Devotional Songs

It's interesting, but 8 minutes per song is too much

You know… it probably didn’t help that I don’t understand the language but this album came off as very repetitive. I just couldn’t get into it.

Enjoyed blasting this out my windows to my racist neighbours, that racist confusion on their faces was amusing.

I was today years old when I learned just how mesmerizing and awesome Qawwali music is. This rules.

Heard Nusrat for the first time at an Indian wedding. The song was "Must Must", totally infectious. So is this. A great record. Joyous, groovy stuff. Biba Sada Dil Morr De and Mast Nazroon Se Allah Bachhae stand out.

Can’t really say if this is good or bad but I’m not a fan of this

I first heard of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan through a Jeff Buckley cover of Yeh Jo Halka Saroor Hae, and listening to this album through really makes the influence on the rest of his work clear. One of the fun, unexpected threads you can sometimes trace through artists from very different traditions, and a testament to the benefits of wide listening.

I do not get this album.

Je zaujímavé vypočuť si niečo z ázijskej hudby. Miestami to zaujme viac, inokedy menej. Vo veľkom množstve by som to nedával. Zaujímavé, ale neoslovilo ma to.

Only listened to half

Initially I was very excited to hear something that wasn't Britpop/The Smiths/Elvis Costello and enjoyed the novelty. At some point it all got very same-y, and an hour and a half of 8-minute songs with minimal instruments was too much.

pésimo, aburrido y feo

gostei naum

Really not my normal thing. But definitely better than one star

Artiste inconnu. Je ne suis pas allé au bout : la musique est trop répétitive et le chant m’indiffère. =>1/5

JL : 3, Ni main jogi de naal

Nope.

Je n'ai pas trouvé l'album sur Deezer!

Interesant net niet helemaal mijn ding iets de indian en te weinig drums zegaar

At the risk of sounding insensitive or bigoted, I really do not care for this kind of music outside its culturally appropriate setting - and this is coming from a now certified Orthodox Christian choir boy that does listen to the choral arrangements I sing outside of their intended environment. Maybe it's something about growing so outside where this kind of music is listened to regularly where I just cannot adapt to it. Might be necessary listening for the purpose of expanding your conception of what music means to different peoples and cultures, but hardly a pleasant one if you're listening to it without the context of its meaning being explained to you.

Really nice. Devotional even

I opted to listen to Love & Devotion which actually is a compilation of two albums of Ali Khan's one called Love Songs and this album. I am technically cheating but I really like Ali Kahn and wanted to listen to more of his music... so sue me

I don't know how to review this album.

Ideal Sunday afternoon listening

cool vibe quite repetitive tho which i do understand is the point 6/10 best song - yaad-e-nabi gulshan mehka

WHAT IS THIS TRASH!!!!!

Listening session: october 31st, while running errands Listened to before: no Thoughts: not my usual type of music and while it was refreshing to hear something new on here, this album was too long and repetitive for my liking Favourite track: Yeh Jo Halma Saroor Hae

It’s fine but it’s not for me. Kinda listen in the background.

COHESION - Each song follows a similar chant like structure within the album making the songs work alongside each other - Vocals and instruments work in synergy - As I mention in composition, the style and chantlike structure appears to be on purpose. - Transition between songs feels natural PRODUCTION - Easy to hear everything as vocals sit perfectly on top of the instruments - Vocals sound good and raw - Instruments/sounds fit the music - thoughtful energy changes by having a consistent sound in the background and the vocals are what change the rhythm of the songs - great use of live recording giving it an intimate feel to the album but due to the live recording nature of it, there are moments where you can tell the production is not isolated ENJOYABILITY - An album that could be in the background for me, don’t hate it but don’t love it but did enjoy the vibe as it reminded me of my culture - o bailinho da Madeira as well - Neutral on the replay value for me as I mentioned, it could be in the background but wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it - Quite a fun and happy album to have on - Fans of this genre and culture would and do appreciate the art of this album - Memorable afterwards due to the vocal layering and the rhythm of the songs; album as a whole show that worship does not need to be always a calm, soothing song can also be an upbeat, catchy chant - Reminds me of the music used in the Yellow Sand for Black Myth Wukong COMPOSITION - Repetitive song structure which I believe is the whole point as it is meant to be kind of a chant / worship - Good musical ideas with good use of Riffs, harmonies, rhythms and vocal arrangements - Use of repetition creates a catchy melody that makes each song memorable but since each song uses the same structure, it can all sound the same Songs liked: 2/6 TECHNICAL DETAIL - I noticed that the album was mostly a live recording and the singers were controlling the tempo and BPM and the instruments followed EMOTIONAL IMPACT - Made me feel appreciative of the art and Qawwali music Best Tracks: - Haq ali ali haq - Ali maula ali maula ali dam dam

Why not.

It's different, and I'm sure it sounds great to people that listen to this kind of music more often. It was an experience.

I’ve listened to around 850 albums in this project and there hasn’t been one single album from a Christian artist, but we have this album from a Muslim and it’s not even on Spotify. Hmmm.

3 stars

This was perfectly all right. The songs were longer than I typically prefer but the music was good

It was ok - not anything I'd ever go back to though.

I love exposure to new cultures and their music. Never would have expected Sufi devotional music. Sadly I don’t care for the music and that is frustrating to be locked in my cultural barrier, but this was being thrown too far in the deep end to appreciate.

no

Meditative, easy but nothing to keep me album-engaged. It just kind of flowed chanting in the background

Very hard to write as I obviously can’t understand the language or cultural impacts. Some songs are pleasant to listen to, but honestly, they all sound very similar so I have a hard time rating this one.

It’s pleasant to listen to, but the language/cultural barrier limits how much I can appreciate it unfortunately. It seems like a slippery slope to include religious music in this list, too. I guess as a broader “you should listen to religious music before you die” inclusion, it’s a sentiment I can get behind despite being agnostic. Ultimately I think time is better spent reading about these religions or better speaking to followers of them than it is trying and failing to understand the message and context behind these Devotional Songs. But musically, the arrangements and vocals are beautiful and I definitely enjoy this style of music.

Obviously I have no appreciation for what's being said, but I did find it mesmerizing and uplifting.

This really is a wonderful example of percussion and musicianship generally. It doesn’t work for dedicated listening, but it’s not intended for that. It’s wonderful to walk with. 4 Boolean: True

His vocals are impressive, catchy energy 4/5

I can see myself listening to this while I write. Hypnotic in a very good sense.

Nicht meine Welt der Rasseln und Prasseln.

spannend.

Warum in dieser Liste?

che vibe

This was good. I think it was different than most everything else on the list. I think it did kind of sound the same. I’m not even sure I listened to the right thing but I enjoyed it.

Dieses Album riecht sehr stark nach Curry

2 Lieder (vor allem das letzte) war ziemlich gut, aber ansonsten eher an der Grenze zu nervig.

Jedes einzelne Lied zu lang und das gesamte Album auch zu lang. Ansonsten erträglich

I probably won't listen to it again, but I'm certainly not upset I listened to it. It was good and served well as some background music.

It’s right and proper that the music on the list doesn’t focus solely on western music so I’m glad this is here. Having said that, after a while this gets a bit samey. Maybe if I could understand the lyrics I’d get more out of it but I don’t so I can’t.

Just repeat the song title one trillion times for me please, Nusrat. Loooovely stuff.

This just isnt at all for me

Dette ble for enerverende og masete for meg.

Music to rape goats by, lovely. Well, at least it’s not a UK band - oh wait, I guess it kind of is now isn’t it. 🤔

90 minutes well spent!

I quite like these song individually but a whole album is a slog.

I don't speak the language nor am I familiar with qawwali music but I had fun!

Interessante, gosto quando álbuns como esse aparecem por aqui

Good religious music, not my style. Glad I listened to it once but probably never again.

Very interesting.

Didn’t one of these songs make it onto the Natural Born Killers OST? It’s not my usual style but I enjoyed this quite a bit more than some of the mellower contemporaries over the southern border. Good instrumentation, varied melody (except for the constant tabla, but it is mixed down enough not to be all consuming). Nusrat sings with real feeling and emotion. I loved this.

Top long and devotional

This album is really a surprising one, such a great combination of sounds and a very polished production. I love some of the guitars on those tracks. It feels very fresh and very upbeat and enjoyable. And, although the length of the songs is not short, to be honest, they flow really good. Just a few songs feel a bit repetitive. Except for them (and, even though every song in this album is really a very nice one), the rest is just very well done and composed. It works excellently.

Not a bad listen.

Jag är för mycket av en lyrics-person. Men otroligt intressanta gitarrslingor, kul att lyssna på!

Curioso. Reminiscencias flamencas en algunas canciones

An impressive and distinctive voice. I think the only time that I have heard him previously was featured on one song from the Peter Gabriels UP album. And I recognized his style right away just from that. the syncopation and control is amazing.

Don't know the language, didn’t know the genre, hadn’t heard the man. Thank you, Mr. Whoever-Made-This-List, for finally including unexpected but deserving entries. This man has passion—devotion— and you can hear it in every word. Great stuff.

I'll try most things once. And I was glad enough to hear this. I just probably shan't be rushing back. I mean, it seems pretty amazing and all. Fervent, trance-like incantations. Just so much of it. And for some reason the melodies don't always sit easily on my musical palate. I did feel at a couple of moments, there's maybe not such a huge leap between this style and some flamenco. So, an interesting place to explore.

I'm sure this is great, and all Simply not hitting right today

It's not bad, just but my cup of tea. It's good to see an example outside of Western culture though

Wasn't quite sure what to expect going into this, I'd heard the name before but I think because of the link to WOMAD and the time this came out I was expecting something that had a crossover aspect or had some concessions to contemporary Western styles. For someone whose got next to no knowledge of qawwali music it's quite hard to rate this in the same way I would music that confirms to the 99% of what's on this list. I did quite like it though and can see why other artists loved his voice, even if some of the pieces were a bit long for me.

Glad to have listened, but what is remarkable about this album enough to include in the project? Is this the affirmative action for Dimery university

Hard to rate an album like this. So different than what I listen to that to figure out if it was good or not is hard. There were parts I liked and parts I didn't but I don't think I would listen to again. 4/10?

магнитический и завораживающий альбом, который работает прежде всего как цельное музыкальное состояние. Восточная мелодика, гипнотические повторы и экстатический вокал создают ощущение почти физического погружения в музыку. При этом альбом не воспринимается просто как этнографический артефакт — его атмосфера работает сама по себе, независимо от культурного и религиозного контекста.

This really is for two people, religious Sufi folk who enjoy spiritual music, and white people with dreadlocks who smell strongly of incense, weed and BO from an unwashed patchwork hoodie. I think this is like great for what it is - devotional songs! But devotional songs isn't my bag, and neither are culturally appropriative hairstyles so that's my review. That being said Allah Hoo Allah Hoo slaps, now we're really going somewhere!

Loads of hipsters go on about Nusrat Ali Khan and how good devotional sufi music is and all that. I'll have to take their word for it cos tbh I think it's hard to give an informed take on something I'm massively unfamiliar with. This was soothing and enjoyable and good to work to, but it was also loooooong and I constantly found myself drifting out of it. Maybe that's the point?

What an amazing voice and it was fun listening to something so completely outside of my usual zone!

So I grew up with Nusrat to a degree. My mom got SUPER into him at one point when I was a kid. It is a bit nostalgic. This music is infectious and makes me want to dance, which is what it’s made for. It’s great for listening to while cooking a big meal with others who are equally enjoying it (ie my mom) and wanting to share the good things in life with friends and family. But listening to it dedicated on headphones? Pink Floyd or Radiohead this is not. It isn’t good for that. It starts to get old pretty fast without an an activity for it to help move. Still, it’s good for what it is. 4 for old times sake. Boolean: true

I understood not one word, but it was a vibe. Peter Gabriel really knows his stuff - Youssou N'Dour and this (7/10, 3/5 on this scale)

So far, outside the scope of what we are used to, it makes it challenging to properly evaluate. There is a lot of interesting melody here; in some ways, it sounds exactly as I would expect. It would take quite a few additional listens to really dig in and evaluate. I imagine the more I listen, the more I would appreciate it; it's hard to see how or why someone would go straight to a 1 or consider this "bad" on any level.

not gonna happen

Plesant masculine Pakistani music. 3/5

I like it, but this was a bit too much of it. 3 to 3 1/2.

I puked...

I truly enjoy oriental music so I knew I would enjoy this record before even listening to it, and it's really nice to discover the work of NFAK. The tracks are enchanting and energetic, so I really appreciated the general vibe of the album. The Spotify link leads to the "Love and Devotion" double album, which is also interesting, but some of the tracks are not currently available, at least in my country. Instead, you can find this album at the following Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axCa1rvSWOk

That first track is the catchiest song i’ve heard on this list so far. Not my cup of tea but damn it was entertaining.

I have no background or knowledge of this kind of music. I’m very happy it was included on the list, which I hoped would expand my horizons more than it has. It was interesting, but honestly after about 20 minutes I would have stopped if it weren’t for the project. Made it through the whole thing. Glad to know about it but won’t come back to it.

Kinda cool but not making it to a second listen

Beautiful sound, but nothing my style. Still able to appreciate it.

Not for me, but I appreciate having some global representation on this list

Honestly liked it more than I thought I would. It was interesting at least.

Pretty sure I’ve heard this record in a New York City cab.

Actually enjoyed this more than I expected to. I enjoyed it more than the Mrs did.

This is #day747 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I'm giving credit, but I'm also acknowledging that this is way outside my wheelhouse. There's just no way I'm listening to an hour and a half of this. I'm landing on a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day748.

Listened to this as background music while I was working, so it didn’t get my full attention. It’s not that I didn’t like - it’s just not something I would ever choose to listen to. I’ve heard far worse albums already on this list, but can’t give it more than 2 stars when it’s something I know I won’t return to for another listen.