Ananda Shankar

Somewhere in the secret vaults deep beneath the Vatican where they lock away the secrets deemed too dangerous for the world, there is a book titled "Things That Could End the World as We Know It Probably." This book contains lists of potentially apocalypse-causing items and scenarios. It's quite a large book. All of the items are grouped into sections by type such as “Thermonuclear Missteps,” “Plagues, Diseases, Germs, and Cooties,” and “Musical Indiscretions.” The latter category is surprisingly lengthy, though not as lengthy as the category simply titled, somewhat ominously, “Birds.” Nearing the top of the list of dangers in the “Musical Indiscretions” category is “Sitar Covers of Rolling Stones Songs.” How the album “Ananda Shankar” by Ananda Shankar made it past the Illuminati’s shadow censors is anybody’s guess given the fact that it begins with a sitar cover of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Equally mystifying is the fact that the world is still mostly un-ended. Experts speculate that the only reason that the album didn’t summarily destroy the world is that the first track is balanced by an equally destructive sitar cover of “Light My Fire” by The Doors and, somehow, the two evils have managed to cancel each other out. This is, of course, purely speculative as nobody would be so reckless as to test the theory in a lab. Not even on a small scale. The risk is simply too great. For now, we must simply be grateful that, somehow, Ananda Shankar did not, intentionally or unintentionally, destroy the world as we know it. Probably.

One for the scliolists. Vaguely entertaining, mostly when it settles on a single idea and bashes away at it for three or four minutes. Less so on the covers that add nothing and take away plenty. But I suppose for whichever marketing bod short on ideas it was who proposed this crossover, that was the main selling point. Could have had some traction in 1970, but why the dickens is it still being mentioned 50 years later?

This is totally digable music, and I totally dug it. I kept hitting start every time it ended.

east meets weast what a feast

i didn't realize sitar could shred this hard. had some slow moments in the middle but overall i really liked this. 9/10

Yet another weird album, where I tend to find that it is in this list for curiousity reasons rather than it being actually good

really great rock, i’m not a huge fan of the sitar but he fuckin slaps it hard, the production is genius I think the message he wrote on the album cover perfectly sums up this super cool project - 10/10

The sitar is such an exotic instrument. While I probably won’t listen to this album again, that does not mean it was a bad experience.

First song.. hey this is pretty cool. Second song. Ok still pretty neat. Halfway through … holy crap this is dragging.

Day 32 of Albums You Must Hear.. Today’s album is a very interesting one. Ananda Shankar was an Indian musician that fused Indian music with rock and electronic music. This self titled album is an instrumental piece, and you all know how I feel about full instrumental albums, however, I really enjoy the sitar and Mook synthesizer. Ananda Shankar has a really cool cover of The Door’s Light My Fire as well as The Rolling Stones Jumping Jack Flash. The song Metamorphosis really shines a light on the sitar skills of Shankar. This is a pretty dope record, not one I would personally consider a “must hear”, but nonetheless, it’s pretty cool and relaxing. I totally wouldn’t mind sipping on a mojito with my toes in the sands of Palolem Beach while listening to some Ananda Shankar. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

This could have been interesting, but as he chose to cover some very obvious songs, and without any particular variation other than using a sitar instead of a guitar, it was rather flat. Not impressed.

Transcendental. I have been conditioned to associate Indian music (the sitar) with transcendentalism thanks to movies and George Harrison

A lot of fun but unfortunately quite inconsistent. The covers are especially divergent in quality: The opener is transcendent while the Doors cut comes off as kitschy. Other than that, the meat of the record is pretty satisfying, though one wonders how unique it is in the sitar-rock space. And, sadly, the closing track reinforces that notion with its weakly perennial lyrics and uninspired second half.

Hier kan ik weinig zinnigs over zeggen. Robert Dimery had het weer iets te laat gemaakt in de opium den toen 'ie dit bedacht denk ik. Ik zal als huiswerk een alternatieve, betere tracklijst samenstellen met covers waarbij je in ieder geval nog schijtlollige woordgrappen kunt maken. Track 1 "Sitart Me Up" (Stones) Track 2 "Bharat About Dre" (Dr Dre / Eminem) Track 3 "Ganges Paradise" (Coolio) Track 4 "While My Sitar Gently Weeps" (Beatles) Track 5 "Curry On Wayward Son" (Kansas) Track 6 "A Sky Full of Sitars" (Coldplay) Track 7 "Running Up Tamil (A Deal With Shiva)" (Kate Bush) Track 8 "Delhi Watch The Sitars" (Air) Track 9 "Down With The Sikhness" (Disturbed) Track 10 "Vindaloo Child (Slight Return)" met daar aan vast als hidden track "The Sitar-Spangled Banner" (Jimi Hendrix) Bij de Nederlandse release zit als bonustrack nog 'It's Hard To Say Mumbai' van RONDÉ

I suppose I would look no further than the cover of this album for my comments. Ananda Shankar fulfilled his dream, I think. It is melodious and touching, and so interesting to bring the Moog synthesizer and the sitar together. I enjoyed the entire album, which has quite a range of music, making it difficult to pick favorites. I always love when something new and exciting is brought to a well worn song, and that happened with both "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Light My Fire." I think "Metamorphosis" is a beautiful piece that showcases the creativity and skill of Shankar and makes its novel blend of instrumentation make absolute sense. "Raghupati" was such a lovely way to end the album with its joyous singalong. It feels very much of its time, but I really liked that about it. Beyond that, it was just beautiful music for a walk along the river today, nicely accompanying the sun shining through the trees and sparkling on the water.

Being a huge fan of sixties psychedelia, I was already familiar with this and it's right up my street. It's a wonderful fusion of eastern and western (rock) instrumentation. It's trippy, mystical, euphoric, groovy and exotic. There's plenty of cool kaleidoscopic effects and far out shifting sounds. The mix of longer and shorter tracks works well and of course Shankar's sitar playing is exquisite. Also it sounds sincere, not some cheap flower power exploitation cash in. PS There's a cool series of compilations called 'Psychedelic Sitar Headswirlers' that is well worth checking out. Love and peace man.

Mixed feelings about this initially, the Jumping Jack Flash cover didn't really excite me although Light My Fire sounded admirably more ornate even than Jose Feliciano's version. One of my kids loved the sitar drone, claiming the longer tracks were "very calming", and made a rare demand for a second listen. Soon after the whole family was grooving along

I’m a sucker for the Moog, and it is used *exceptionally* on this record.

This is not Hindustani music with rock instruments or Psychedelic rock with a sitar, it is a blend of the two strands, though it seems to lack the improvisation of traditional ragas. The result is a really enjoyable listen that foreshadows much of the Asian Underground that would come more than a generation later.

I thought the rock covers were unnecessary, except I liked the shredding on light my fire. Looking into this, it looks like the label forced the band to compromise on keeping these in to appeal to a western audience. Considering that, the novel sounds and the talented musicians invoked, I’m bumming my initial impression of 3 stars up to 4, this artist clearly knows what’s good.

Funky, worldly take on some classic hits. Appreciate records like this as they paint songs in a new perspective.

Cet album étrange a au moins eu le mérite de me faire dormir comme un bébé. Je fus toutefois pris à mon réveil d'importantes hallucinations. Vous avez probablement remarqué que le générateur d'albums traverse en ce moment une crise majeure dans son histoire, c'est la raison pour laquelle il a été fixé que la première Grande Grève du Générateur prendra effet dans neuf jours si la situation ne s'améliore pas d'ici là. Je vous rappellerai ses modalités sous peu.

“Sagar” has force, otherwise an unremarkable mix with a couple of unflattering covers, the whole veering too often close to muzak, and not the interesting kind.

Could really have done without the sitar covers of Rolling Stones songs, but I guess that’s just what life was like in the 70s? Presumably this sounds great when polishing your noggin with low grade acid. The second side where it moves away from pandering to our soppy western palettes is better. It’s a stark reminder that most albums until the 90s (?) had to physically be turned over, if nothing else.

Who knew. Very fun

This is what I do this project for. To hear crazy neat stuff I never would’ve known about otherwise. Some of its silly, some of it’s cool, some of its a bit too long. I shoulda been blissed out on the couch or in the back yard not driving down the Garden State Parkway. It’ll zone you out real quick.

Fusion

I'm a sucker for sitar and world music. I dug the covers. 5/5

Alright! Already had Light My Fire saved, so I’m excited to hear the rest. First song is rad af! Yeah, this whole record is rad af. Very unique. Lots of fun. Really well done. Absolutely influential and inspiring for generations of western musicians.

By simply having talent and incorporating more than just the sitar into the production, this album instantly rockets ahead of any stupid western psychedelic albums as well as most Indian albums on this list. Both high and sober, this shit slapped from start to finish. The mix of Indian and Western rock music was perfectly balanced and made each track interesting even without any vocals at all until the final song. Even though some of the songs are covers it still feels fresh and interesting.

Loved it .

Psychedelic sitar jams! It’s lovely to hear some of the 60s classics raga-fied, but for me, the album really hits its stride closer to the end, with drawn-out passages and subtle changes in tempo. Stupendous.

This is the type of albums i keep listening this list for. Never thought i needed a sitar cover of "light my fire" in my life, but i did. Thanks! ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Didn’t know I needed this much sitar in my life. Jumpin Jack Flash is a revelation

cooool

I love indian stuff

Yeah I would listen to this again. Dang good

this is amazinggg genuinely just a perfect blend of familiarity and an instrument i am not accustomed to it’s so beautiful and so lovely i want to listen again and i’m still listening

This was delightful

Wow! I'd like to hear more of this :)

Hah hah, this was excellent! I love world music fusions, and it appears this album was one of the first to popularize that trend, so very happy to be introduced to it! (If you're also into that kind of thing I heartily recommend checking out Charanjit Singh's "Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat" - dude was a Bollywood session musician who got access to some synths in 1983 and basically invented acid house a few years early!) Fave tracks - "Jumpin' Jack Flash" slaps - that's a great version. I'm also very taken with "Sagar (The Ocean)" - I love a track that builds and builds and builds....

Ananda Shankar gives us the authentic melding of Western rock and electronic styles that was, and still is, needed desperately in music. Cultural melding into music is not done very often to this day and i couldn't've be happier to have heard this album. Rest easy Ananda Shankar

Great mix of Indian and western music. Sitar heavy but wonderfully so. Jumping jack flash cover is excellent! The ocean is nice as well

Wow! Psychedelia supreme. Incredible skill playing the sitar, over great psychedelic beats, with some quieter, layered, beautiful synths.

great trance sometimes covers are also deepened here

-didn’t write a BL- AL: this was a delight to listen to. The hybrid of western music and sitar Asian music was absolutely beautiful and really gave it a psychedelic feel. I’d expect nothing less from the talents of the Shankar family. Highly worth a listen and one of my favourite albums I’ve had on this generator so far. FT: “Metamorphosis”, “Raghupati” 5/5

Cool psychedelic sitar music - what's not to like?

This album is actually much better than Ravi Shankar's album (for my westernised taste). The record starts with few covers of sixties rock songs, with a strong Indian influence, which makes it much more interesting and exotic. But what really makes this great is the second part of the album with original songs. There is a slight reverse in the trend, now we listen to Indian music with strong Western rock influence. I actually really liked every song on side B of this record. Amazing quality, the songs are very mature, Ananda is not in rush to show off his skills, instead he slowly develops the sound and atmosphere, creating a terrific tracks. It's going to be hard to rate this album, as we have two completely different styles clashing. Side A gets a 3+, but side B is an easy 5. I think it's fair to appreciate good parts more than bashing on average moments, so 5 it is!

A complete masterpiece. Incredible album that is damn near perfect.

I loved this, until I looked at the release date I assumed these versions of jumpin jack flash and light my fire were the original but i guess this is reinterpretations? Either way this album is sick

loved this - hidden treasure

Doing his uncle proud in my opinion. These tracks are gonna slip right into my instrumental playlists.

I really really enjoyed this album. Tasteful playing all around and even counter melodies. Sometimes there was like 3-4 Melodie’s all happening at the same time and it worked? Didn’t bother me at all. Sonics were great. Sometimes a lil harsh on the sitar but hey that’s the vibe. Super tight drums and drum breaks, loved all the percussion happening. This is something I’m keeping in my library and when I’m tired of words I’ll live here for a bit. Fantastic synth work and really enjoyed the whole album with the exception of the ocean song. 13 minutes or whatever it was, was just a lil too long. Beautiful track but yea anyways I’m done loved this tbh

So good. I was between 4 and 5 on this one. But this album just feels hugely important and groundbreaking. And something I'll return to frequently. 5 it is.

Incredible! Such a creative, spirited album. You can read much about Amanda Shankar’s ambitions for this album— he put his statement right on the cover!— so it’s a manifesto kind of album. His goal is to combine his advanced study in the sitar, plus Indian classical forms, with 60s psychedelic rock, heavy Moog synths, big operatic arrangements. A platform for him to show us how expressive the sitar can be. On every one of these points he succeeds. The album is innovative as a piece of music for its time, but it’s also fun, and you can tell that everyone is having fun. The idea of combining Sitar and Western music could have been boring, or academic, or shallow in its exploration. This album is none of these things. I get the sense that Amanda Shankar is exploring this idea to its absolute fullest, complete with some crazy Moog sound effects on the tracks! And it’s a perfect environment to show us his skill in playing, with different shades of an instrument you might have overlooked. I’m getting major Herbie Hancock vibes on this album, in the way the album feels so inviting, excited about its own sound, like he’s the first explorer. And the musicianship is just amazing throughout. This album made me re-discover the sitar! Which makes me one more convert to Amanda Shankar’s way of thinking. What more can you ask for. 5 stars!

Oh yeah this is a great album!! Ananda Shankar is a genius and this album has my favourite tracks from him too. Light my Fire is on a couple of my favourite playlists I have and it's just pure brilliance. The instrumentation is so impressive to me, I could never!! Anyone who can play the sitar is pretty much a God and I could listen to it forever. Such a magical sound. The entire album is super creative and exciting. Major love. Including the beautiful album artwork and the sweet message he's included on there. Love how Metamorphosis grows and builds.

I flipping loved this, thoroughly good sounds babe

Classical Indian meets Rock - lovely!

Love the sound! The sitar goes hard and I gotta give props to how experimental the sound is

I just get the vibe.

This was.... awesome. I don't know what I was expecting, but what I got was something that sounded as if George Harrison, during his sitar phase, put out an album of proggy instrumental jams.

I listened to this album at a friend's house and was blown away by the covers.

Really cool how this album worked. Added it to my background music list

Nepotism will get you everywhere. Loved the Rolling Stones covers, and the rest of the tracks were a jam too.

Super groovy and fun! Yeah, baby!

That was the surprise of the month for me. Wow, I really enjoyed that.

Amazing. It's a shame sitar didn't catch on better, but this album shows what could have been.

love it

Sitar perfection.

Very artfully done covers. An enjoyable and interesting listen

Totalmente sorprendido!

Very calming, easy to enjoy

4+/5

Ananda Shankar is the debut album by Ananda Shankar, originally released in 1970. I really dig the idea here. The fusion of rock/pop with indian classical. Then, on top of that, adding in some electronic elements. This would've been a huge hit had it come out like 2 or 3 years prior. The cover tracks are ok, but I really prefer the originals, and I really wish there were more original tracks on here. Indian classical instruments manage to blend so well with that early moog synthesizer sound. Very psychedelic at times.

Ok, I see you Ananda! The first song grabbed me in a way that the last few albums on here haven’t.

lovely

Off the success of his uncle Ravi Shankar and the proliferation of sitar influence in western psych rock music, Ananda Shankar completes the circle by covering a Rolling Stones classic and a Door's hit. He further innovates on the Raga Rock genre by utilizing synthesizers in beautiful harmony with the sitar. Side B opens with the incredibly floaty Sagar (The Ocean), which slows everything down for an ambient chillout. This puts the true majesty of the sitar on display, as Ananda weaves a microtonal solo that harmonizes perfectly with the accompanying instrumentals. The result is an elevated experience that showcases the true potential of the sitar, a piece of work so incredible that it feels as though it overshadows the rest of the album with how damn good it is. The last two songs are traditional folk songs that are still worth listening, but pale in comparison to the beast that is The Ocean. Few albums feel as though they are exemplary of a genre or style of music. This is one of them.

This kind of ruled, I'd definitely listen to this again. Sagar (The Ocean) doesn't need to be 13 minutes long though, it really slowed things down.

When I saw that this was an Indian/Western rock fusion album, I got excited. However, I found it only really delivered that fusion for the first couple songs, and then reverted to straight Indian music. I don't mind that, but really enjoyed the fusion sound, so it was a bit disappointing that it fizzled out for me. I'll be keeping "Light My Fire" on my phone because that was a JAM and I think I like it more than the original.

Very enjoyable album. The covers weren’t my favorite, not that they were terrible, but it felt a bit forced. Sitar + Moog synth makes for one hell of a trippy sound. I’ll likely revisit the full album for sure.

The sitar is a fascinating instrument. Not only sonically, but harmonically. In spite of its quarter-tone scales, it can perfectly adapt to Western music, a feature that Ravi Shankar's nephew uses to generally great effects on this record. The addition of a moog synthesizer is also a nice touch, and for every electronic music nerd out there, this LPs helps document what it was possible to do with what was at the time a quite novel instrument. Which is quite a lot, actually, as the conclusion of the short and moody "Dance Indra" can prove. Very nice to hear from today's vantage point. Covers of the Stones' "Jumping Jack Flash" and the Doors' "Light My Fire" were obviously added for commercial reasons. The first sounds great, but the second is a little ridiculous. I would even venture to add that this cover of the Doors enhances what's potentially annoying in the original composition to new levels of grating. "Light My Fire" is such a weird hit -- an iconic earworm for sure, but also one that can quickly become tiring or self-indulgent. But, as the hilarious review that's gonna top this section until the end of time suggests, maybe that second rock cover is just added there to prevent the end of the world from obliterating us all... 🙃 This record is mostly interesting for the original compositions anyway. "Snow Flower" is a delicate ballad that's perfectly placed after the Stones' cover opening the proceedings. "Mamata" veers too close to sickly sweet territories, and at this point, you wish you could hear music that sounds closer to real Indian raga traditions. Fortunately, that's what Ananda Shankar elects to do on the next two very fine cuts, "Metamorphosis" and "Sagar". The latter track even ends on a hypnotic segue, both meditative AND melodic, and nicely supported by a simple yet effective moog bassline. After "Dance Indra", "Rhagupati" returns to the patchouli-scenting, sun-baked turf of the record's first side, with quite stereotypical vocals (first and last time they appear) uttering somewhat clichéed lyrics, sure, but also chanting an outro section that manages to sound both "pop" and mesmerizing. This closer here epitomizes both the assets and pitfalls of this sort of project, aptly summarizing the album. Luckily it ends *strong* on the assets, which can make you forgive the quaint-sounding shenanigans in its first minute. All in all, a pretty cool album. The thing is, this is the *second* record in the list mixing classical Indian traditions with sixties rock / pop rock, if my memory serves, and I fear that might be one record too many. *Ananda Shankar* is probably the better album in the pair (don't quite remember what the first one was anyway). Yet I'm not sure that even this one is the sort of record that screams the word "essential" to my ears. Once again, the "problem" might stem from the title of Dimery's book. Maybe this is an album you need to listen to at least once in your life. But in that case, there are probably more than 1001 of them, and it's disconcerting to think all those "interesting" LPs might use a slot that could be used for masterpieces in different music genres (including some badly represented in the book). That said, I can readily admit that listening to this album in California in 1970 must have been a memorable experience for a lot of music fans out there. In other words, that it was a whole trip, man. 🙂 So I'm leaving the door open to this LP, as quaint and dated a couple of tracks on it may sound today. Because, interestingly, and apart from that couple of misses, most cuts aged quite well, all things considered. And that if you open your shakras, so to speak, there are enough evocative soundscapes in here to spend a good time. After all, and all concerns about 'album podiums' left aside, that's what music is for, is it not? 3.5/5 grade for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 4. 8.5/10 grade for more general purposes (5 + 3.5). Number of albums left to review: 27 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 419 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 247 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 311

I never knew I needed a sitar cover of light my fire until now.

Meditative un a way, it ebs and flows. Great music if you're willing to take the trip

And I applaud any artist who tries to do something different and interesting like Shankar is doing here. This is something really wonderful and special. https://open.substack.com/pub/richcain/p/project-1001-ananda-shankar-by-ananda?r=4ztyq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

I acknowledge I'm a sucker for the sitar! It has such a unique sound that is so easy to recognize, and it feels both mesmerizing and energizing at the same time. The sitar can, however, be a very intense instrument and difficult to master. Ananda Shankar knew exactly how to wield it! Hearing sitar-heavy versions of two major sixties songs is riveting. I didn't know The Doors' "Light My Fire" could become any more psychedelic, and Shankar's version of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is on the experimental side. Both were different and enjoyable, but what I liked more were the original compositions. There's something about the freedom Shankar had in these songs. He didn't confine himself to any singular tone or mood. Beautiful, soaring, trance-like, whispering, striking, mysterious. A worthy inclusion that I enjoyed hearing. (At the very least, it's better than another brit pop album, huh?)

kind of a novelty but also i listened to it back to back 3 times so it was doing something right

Yeah, I was really into this. Refreshing to hear something really unique after hearing a lot of punk/ rock music back-to-back. Not that I despise those genres or anything. But there was something groovy and whimsical about this whole album. The "East meets West" thing maybe doesn't totally work for me, I probably agree with what appears to be a consensus that the covers don't work as well as the rest of the album. But I basically disagree that the last half of this album drags. Metamorphosis and Sagar were probably my two big pulls from this album. (I also liked Snow Flower). Which I think mostly means I liked this album most when it leaned towards it's Indian roots (but maybe someone with more knowledge of Indian music would have differing opinions because I know fundamentally nothing about Indian music). Anyhow, really enjoyed, the three that I mentioned will be joining a couple of my instrumental and dancey/party playlists.

A lot more interesting than I thought! Ravis nephew, so nepo album warnings were everywhere. I came to learn that Ravi didnt even teach him, so thats pretty cool I thought there were some super interesting tracks and the mesh of east and west is always cool. Freaking Moog synthesizer! Metamorphosis was a great building track. Really enjoyed all the covers. Having played a sitar recently, ive come to appreciate all the resonating sounds that come from that box of strings. Pretty fun album

How many Shankars played sitar?? On this list I was maybe expecting some Ravi, maybe some Anoushka, but never even heard of Ananda (apparently Ravi's nephew). This is basically Indian jam band music. I don't like this style when it's on Western instruments, but when it's a sitar, for some reason I dig it (probably because it feels exotic to my gringo ears, like shopping in the ETHNIC aisle at Whole Foods). So maybe I'm giving too much credit for novelty, but I dig it. Also any album that I can listen to while I'm working gets an extra star, which is basically the opposite of the point of what we're trying to do with this exercise, but this is my truth / lived experience / personal journey so I can give stars however I feel like it A cover of Light My Fire was unexpected and fun.

2024-09-22...

I believe this is a sitar and I love the sound. The covers were a bit whatever to me and I enjoyed the music that was unique but all around really enjoyed. 4.5

Another album I was surprised to like so much. Not really my thing, but my rock n roll soul appreciated the Stones and Doors covers enough to vibe with the whole thing. Some really cool stuff throughout! B

This is NOT what I expected to hear. How have I never heard this before!!!?!! This is AMAZING! 4 STARS

The two cheesy covers early in the record are a serious misrepresentation of how good the rest of this is, especially "Mamata," "Metamorphosis" and the furious closer "Raghupati." Even if one weren't an Indophile, one would dig thoroughly.

I was expecting this to be annoying and boring, instead I found this delightful and entertaining. I especially liked the covers of Jumpin' Jack Flash and Light My Flower. 3.5 stars.

This was such a fun, calm and soothing listen. I'm definitely coming back to this one when I want something light in the background.

I love sitar!

The two covers may have been the best part of the album, proving that Eastern and Western music can mix. 3.5, but I’ll round up.

Loved the originals, kinda meh on the covers. Particularly the last four tracks. 3.5

This sounded pretty cool! It was a really interesting mix of early 70s psychedelic rock and Indian rock. Normally I don't love albums where it's a lot of instrumental noodling, but I listened to this as I was doing work, and I really enjoyed it. This is not something I ever would've discovered without this project, and I would definitely listen to this album again.