 hours. It's far too long and exhausting, and almost none of the track justify their lengths. It feels a bit formulaic in terms of the song progression, straight from the minimalist intro to the buildup. And this is just boring and predictable for the weaker tracks, but it does grab your attention when some cool improvasional technique is performed, especially with what his vocals could do. The backing is lush and quite beautiful, and has incredible moments, but for the most part it is repetitive and tame in an attempt to highlight the religious themes and lyrics. Favorites: Yeh Jo Halka, San son Ki Mala Pey, Yaad-E-Nabi, Ali Maula

Interesting. Not something I will listen to too often, but a different musical form. A bit too whiny for me...

Another foreign-language song where the connection is really hard to establish; it has some nice sounding stuff and an undeniably great rhythm running through it, it's atmospheric and skilled but I can't really get on board with it because of that distance between me and understanding the content.

A pleasant sounding listen, but 90 minutes really drag when you can't understand a word of it. It's pretty samey, too. 2/5.

I respect the culture and tradition that this album represents, but, for me, it has very little value. It obviously has no lyrics for me to connect to. It wasn't written to have hooks or to be "progressive" musically or challenging artistically. The album is a reflection of a culture and spiritual tradition and utility, which I don't share or connect to.

technically interesting, but not my taste

Fateh Ali Khan is the undisputed king of Sufi music and he’s an incredibly passionate singer. But I think we already had one of his albums and if you don’t understand his language it tends to all sound similar after awhile.

So very different. Not my cup of tea. Each song seemed to be a ramble.

Impassioned vocals, cool instrumentation. But I'm such a lyrics person, it's hard to listen to a full album of this music without knowing what he's singing.

Geen idee

I like the energy, but I can't listen to an entire album straight through. My ears are not trained for this type of singing.

I'm going to try to set aside the fact that this is essentially religious music, someone wailing away to a made up god who doesn't exist and, if they did exist, would be a cruel and corrupt deity not worthy of worship. Musically this was pretty much as described, some bloke moaning and wailing for around 45 minutes, with simple drums and stringed instruments backing him. It wasn't terrible, but every time he sang Allah I was reminded that this is for idiots who follow a made up man who lives in the sky and then fight other people because they aren't similarly deluded. It gets a begrudging two stars for being kind of relaxing in places.

This is too much to try to learn to appreciate in a short period of time. It unfortunately all sounds the same and has an irritating quality.

I appreciate this but I don't enjoy it

Nah.

This is exactly how I think this type of music would sound like. 4/10

Ehh not for me 3/10

I found this horribly boring. The singing was too monotonous and repetitive for a language I don't speak to be engaging, the backing instrumentation changing so little in any song that it lacks any sense of movement whatsoever. The sound did little more for me than invoke a Hollywood depiction of the middle east. I understand this is likely hugely influential in Sikh music, but as someone lacking any cultural connection, I bounced off.

Best song - Yaad-E-Nabi Gulshan Mehka

Reminds me of being in good old Detroit Can be nice at times but probably not anything I'll go back to

Uhm, ok, we gaan weer compleet iets doen waar ik nog nooit naar geluisterd heb. Wat dit precies is, geen idee. Volgens mij kerkelijke muziek ofzoiets? Heel benieuwd, wel een lang album met anderhalf uur. Ik ben bang dat dit een hele, hele lange zit gaat worden. Dit is gewoon niet echt mijn muziek. Ik kan waarderen denk ik dat dit ontzettend belangrijk is voor mensen die hier in geloven, maar ik zou dit nooit zelf luisteren en vind het lastig om hier nu van te genieten ofzo? Yeh jo Halka Saroor Hae vind ik tot nu toe het beste nummer? Ook omdat het ene soort van door blijft gaan en steeds intenser word, maar zelfs dan, de tekst en de muziek pakt me niet zo. Toch geef ik dit album 2 sterren, in plaats van 1. Het is niet voor mij en ik zal het niet snel luisteren, toch snap ik ergens wel de relevantie van het album envind ik het ook wel vet dat zoiets in de lijst word opgenomen dat zo afwijkt van de normale muziek norm.

Interesting enough listen but it dragged on, didn’t feel essential really

I dont hate it, but I feel so far removed from the culture I got no idea what to really feel about it. When I saw that this dude has a song that goes for longer then an hour I actually got scared. Its impressive shit and obviously very important, but its lost on me

Not bad but not for me

African nasal mumbling, not my thing

Unique in this list, not sure if that deserves stars but it will get 2 from me

Interesting enough

Not my thing

Music was interesting but I could have done without the vocals, they got old real fast and fairly annoying by the end of the album. Thank being said I still appreciate the music.

I like the percussion and music quite a bit, not so much the vocals. And Allah Hoo was way too much for me. Is it a “good” record? I guess so? Do I need to hear it again? Nah.

yeah im too white for this

Árabe. Casi todo vocal. Coros. Se hace pesado y rallante.

I'm 18 sitting in chai ovna. I'm nursing some tea with twigs floating in it desperately trying to convince myself I wouldn't rather be in the union drinking diesel

I have been converted

Very droning once again. 4/10

No. Thank you, but no. Not even close to anything I'd ever want to hear again. 2/5

AJ: nope. Scrolled for a half hour trying to find this album. Dude put out thousands of records apparently. One song I clicked sounded cool musically, but honestly, hard pass. He gets Madonna’s stars.

Upbeat, interesting Indian sound. But, I don't understand what they are saying!

Can't rate. When I get these albums I just picture myself in a midleastern restaurant.

Just couldn’t get into this one

While I appreciate the World Music, this was far too long with very little difference.

Perché?

From looking at the album list for this guy, he had a prolific career, but it’s not for me.

I don't mind world music, it can be nice and refreshing. At least to my western ears, every track on this album sounds basically the same, sometimes venturing in annoyance territory. I had to skip forward from time to time. 2/5

A petite mini dose ca pourrait passer, mais 45 minutes. Ce n'est tellement pas mon style et aussi culturellement c'est plus difficille car on comprend pas trop le but ni le message. Je n'ai pas détesté mais ce n'est probablement pas un album qu'il faut avoir ecouté dans sa vie. Cet artiste a sortit pr`s de 50 albums. Est-ce que celui se démarque ? je pense qu'il ne se démarque probablement meme pas de ces albums a lui, encore moi de la musique traditionnelle indienne... 2

Not sure I listened to all the right songs but I think I got the gist. Probably really nice if you're into that allah stuff.

No problem with it at all, parts are very beautiful, but doesn't jump out.

just okay to me...

Not for me

I don't know this style of music very well, so I don't know how it compares to similar music. I don't hate it, but the songs should have been a lot shorter. Favorite song: yaadan vichre sajan dian aiyan

I love learning about other culture's music but this album's songs were all three minutes too long? I feel like this was an alright one to listen to but I wouldn't really listen again. Nothing was completely wrong with it it just is not up my alley.

ehh I feel bad not liking this because it's so outside my world and I love to get exposed to something new and different... ...but this is just not something I enjoy listening to. At all. Would be able to get through it much more easily if it were instrumental but there's something about this Eastern vocal style - the quick little inflections. ...I'll allow that it's tough to give this less than a 2 (given that this week I had to listen to the band Suicide so I'll pay some respect to tradition and talent) so I'll give it my ignorant grade and move on... 3/10 2 stars

Not my thing but it was still interesting to hear.

No no no. I need something way less pious than this today.

De sfeer vind ik te gek, alsof ik aan de munt thee zit, gehuld in witte doeken in het midden van de sahara, maar doordat ik dit soort muziek niet goed genoeg ken, kan ik 't niet plaatsen en begint alles op elkaar te lijken.

Tja, dit is een lastige. Ik weet dat mijn all-time held Jeff Buckley enorm fan was van Nusrat. Dus met dat in het achterhoofd ben ik hier toch eens aan begonnen. En ja, het is vocaal gezien zeer interessant en knap gedaan. Maar na zo'n drie kwartier aan oosterse geluiden, was de koek toch wel op.

In the proper context, I’d guess that this is a great work of art. I don’t have the background to understand that context at this time, so purely as a listening experience for me, this was a 2.

Ummm

native indian songs I feel weird even giving a score 2.5

Album 13 of 1001 Nusrat Fatch Ali Khan & Party - Love & Devotion Favorite Track : Yeh Jo Halka Saroor Hae Rating : 2 / 5 First Impressions. How many possible positive experiences have been thwarted by acting on first impressions? I would guess many. Some personal, some professional, some musical. My first impression was that my next hour was going to be spent listening to chants. As I got back to my work and let this play, I found that it made for some very relaxing and positive background sounds. The music is Sufi devotional music known as Qawwali. It would certainly round out one's playlist. A little rock and little jazz, throw in some blues and a bit of Qawwali. It was fine, but not likely to make it into my daily listening.

It is Qawwali music. It was alright. I have no idea what they are saying. I wouldn't pick this album to listen to again but I tolerated better than others. I will round up.

Pros: I love hearing music from around the world. This was definitely something that I would have never discovered on my own. The music itself was pretty good and the chanting was oddly calming. Cons: I definitely won’t listen to this again as I am not the target audience. I understand the cultural and religious importance this music has for many people.

I have no idea what to say about this. It wasn't actively terrible, but it wasn't meaningful either.

Nice vibe

Man, that was rough. An hour and a half of repetitive chanting and wailing in a language I don't understand was... well, it was difficult to get through. I'm sure, if you're a Sufi adherent and can sing along, this is a jam. I am not and cannot. Ergo, this is not my jam. It was just kinda grueling.

Listen I'm sure people of the culture can appreciate and I can respect Nusrat's devotion to his music and you can hear it in some of the music, but I can't quite get into old Pakistani music. Not his fault, I'm just from the other side of the world. 4/10.

some of the music was cool but i didn’t love the voice and don’t speak the language so it didn’t do much for me

Not my cup of very strong, sweet tea.

It is nice to hear music from the other side of the World. This is definitely something I would have never even considered listening to without it showing up here. It is nothing I would choose to hear again though. I can appreciate it and its influence on other similar artists, but it is not an album or a style of music that fits into my personal music likings. 2/5

06/24 Boring

I might be totally ignorant about this kind of thing, but this sort of religious ecstasy doesn't really qualify as music in my book. Probably very well done for what it's supposed to be considering all the praise it gets, but I can't stand it.

Chingelchangelmuziek...

# Album Name: Devotional Songs # Artist: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan # Rating: 1/5 # Comments: Sorry allah, but this one belongs in the bin. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No

0.5/5 Nope.

Often times I say that everything sounds the same from certain artists. What’s unique here is, that everything sounds the same from this genre. From every artist. All the same wailing high pitched singing over a sitar. It’s all just the same shit over and over. Annoying.

Yeah okay, was interseting to some Sufi music, but really not my thing, I can see where it comes from but after a while it gives me headache. 1. Yaad-E-Nabi Gulshan Mehka 2. Haq Ali Ali Haq 3. Mast Narzoon Se Allah Bachhae

So whose bright idea was it to take a 15-second phrase and play it for eight f****ing minutes, and then do that for every track? I'm sure that this is great, if this is your thing, but there wasn't a banger in the bunch.

If I ever get captured at war and subjected to intensive interrogation techniques, I’d quite enjoy the default playlist of continuous, extremely loud death metal. If however, my captors put headphones on me and played 10 minutes of this album, I’d tell them ANYTHING. And I mean anything.

Genuinely couldn't tell the difference between any song

Biba Sada Dil Morr De

Situations where I’ve thought South Asian music was good: A) In India, where it was part of the cultural experience B) In a curryhouse, and who doesn’t love a curry C) Listening to The Beatles, and therefore not actually listening to South Asian music at all. Strip these things away and this kind of music does nothing for me.

There are 300 albums of his on Apple Music but somehow this isn’t one of them.

Eastern music. So enigmatic and repetitive

I do not enjoy this kind of music.

i don’t really want to listen to music about god that also isn’t available on spotify

I’m good

I really didnt like this. I turned it off.

Not for me