Reviews (page 2 of 8)
Favorite Song: Metamorphosis Least Favorite: Snow Flower
I love going into an album like this, with no idea what to expect, and being surprised by some awesome sounds. I've found that, more than poetic, meaningful lyrics, I really enjoy and appreciate unique sounds and instrumentation in songs. So for me, this album was awesome. It was a really cool fusion of western and Indian sounds that was a blessing to the ears. I love hearing more unique instruments that aren't normally in contemporary music.
I like the sitar! I didn’t like this though! The whole thing is passable but oh my god i thought the rendition of Jumpin’ Jack Flash on here was absolutely terrible. It does that thing that instrumental covers do sometimes where there’s background vocals on the hook or another part, and that has always irked me. Like, let the playing speak for itself? It feels like it’s insulting the audiences intelligence by thinking we need that to anchor ourselves to what song it is? It definitely gets better as it goes along. Once Metamorphosis gets into it and goes full super-freak-out it’s pretty damn cool. Sagar (The Ocean) has a really nice second half but you have to take a long path to get there. Raghupati was my favorite?
I didn’t expect to like this, and perhaps I shouldn’t listen to it sober. But it was interesting and very textured and layered. It’s not really to my taste though.
Not my favorite Eastern album I've ever listened to, but also not bad
Interesting couple of tracks but a little sleepy and long in parts.
This was really fun, a nice mix of covers and originals. I’d have never listened to this if not for this list, which is the sort of experience I want from doing this. Would be a fun album to stick on at a party.
*1970. Indian but make it Western? *Wild record. This is apparently Ravi Shankar’s nephew, who has decided to cover a bunch of random Western songs but with sitars. *You’re minding your own business vaguely listening to Indian music, and then you realize it’s Jumping Jack Flash or Light Fire. *It was fun for a few minutes, and then I was ready to turn it off. RATING - 6/10
Hmmmmmmm
Interesting album. Banger nonetheless.
A traditional Indian sitar album mixed with contemporary (at the time) rock elements. This was pretty good! The album included Indian sitar covers of The Rolling Stones and The Doors, and they were quite fun to listen to. The album also had more traditional Indian songs/arrangements, which were also interesting and a bit hypnotic. Overall a solid listen, I would give it 3.5/5 on a proper scale, but I'll bump it up to a low 4/5, I'd listen to some of these songs again.
Olipahan mielenkiintoiselta kuullostavaa levy. Eka cover ”Jumpin’ Jack Flash” kohotti odotukset, mutta sitten lässähti. Ei oikein maistunut, vaikka sitar on hieno soitin.
Interesting combination of sitar and early synths, not something I would have sought out, but neat to listen to.
nice enough
Did not plan on listening to a full sitar album today but here we are. I actually kinda enjoyed it tho ngl. 3 may be a stretch b/c i don't plan on listening again but i did find myself toe tapping to a sitar album at work so I feel as though it's warranted.
I like sitars. Would I listen to this again? No, but I like sitars.
A rock album where the sitar is the lead instrument for the entire band, yet it manages to avoid sounding "traditional" or overly dull. I loved the covers, and the sound of this 1970 album is years ahead of its time. It’s not perfect, but it was very well executed. 4 stars.
A very cool album but I wouldn't say it moved me or left an impact
Si bien no me gustó, lo "disfruté" mucho más de lo que esperaba. Pensé que iba a ser algo rarisimo que no me iba ni a bancar. Me la baja un poco que sea sin nada de canto, pero la música está dentro de todo bien.
This was cool. The covers were super interesting. Some of these songs went hard. A mix of exactly what I was expecting and some very unexpected.
7.5 / 10
Enjoyed this, leading with a cover seems to downplay yourself though. Besides that, good sitar music
I love a bit of sitar but not really convinced by this…
I now appreciate where Cornershop got the idea. We have When I Was Born For The 7th Time to look forward to in 1001, but in the meantime I enjoyed my first listen of this album. Sitar meets western rock meets classic song covers. The template is set.
Stars on 45 with a Sitar. Bonus point for comedy value but not for me.
Released four years after the Beatles showed us the possibilities of the stitar's role in western music, but for the most part you'd never know it from this low effort outing. The sitar equivalent of Stars on 45. Saved from a 1 by Jumping Jack Flash 2*
I've never heard quite anything like this before, but I really like it. The instrumentals are so enchanting and magical.
After listening to this version of Jumpin Jack Flash, I have a greater appreciation of how the mash-up of Eastern and Western music and instruments could have led to the ingestion of psychedelics— wow. I enjoyed this album more than I thought I would.
Let the sitar sing
this is why i restarted this album of the day nonsense. this shit bangs
70s elevator music
ganz nette (so orientalische?) instrumentals aber seeehr anstrengend und eintönig auf dauer
Indian/sitar music is not a genre I am overly familiar with, so apologies if this blurb comes off as ignorant. I do know of Ravi Shankar, so I can appreciate the family lineage of music composition and performance. That said, this album didn't really do much for me. The consistent droning of notes that you tend to find in Indian music isn't really one that does much for me (in any genre, really), but I did find the original compositions to be more interesting than the remakes of the Western songs.
Interestingly unexpected. Enjoyed the novelty, but not something I imagine ever coming back to. Music from another age
Different but not bad.
Oh hell yeah
It wasn’t bad it’s just not my genre. 4/10
I know of his uncle Ravi Shankar, but I can’t say I’m a sitar aficionado. But I can certainly hear the talent. His covers of two classic 60s Rock songs (“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Light My Fire”) serve as his Trojan horse to his work. His track “Mamata (Affection)” is a real standout, marrying East and West.
Remakes: Jumpin' Jack Flash and Light My Fire. Each of these are nothing special and actually distract from the rest of the album. + The original / traditional tracks are much more what I would have expected to listen to and enjoy. 3.5 / 5 without Light My Fire and Jumpin' Jack Flash.... 3/5 with them....
Fine
The sitar is an interesting instrument. In all honesty, within you without you has always been my least favourite track on Sgt Peppers. And while I like this more than the Ravi album on this list, its still not something I would listen to on a regular basis. Being stuck in his ocean for 13 minutes also didn't help. 3/5
7/10
There's something cynical about sitar covers of pop songs - feels gimmicky and the instrument is so out of context when adhering to a pop song structure that it's like why even do this. I'm sure it was more exciting at the time but now there's a whole industry of covers of pop songs in new genres or with new instrumentation so feels manufactured. "Ravi Shankar's nephew" also gives the album a little bit of a crappy aura. The synths were interesting but didn't add much and made the album feel very dated for a 1970 album. I liked the traditional Indian songs with some western instrumentation a lot though - Raghupati with a drum kit and electric bass was pretty awesome.
in an alternate universe, this album became a gold mine for hiphop samples. alas, it is relegated to be the weirdly familiar tunes playing in the background of a kitschy south asian restaurant. solid grooves overall, with a few brow-furrowing weird moments.
Less of a revelation than a novelty
groooovy
Walking through midtown with this in my ears was a vibe.
The covers were often fun. The pure sitar songs are a fucking SLOG.
Throbbing heart of sitar jams. It's a bit of a gas alright. Off on a raga tip.
It's pretty cool, don't think I'll listen again.
Odeio a Índia
Some things maybe shouldn’t mix. Coca Cola and Rice Bubbles. Kentucky fried chicken and chocolate sauce. By themselves they’re fine. Maybe this can work. And it’s probably a worthy first attempt at this type of fusion. But it didn’t move me. I’d rather hear on this list the works of U Srinavis. But the critics didn’t know him. He’s not hipster enough. Four string electric mandolin playing Carnatic music. That’s a five star must listen.
(sigh) This album confirms to me that Dimery knows NOTHING about non-Western music. Yeah, it's a got a sitar in it, but this isn't a meaningful fusion of Indian and Western music; it's a fucking joke. It cheapens and demeans traditional Indian music. It's a novelty record, akin to Moog Plays Bacharach or the Beatle Barkers. And it wasn't even the first to try this concept; Harihar Rao's Raga Rock (an equally terrible record) predates this by 4 years. I wonder about Dimery's 'world music' inclusions on this list. They often seem to be the examples most geared towards Western audiences, often to the point of pandering. The most extreme examples are a world music mélange, whipping a random combination of disparate influences together over some canned beats into an indistinctly tasteful 'international blend' suitable for a dinner party or an afternoon set at a Womad festival. I can only see this record on this list as an example of an 'exotic' novelty album, a genre commonly found in bargain bins, charity stores, and your grandparents' record collections. As an example of shit novelty records that you will commonly see in your travels as a vinyl collector, this rates two stars for being vaguely listenable (the covers, at least, which are kind of funny). But as serious music? Get real, what would be next? James Last? Klaus Wunderlich? Hammond A Go Go? The Baja Marimba Band? Fuck off! 1.5 stars, rounding down.
This was a sick album 8.5/10
This fucks holy shit. Blown away by how well this sound works, it fits into psychedelic genre by default, simply due to the sound of these instruments and the style they are being played in. Very much what I am into right now so I enjoyed it that much more. I could have done without the singing on the last song to be honest, but other than that I was hooked all the way through. The Ocean song was a standout, it sounded like they were mimicking the sounds or feeling that the ocean exudes through the music. Such a creative idea, masterfully executed.
Interesting concept. I liked this.
This was an interesting listen, and I can appreciate how Shankar flipped the "cultural hybridity" fad of the time on its head; instead of watered down Hindustani classical music being ramrodded into Western pop music, he took Western forms and tried to incorporate them into his own style. Mixed results, though. The most enjoyable listens on the album (by far) are the extended instrumental pieces. The rock "cover songs" are quite square and plod along without adding much enjoyment.
Oh my, the first Indian artist i see on this list and I am immediately blown away. As an Indian, listening to fusion of traditional Indian instruments with the western beats is genuinely mind blowing. The ocean track just sends you into another dimension when you close your eyes and listen to it, genuinely a very good album
72
An interesting album for sure. Honestly? 40 minutes of sick Sitar playing. It was great. 4/5 ⭐️ 223/1089
Groovy baby, yeah! Seems to be mostly sitar covers of popular songs from the 60’s. It’s alright, I suppose. Not something I’d go out of my way to listen to again. (3)
Interesting blend of western hits Indian style and some good more classical Indian music. I enjoyed.
alright
album #116 the sitar is a great instrument. ꩜ favourite track(s): jumpin' jack flash ꩜ least favourite track(s): light my fire ꩜ album rating: ★★⯪☆☆ ꩜ number of albums left to review: 973 ꩜ number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 53 ꩜ albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 24 ꩜ albums from the list I won't include on my list: 92
We snappen het, de sitar is helemaal je ding. Maar ik vind de sitarsound een beetje veel van hetzelfde. Beetje wat je hebt met een accordeon of een mondharmonica. Niet helemaal mijn ding. 2 sterretjes
Ik vond het leuk! Het sitar gebeuren bewoog mij niet helemaal, ik denk dat er wel mooiere sitarplaten zijn, maar om het combineren met de moog vond ik heel interessant! Voor mij toch de twee meest vreemde instrumenten gecombineerd is iets wat ik heel leuk vond. Ook toen ik zag dat dit album uit 1970 kwam merkte ik dat deze artiest het heel knap heeft gedaan gezien de ontwikkeling waar het instrument toen nog in zat. Ik die tijd werd het instrument nog veel gebruikt voor geluids effect, soms als instrument. Heel weinig werd het gebruikt zoals hier op dit album als meerdere instrumenten. Hoewel het een heel interessant album is, is het niet per se een album die ik vaker zou opzetten. Ik heb er van genoten en ik vond het heel leuk om het een keer te horen.
Nee, heel erg kitscherig. Even india met westerse psychedelische muziek mixen. Soort instap muziek uit India in westers jasje? Hele domme covers van rolings Stones en the Doors maakt het helemaal fout. Het kan wel werken maar dit is beetje te makkelijk kraakt beide muzieksoorten. De langere Indiase stukken zijn interessanter maar niet interessant genoeg voor een voldoende.
Leuk, leuk, leuk! Toch wel een magisch instrument, die sitar, t heeft iets klagerigs en iets melancholisch. Daarnaast vind ik de composities erg mooi en luistert het album makkelijk weg. Af en toe lijken er synthesizers voorbij te komen, en dat terwijl dit album uit 1970 komt, dat is best bijzonder. Na wat onderzoek bleek dat ze een Moog hebben gebruikt. Niet de miniMoog, want die bestond toen nog niet (die is trouwens niet mini te noemen vandaag de dag). Ik dwaal af; ook met Light My Fire lijkt Ananda Shankar een brug te slaan tussen oosterse en westerse werelden.
Not great, Bob!
Lite tv-spel/soundtrack vibbar. Bättre än förväntan
Music that i listened to before I die, not sure I needed to though...
Pretty good. Some interesting covers.
not my kinda thing
70s world psych rock. "The album fuses Indian music with Western rock and electronic music, and was among the first works in the rock genre by an Indian musician." Fun psych rock covers. Very unique.
It can get into feeling more gimmick than serious album with the sort of bizarre rock hit covers, they don't necessarily sound bad, it's just a strange album for listening. It's at least okay
I assume that had to include the covers to shift units - but they are pretty twee and underwhelming. The own material is more material and has a decent groove and drive to it - particularly Sagar.
Ananda Shankar The version of Jumpin’ Jack Flash on here was a key track when I ‘used’ ‘to’ ‘DJ’, its absolutely superb in the way a good cover should be, by melding inessential ersatz quirkiness with a superb groove and feel. It always used to get a great reaction, especially when played alongside Merry Clayton’s version of Gimme Shelter. I think it was subsequently used on an advert and the element of surprise disappeared. Anyhow I ended up buying the album on vinyl, but truthfully I never gave it much attention, although I do remember liking the version of Light My Fire, especially the swimmy sections. I still like that and I like the rest of it alot too. It has a slight novelty edge to it, but it is also pretty unique, and I really love the meld of Indian percussion and sitar, western song structures and instrumentation and early electronic sounds. Alongside JJF and LMF there are some lovely tracks and sitar playing. Mamata has a lovely, peaceful feeling melody and Matamorphasis’s fraught and percussive Indo-Western psychedelia is excellent. Sagar’s long slow build to a squelchy electronic end is great as well and Raghupati is a superb closing track, feeling like a genuine compound of east and west folk melodies, wrapped up in a hippie sing along with added sitar freak out. I liked it more and more each time I listened, enough to push it to a 4. 🇮🇳🇺🇲🇮🇳🇺🇲 Playlist submission: Jumpin’Jack Flash
The covers are a bit cheap. 'Light My Fire' is trite in the extreme, sounding like a Mike Flowers Pops version. 'Jumping Jack Flash' has more oomph and I can see why it was a club hit at the time, but surely in the way 'Doctor Pressure' (featuring 'Dr Beat' by Gloria Estefan) or 'Call on Me' by Eric Prydz was enjoyable. Good in an ironic way. The originals are more interesting in general. 'Metamorphosis' has quite a modern beat, and some funky sitar; 'Snow Flower' and 'Mamata' ('Thanks Mum') have pleasing melodies. 'Metamorphosis' has a good opening half with a certain psychedelic lilt (like early Traffic or 'Ogden's Nut Gone Flake', although everyone else had moved on), but it drags on. 'Dance Indra' also has an unsettling bassy undertone as the song progresses (positively Eno-like in places). A couple of covers to get Westerners listening in the first place, and some decent, mid-table tracks amongst it.
8/10 Indian music for the western man. An awesome and exciting entry point to South Asian music
Cool.
It may.be a tad gimmicky but this is strangely fun. Particularly liked the Jumpin’ Jack Flash cover and Snowflower. Wasn’t sure what to expect but enjoyed this one
Y'know for the lack of world music on this list the Sitar shows up quite a decent amount. This one did something different to... mixed effect. 5/10
Buen álbum, el verdadero no juzgar su libro por su portada, agradable y de otro mundo, muy raro pero único.
As one half of British born, Indian influenced super group Houmous & Chutney I know a thing or two about sub-continental covers of western classics 2.5 4/8 Mamata
A relic from another time, when the influence of traditional Indian music was breaking through in Western culture. Mixing the new frontier of psychedelic exploration with the Ragas & Talas created a fusion with modern rock/pop music that was very hot for a minute there. This album sort of perfectly encapsulates that era, from the Rolling Stones and Doors covers, to the more hybrid tunes, and on down to the more straightforward/traditional Indian folk music of the second half of the record. The big thing for me here though, is the early use of Moog synthesizer - an amazing early use of the electronic soundscapes possible with the relatively new instrument and the textures/moods really help the whole way through.
This was pretty interesting conceptually. Would make sense for a movie soundtrack.
For a sitar cover band it’s pretty good. But who asked for a sitar cover band?
It's not what I expected but I still found it dull. I guess sitar once every few years isn't that bad. kinda like many olympic sports
Cornershop well before Cornershop to be reductive and perhaps obvious. I'm glad this exists and didn't mind it, but probably not more than a history lesson for me.
do I need a scitar version of Jumping Jack Flash? or synthed-out Doors cover? If it was 1970 and I was super high this would be great.
I know nothing about Ananda Shankar (other that his very famous surname). Left-field opener "Jumpin' Jack Flash" got my hopes up, and "Light My Fire" was fun, but other than the climax of "Raghupati," the rest came and went. Except for the first part of "Sagar (The Ocean)," which sounded like something you'd hear in a Super Mario level set in subterranean world.
Very good sitar music, a good album to include in the story of popular music because of how influential the instrument was to the development of 60s rock and roll blah blah blah. I did quite enjoy the Light my Fire cover.
Kind of putting me to sleep while I was working...
Wonky
Inte dåligt men finns inget tillfälle jag hellre lyssnar på detta än raga eller rock
I find the sitar to be a fundamentally annoying instrument. I liked this one more than the Ravi Shankar album on this list (due largely to the more modern touches, I’m sure), but it just wasn’t for me.
I want to preface this review by saying that I don't know anything about Ananda Shankar. This is all vibes. This feels like an album with one of two possible origins: 1. Ananda's parents told him how special he was every single day of his life. They told him that his skill and prowess were unmatched in the world of music, surpassing even his more famous uncle. They pushed him every single day to develop this god-ordained talent even though Ananda really preferred playing cricket with his friends or even studying literature. One day, Ananda's parents told him that it was time to make an album, but because he really only listened to the radio, he picked a handful of songs to cover and then some compositions he had been forced to write. His parents paid for everything. OR 2. Ananda's family were being held for ransom. The kidnappers THOUGHT they were getting the family of his more famous uncle, and when they realized the mistake, they encouraged Ananda to reach out to his uncle to help him with bail money. Instead, Ananda recorded this album, knowing that his famous name would get it heard, he could make enough to free his family, and he could collect royalties when someone streamed his album bc it was one of 1001 albums that everyone must listen to before they die. Contrary to how my review sounds, I don't hate this. But I do feel like it's the kind of music that an American filmaker would play over a scene of some CIA agent landing in India to get a bad guy who was camping out in a town full of market stalls. also sitars look like a cock and balls
This rules. I think we need more sitar Moog fusion music. I think it’s definitely dated. Like you can pinpoint the exact week this came out. I think it’s really fun though. I don’t know that I’d ever listen to it casually but I’m glad it exists
Original songs are better than the covers, which reminded me of yoga class where we try to be the first to identify the mellow instrumental versions of well-known rock songs.
Listens: 1.5 Standout Tracks: Light My Fire (I guess?) I like the sound that is produced by sitar, generally. I like when a sitar is used as a backing instrument; It provides some variety and is an interesting quality to music. It's also very easy to over-use it. I am less interested when the sitar is the primary instrument, the music in question is mostly covers, and its 45 minutes of mostly just instrumental sitar. This album also fails my new litmus test: Included in its Wikipedia page summary, is mention of being included in the 1001 Albums book, which means that the album is neither particularly interesting, and it's questionable if it needed to be included in the book.
In a nutshell: where worlds collide, and forces unite. We've heard sitar and tablar in popular music before (ie Norweigan Wood). But this is where the roles are reversed. Ananda Shankar's debut builds on what was already in the public sphere- add a Western backing band and a Moog to Indian music (Raga rock and Indian classical). It's drone-y, groovy, psychedelic, microtonal. If you like Beck's Midnight Vultures, you'll love this! Overall: 8/10 PS. If you're that person who finds it difficult to read handwriting, this is what the cover text says: "I have had a dream to try to combine Western and Indian music into a new form, a music which has no particular name but is melodious and touching, and which combines the most modern electronic devices with the old traditional instrument, the sitar."
The music is fine. The covers are weird choices
Lurrrrvvvv the sitar!! A little cheesy with the covers HOWEVER, so wild to rediscover the song "Metamorphosis." That song is a banger, and I already had it on one of my playlists!! Shoutout to Evan Censky for playing it around the campfire the one time, with colorful flames licking at the starry sky! What a banger. Cool song too. xD Probs won't listen to all the way through that album again but there are for sure some cute songs that will make it on to some playlists.
leuke mix tss oosters en westers.. de covers zijn de minste nummers...
I mean, it's damn unique, that's for sure. Just the whiplash of that really oddball fusion of the Indian- and Western-styled Rolling Stones cover on the opener is enough to make this thing memorable, at least. I also really messed with the "Light My Fire' cover here - the inclusion only makes sense, considering it was no secret that The Doors were heavily influenced by Eastern music. The music is solid, albeit a bit one-note at times. The sitar is the driver here, and on a song like 'Snow Flower' all the backing instrumentation does a great job of adding a lot of texture to the core playing, filling the space really elegantly. But then you get a song like 'Mamata' which has a nice enough core melody, but the backing strumming doesn't do very much for me. The drumkit breakdown on 'Metamorphosis' was another undeniable highlight; again the mix of influences here is completely foreign to my ears, and I don't fully know if I like it or not yet. I also love the backing drones of the slower start to "Sagar"; it sounds like a lot of your proto-ambient type stuff that was coming out around this time, stemming from South Asian music and jazz-fusion, just super ominous and brooding. And the gradual build near the end with just the right amount of bass and hand percussion was exactly what the song needed to propel it across the finish line. I'd also say this song shows off Ananda's playing the best of any other song here. Easily my favorite song on the record. Neat record though not one I see myself revisiting very often. Reading up on him, the guy seems to be the son of Ravi Shankar, who was included earlier on this list for me, and who I know was super influential in drawing Eastern influences into Western music via the Beatles, for example. Wonder if Ananda here was fully embracing those fusions himself here, after being influenced by his father's worldwide appeal. Apparently, the guy performed with Jimi Hendrix, which is neat.
my 67th album nice... already had this version of jumpin jack flash in my playlist bc they were playing it before the main set when i went to see glass animals Which is a miracle bc i hate the rolling stones. cool concept and was indeed melodious and touching but a bit samey
i fucking love sitar
Interesting, but not for me.
Svårt! En 2a efter första lyssningen. Kändes bjäring och som två covers som bara en sitarfrälst 60-talspundare behövde. Men sen blev jag ändå fängslad! Raghupati var mäktig och metarmorphisis var röjig. 3a!
Fick ändå feeling
bakgrundsmusikvibes
Nah mate this is good. Starts off super strong, has a weak middle, but that closing track tickled my lovebox.
There is a certain difference between an interesting album and a novelty album. This one is the latter.
The covers are uniquely both a disservice to the originals and also diminish the genre they’re performed in. So let’s ignore those abominations. The rest is great, and I love the sound of the sitar. Nice relaxing music, shame that the album starts with a cover song that sounds like it would be played in a suburban Indian restaurant
This was pleasant enough although the Indianified sixties hits felt a bit cheesy. Like something you'd hear in a slightly patronising western film about India. The Darjeeling Limited soundtrack.
baby's first world record. pretty good.
Overall, a fun little record for a seventies rock enthusiast, and plays like a psychedelic opus knowing nothing about the artist or background. Probably not going to seek it out physically, but a nice way to start a morning.
Pretty cool album. This guy jammed with Hendrix then declined his offer to make an album together, and his uncle is Ravi. The "Jumpin Jack Flash" cover is awesome, but "Light My Fire" sounds like a parody. The rest of the songs, while cool, don't interest me that much. The second half is very interesting though, especially "Sagar". Another high 3
Barely a 2. Hate albums of rock covers featuring an off-the-beaten-path instrument. The originals were meh.
Indian version of Plantasia
Probably seemed quite ground-breaking at the time, but to modern ears it's a bit trite. Not unenjoyable, but feels a bit charity-shop record, which is probably unfair.
I don’t need this
Let’s get sitarded in here! I wonder how many hippies bought this album, brought it back to their dirty, incense-smelling, tapestry-strewn hovel, put it on the hi-fi, and thought “welp, I guess it’s time for me to cut my hair and go out and get a job.” I also wonder how a novelty half-Muzak album by Ravi Shankar’s nephew ended up in the book. Let me check Wikipedia: “Shankar's profile in the West began to rise again in the mid-1990s as his music found its way into club DJ sets, particularly in London.” And there it is. Publishers, if you are looking for someone to write a book about music, don’t hire an aging 90’s British club kid. MDMA melts your brain and makes you think the shit you were listening to in that barge on the Thames while you were covered in glowsticks, pacifier around your neck, drinking copious amounts of water and making that weird grimace was actually good. It wasn’t. You were just on drugs. This book is a joke.
This is the first sitar/western music on the list. Included are two covers: “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Light my Fire”. The remaining tracks are more Eastern (Indian) based. The covers were interesting. Ravi Shankar is Ananda’s uncle. There is enough western music to balance the eastern music.
I posted online one time about how shocked I was to learn that Norah Jones is Ravi Shankar's daughter (yes, in addition to the multiple reviews here where I've said that -- but it's not MY fault they have the whole family on this list, just saying), and some dude replied to tell me that "Anoushka Shankar is also his daughter". That response was almost as disturbing to me as the fact about Norah Jones. Like... yes, obviously. Was it a joke?? Was he mocking me?? Anyway, it would have been more informative if he'd said that Ananda (cool name btw) was Ravi Shankar's nephew. I wonder how many other relatives are on this list. Probably a lot of husband-wife duos and siblings in the same band, but the Ravi/Norah/Ananda(/?Anoushka?) cluster's got to be hard to beat. Moving on! Starting off with yet another Rolling Stones cover isn't selling me, although the sitar is an upgrade, and it's definitely better than Norah Jones. 'Light My Fire' is fun though.
First 3 songs are really lacking, but more than made up for from Mamata onwards. Top tracks: mamata, metamorphosis, Sagar
This was a surprising treat. The covers of popular songs was a bit much borderline comedy and relatively unpleasant but the non cover songs delightful. I favorited 4 of them. I will be back. 4/5
I dont think I'll ever need to hear the sounds of droning mosquitos mingled with the beautiful sitar ever again. Yet at the same time I feel eternally grateful for having heard it. Gonna throw this one a bold bone. I can't decide if it's 3/10 or 7/10 but it's certainly not 5. I'll go 7.13/10 for vibes. Drink: least casual sip of hogwash pickle berry punch known to man
Never hear of this, but off to a good start. The covers were clearly to get a mainstream audience. This album is great even without them. I’m really enjoying this.
The two covers almost turn this into some 60s novelty album. Leave those off and it’s really nice. I love synthesizers and the Moog and sitar together is wonderful.
paired well with my morning yoga sesh
The fact that the album starts with a cover of Jumping Jack Flash immediately puts me into piss-take mode. Then Light My Fire doubles down on that. It's not until later in the album that I can stop myself giggling inside and take this album seriously. Side 1 is primarily western covers played on a sitar. Side 2 goes back to basics and is altogether rather better. Possibly as a trailblazer it may be worthy of its place on the list...3. But as something I want to listen to again it's a definite 1. So let's just call it a 2 shall we?
Very groovy Light My Fire cover. But too much sitar for my ears.
I’ve been really liking all these instrumental albums this week This album sounds like koopahari desert Also some George Harrison vibes Very fun to listen to Favorites: jumpin Jack flash, raghupati, sagar 3.5/5
Well that was different.
Sounds like a jaunty cover band. Not my cup of tea
I much prefer the meals Metallica made with these ingredients to Maiden’s later fare, but I don’t regret breakfasting with the Leyton lads today.
No one on this earth needs to hear a sitar cover of the doors at any point in their life, but side 2 made me a believer
I thought the covers at the start were fine in a kitschy sort of way but the reason I'm giving it 4 stars is for the 13-minute Sagar (The Ocean), which is an absolute banger of a journey, and some other cool original/traditional arrangements in the second half. Also liked the change of style with the vocals on the final track.
This was on Dr Dimento, wasn't it? I think I probably could have died without hearing sitar covers of the Rolling Stones.
Jumpin' Jack Flash - 4/5 Snow Flower - 3/5 Light My Fire - 3.5/5 Mamata (Affection) - 3/5 Metamorphosis - 3.5/5 Sagar (The Ocean) - 3/5 Dance Indra - 3/5 Raghupati - 3/5 Seeing how this was seemingly a trend-chasing type of album, it was a bit better in parts than I expected. The Stones cover to open the album was probably the best on the album, and it really trails off towards the end to lean towards "meh". It's inspired enough to not be seen as a rip-off of the raga rock genre but doesn't have enough staying power for me to remember it well. Overall: 3/5 Favorites: Jumpin' Jack Flash
Not sure how to rate this one. It was fine, didn't really move my world. Won't pick this back up again. Yet another 2.5
This was not for me.
An Indian sitar player.
This was interesting, kind of strange. A fusion of Indian sounds with rock covers.
This is defnitely an oddball album. On the one hand, the cover sonds don't really work for me. They feel like the predecessor of something like that whole series "Bossa N Stones" or "Bossa N Marley" or whatever, like let's just throw super famous rock songs into a totally different music tradition so we can get white anglos to like it. Doors and Stones aside, the albu definitely is something worth listening to. The mixture of Indian classical music and rock can be jarring at times, but the heavy psychedelia kind of makes it work. It's like the film negative of Indian influence acid rock tracks like Norwegian wood. High 3
very cool, not necessarily my genre or one that i would go looking for but i enjoyed this.
Makes me want to join a cult
I really don’t know what to do with this one. Normally I try to rate these by some kind of criterion. By the criterion of psychedelic rock, I guess this is fine. I don’t know enough about Sitar traditions to rate it base on that. I guess I’ll do this one by whether or not I liked it alone…
Good and viby background music, but it gets old quick.
This was interesting. Good, even. Will I go back to it soon? Or often? Probably not.
Damn this rocks more than I expected. The fusion of western and eastern music styles is great. While the rock covers were fun and interesting, the originals are much more captivating, sounding like traditional ragas but expanding into psychedelia and cross-pollinated with guitar-centric melodies and fuzzed-out sitar.
Surprisingly not terrible. Weird gym music though
A fun cover album for sure, but most of the songs are losing what made them iconic, which are either their singer or their instrumental. Not bad either
Meu primeiro contato com o sitar foi através dos discos dos Beatles. Uma música que gosto muito e que faz um uso brilhante do instrumento é Within You Without You, do Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, uma das minhas favoritas do álbum. George Harrison foi um gênio em todos os sentidos, e também nesse aspecto: trouxe um instrumento praticamente desconhecido no Ocidente e conseguiu popularizá-lo de uma forma que se encaixava perfeitamente nas canções dos Beatles. Principalmente quando a proposta era algo mais psicodélico ou espiritual, o sitar criava uma atmosfera única, e é justamente isso que mais me marca. Esse disco do Ananda é inteiramente construído em torno do sitar, e, no geral, gostei da experiência. Ainda assim, o fato de todas as faixas girarem em torno do mesmo instrumento acaba me cansando um pouco. Senti falta de alguma variação ou transição que quebrasse essa continuidade, é sitar do começo ao fim. Achei interessante ouvir Light My Fire, do The Doors, nessa roupagem indianesca, mas, para mim, isso por si só não sustenta o álbum inteiro. Foi uma experiência bem válida para conhecer, mas definitivamente não é um disco que eu salvaria na minha playlist.
surprisingly good, and a new listen for me altogether. it becomes background noise though, with little character.
This was really interesting and had a decent edge.
I really like the last track. Too bad it took so long to get there.
Pretty okay background music.
I think I liked the sitar versions of Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Light My Fire more than the original versions.
I don't dislike sitar music but I think the sitar versions of the songs on here I knew were all worse versions of those songs.
3.25 - I really enjoy music with a sitar. I'm surprised that this makes the list with those two prominent covers, but maybe I need to read the history.
Pretty interesting although the covers were hit and miss, the stones one I didn't like so much and the doors I was into - but that's covers for you. The rest I liked and liked the finale Raghupati a lot. Kind of an iffy unsure 4 here.
I really enjoyed this album, and I understand the desire to put some sitar-style covers of western songs to cement the point of what they're trying to accomplish, but those were the dud tracks for me. If this album just ditched those two tracks it'd be a 5-star for me.
Weird, fun album with covers I didn't know I needed (but mostly still don't)
Now That’s What I Call Sitar! Vol. 1 This album actually sounds pretty good and the original compositions are impressive at times, but the cringe factor of the covers are too much to overcome.
Light My Fire is pretty sick. Otherwise it’s kind of like background music.
You know? I had a better time with this than I thought I would. The early cover songs were a lot of fun. Adding in the Moog synthesizers gave a lot of the music kind of a playful vibe that I really appreciated. The more traditional songs in the second half of the album were less interesting. Maybe there is such a thing as too much sitar?
The mish-mash I never knew I never needed
I'll start this off by saying that I LOVE South Asian music and am pretty familiar with it: traditional music from various regions, Bollywood soundtracks, you name it. Unfortunately, the first couple of tracks started this off badly for me. It's not the European/American influences that bothered me, since the 60's/70's Bollywood music that I like best mixes 60's rock stuff with classical Indian instrumentation all the time. The problem I guess is that the pop music that Shankar leans into here isn't the kind of pop music that I like. For me the first four songs were too much like Indian-flavored easy-listening music, and I didn't enjoy them at all. But ending the first side, "Metamorphosis" was nice, and then all of the second side was lovely. "Sagar" is a gorgeous, 13-minute-long piece that seems to have a quiet little bass line in the background at times. "Dance Indra" felt fusion-y and interesting, and "Raghupati" was toe-tapping. If I were just reviewing the second side of this album I'd give it 4 stars, but my attitude about the first side brings it down to a 3.
Album #125, Ananda Shankar, Ananda Shankar ⭐⭐⭐⭐ And now for another long raga……Ananda Shankar. Totally new one for me. The extent of my Indian music knowledge is basically The Concert for Bangladesh and the opening half hour where Ravi Shankar plays. Despite loving that whenever I’ve heard it, I’ve never really gotten into Indian music. So this is probably one of the first full Indian albums I’ve ever listened to. I think it’s great. More than anything else, I just think it’s an amazing sounding record. The instruments are so interesting. They produce such unusual, distinctive sounds. The drones, the sitar, all the different textures. I don’t really know the names of half the instruments, so apologies for that, but it all just sounds fantastic. It’s a great new experience. The original compositions and the traditional tunes are the highlights for me. The covers I could maybe take or leave. They’re interesting enough, but whenever the album is doing its own thing, that’s when it really comes alive. One thing I’ve tried very hard not to do during this project is look at the list itself. I want the generator to surprise me. I don’t want to know what’s coming up next. I like discovering albums as they arrive. That said, I did look up whether there were many other Indian albums on the list. I was disappointed to discover that the only other one seems to be Ravi Shankar’s The Sounds of India. That’s a famous record and one I still haven’t heard, but it annoyed me a little. My criticism isn’t really aimed at this album. It’s more aimed at the list itself. Because what you’ve got here is an album introducing listeners to Indian music through a mixture of traditional influences and covers of well-known Western songs. It almost feels like the list is holding the listener’s hand and saying, “Don’t worry, here’s some Indian music, but they’re also doing versions of songs you already know.” Do we really need that? Couldn’t there be room for more albums that fully commit to the tradition without needing the familiar reference points? Not that the covers are bad, and not that I don’t think this album deserves its place. But it feels symptomatic of one of my biggest issues with the list as a whole. I know primarily from this subreddit that there are artists with eight or nine albums included. There are entire countries and genres represented by one or two records. I’m doing this project to discover new music, and to be fair, today I absolutely did. I’m delighted this album came up. I really enjoyed it and I’ll definitely return to it. I just wish the list gave more opportunities to discover even more music from places and traditions that don’t already dominate the canon.
I liked "Jumpin' Jack Flash" but not so much "Light My Fire." It seems like something that would be fun to add to playlist, but I haven't figured out what kind of playlist I'd put it on. The rest of it kinda faded into the background as I worked, enjoyable but not that engaging. Sometimes I thought the Moog synthesizers were excellent, but sometimes they dated the music. I enjoyed hearing the album and appreciated its inclusion on the list. 3.5/5
Pretty chill stuff. I liked the cover songs.
I can appreciate that this is on the list, and I can appreciate that I would not have listened to it otherwise, and I can appreciate getting to hear sitar covers of 60s rock and roll. I didn't particularly like it, but...yeah? I dunno.
it’s fun but not too special idk
I was feeling a 4, but the last three songs dragged on. I didn't mind the rock covers, but that is moot because I could only point out 'Light My Fire.'
I respect what it’s putting down, but no
I do wish there were more oddball albums on this list like this one. That being said, there wasn't anything that super stood out to me on the album that would make me rate over 3 stars. track 5-6 is a lot of sitar to listen to.
This was a really nice change, I really enjoyed this one!
I haven't complained about genre classifications recently, so I will just say I find it really funny that the album cover talks about a "dream to try to combine Western and Indian music into a new form, a music which has no particular name..." and then Wikipedia just says "raga rock" and calls it a day. I really dug the traditionals and originals and detested the rock covers.
Interesting album, and I see why it is on this list. I enjoy the exposure to world music that I otherwise would never hear. I have found that I enjoy sitar music in small doses. I may have hit my limit by track 4.
Not sure why this on the list. It just be going doin doin wearrrr di did id
This one caught me off guard. Super dope album through and through. The sounds of the east matched with the explosion of music coming from the West. Psychadelic blues played in a snake whispering room. Would recommend to anyone seeking to expand their palate.
Well now. Throw your preconceptions out of the window. The first half of this album appears to be western music played in an Indian style on traditional instruments. A novel twist on a not exactly unique idea. But effective just the same. The second half was more like traditional Indian music, but still quite pleasant. Not really for me, but effective. Got to be a 3.
Extraordinary. In a good way. Hadn’t looked at the track list before I started playing, so Jumping Jack Flash was an incredible surprise. Stonking final track too. Overall, this made me smile.
I love this album! I have known about this fantastic version of 'Jumping Jack Flash' for a long time and its always a pleasure listening to it. The only problem was I never know who did it, and in some ways it is superior to the original. Ever since the world music fusion boom in the early 1990's, with artists like Transglobal Underground, I have had a soft spot for something like this. However this album turns out to be the grandaddy of them all. What a very pleasant surprise. The last song nearly had me leaping about the room if it wasn't for sleep deprivation due to a cold. One of the best 'unknown' albums I've come across in this list. A full five stars.
Not an album I’d ever find myself putting on again, which is not a bad thing, it’s just not my cup of tea; it was enjoyable nonetheless. It’s more like an instrumental cover album of rock and roll pieces, with Indian classical influences.
This was a fun one. The covers got my attention and just when I thought I was over the long “Sagar,” it ramped up and pulled me in further.
This didn't hit the spot for me.
The covers are unbearable, last track is good
Fails to marry East and West. The covers are almost unbearable.
The vintage sitar cover versions of Western songs are good fun, reminding me what I enjoy about the originals while showing them off in a new flavour. The original compositions are more nourishing though - and left me relieved that it wasn’t 40 minutes of Doors and Rolling Stones covers. The whole album is an early successful example of fusing Indian and Western styles, with some elements of the final tracks almost sounding a bit like Primal Scream. Very cool.
Ananda Shankar presents an east meets west sitar rock blend that excites me for a short time but ultimately wears thin, unfortunately i feel the original compositions on the album are weak and the covers are enjoyable but only go so far.
Fun, funky, and good background noise
Neat. Who doesn't love the sound of a sitar? The covers were a bit corny but well done. 3.5/5 rounded to 4.
I enjoyed this album a lot. I do really like Indian Classical music and this was close I suppose. But I feel like the covers were kind of out of place and didn't really serve the rest of the album at all. I would have been interested to hear what this had turned into had it been a collaboration with Hendrix like Shankar originally wanted. That seems like it would have been legendary. Not much else to say about this one, but it's another that's hard to rate for me. Without the weird and out of place covers it would be approaching 4 but I just don't know if I can rate it that high as is. Maybe. I think I'm calling it 3.5 but I'm gonna round down.
The original songs are fine but the covers are super cheesy. Overall decent but not great album, really not sure why it is on this list. A resounding "meh" from me.
LOVE! I think I love a sitar. Especially since seeing so many cool ones at the Met instruments exhibit. This was a lovely vibe for a drive back from Vass with Allison. The covers were fun, the electronic was fun, I didn’t even realize we started the album again and I would have kept listening.
I enjoyed the first half with the covers more. I was bored by the end but some harmless fun. Rating: 2.4
i dug the mix of styles, didn't expect to
Quite enjoyable. Nice easy listening.
#379/1001. This one is hard to rate as it is at the same awful, beautiful, weird, out of time and place, in a very certain time and place, cliché, kitsch, interesting, novelty, funky... Most of these comments (both positive and negative) typically mean a 5 in my rating system, but here that somehow doesn't seem appropriate.
I liked this a lot more than I expected
Gimmick - no place on the list as good as the playing is
Decent Indian instrumentals -nice background music but nothing stood out
quite enjoyed!! not something i’d always put on, but extremely well crafted and both of its time AND totally ahead of its time simultaneously
he took the genre that’s heavily influenced by indian music and made it even more indian
Vaa
Metamorphosis and Raghupati are great but can't save this album from feeling quite unoriginal despite being a full sitar album
A nice change from the norm on this list. A nice coincidence that this album appeared on the list on the same day as I was going on a date with an Indian woman. I'll give it a 3 and a 5 for Rupali
Well that was cool I guess, never thought I wanted to hear sitar covers of iconic songs but this album has proven me wrong. Definitely one I found more interesting than actually enjoyable (not to say I hated it), it just kinda made me go "huh, that's pretty cool" and then I got on with my day. I guess it's just more the novelty of hearing familiar songs done differently, so even though this album isn't actually all that impressive when it comes down to it, I still applaud it for bringing something new and genuinely cool and interesting to the table.
Oooooooh this one was super cool I love it!!
Very very interesting experience to be honest, some kind a of a fresh air in the world or punk rock and post punk ahaha. Love it!
Went into this album completely clueless of what to expect and ended up thoroughly enjoying the experience. I'll be tracking this down on vinyl.
Fcking George Harrison man. The sitar has got be near the bottom of "mainstream" instruments. 😴
Right vibes for the right time.
Personal quirk, maybe, but I just don't like the sound of the sitar. I also can't stand Light My Fire. Makes this one a bit of a challenge.
This was interesting and I’m always up for a good Rolling Stones cover. I feel like covers like these always do well in movies.
There are some gems on here (I particularly liked Raghupati for its style), but a lot of sitar music sounds pretty similar to me, so I didn't love it.
This was a bit of a surprise. Much better than I expected. I particularly enjoyed tracks "Mamata" and "Sagar". At least 3,5 stars for me.
Ok
This album really surprised me... I didn't know music of this genre could be so flexible and do so many things. I loved how the tracks utilised different ideas and sounds. 'Sagar (The Ocean)' really surprised me, being around 15-minutes in an album full of shorter tracks. This one didn't really have much going on, or even any variation really throughout, but I thought that it was just lovely to sit and listen to. I loved how calming, yet energetic and erratic, this album could be at times. This was a good length album, because as lovely as it was to listen to, I think if it was much longer it could have lost its spark. Favourites: Sagar (The Ocean) Jumpin' Jack Flash Mamata (Affection)
This is definitely an interesting and unique album. There are definitely some super intriguing moments of instrumentation that were great to listen to but were also an equal number of songs I thought were slightly boring or repetitive in nature and they were drawn out longer than I would’ve liked. I think the instrumentation is fine and there’s nothing bad about it by any means but I would never see myself coming back and listening to any of these songs personally on my own time. So while I did like some songs, this wasn’t my type of music and isn’t for me.
That's just too oriental for my taste. Maybe I'm just not open-minded enough for it. I just don't like the music. I think the idea of fusing Western music with an Indian interpretation is a bad one. I probably won't listen to it again, even though I actually listened to most of the album out of curiosity. 2/5
Cool fusion! I enjoyed getting another record from the Shankar family.
1/10
hippie feeling. East vibes. Even some edm in there? It was good though.
I’ve had to listen to Light My Fire two albums in a row. A lot of this album sounds good but doesn’t do much for me emotionally. It’s just there. The highlight for me was the ending portion of the thirteen minute long track, although it took a while to get there. I didn’t care much for the covers.
Gear: ZMF Auteur Classic LTD Shedua Artwork: 🪕✒️🟨 Production (US Internet Release): 😐👍🆗 Music: 🥱📉😣 Rating: 🥸(🥸)/5
3.9 Extremely good entry to the list. That's the exact thing I thought would appear a lot when I initially started the project. Something new but something good. I think the only other spot of Indian music I can remember on here was some godawful Bollywood movie soundtrack. This was great - late 60s rock influenced sitar music. Long track was cracking, very atmospheric. Can't say it'll be on heavy rotation but I appreciated the 40 minutes it gave me.
Unless you’re painting it black, nobody needs this much sitar.
Sooooo, are you nominating this on the merit of sitar, or sitar covers of Western rock singles? Either way, this one struggles to rise above the idea of "novelty". Easy miss, imo.
Sitar music. Chill vibe
Liked it!
Listening session: may 16th, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: no Thoughts: I can appreciate to hear world music on here, but this album’s not for me. The sitar’s nice for a few songs but not for 40 minutes Favourite track: Mamata (Affection)
Wasn’t familiar at all. Fascinating little record.
Not into the cover songs but it’s cool
wow!!! raga rock. so funny... it totally doesn't work but I like it!!
Using the Sitar makes my brain classify the music in a certain place and genre that this didn't fit in to when mixed with the other instruments used in some of the song along with the familiar covers. I enjoyed the instrumental songs much more than the last one. It was a fun listen through and Light My Fire is an excellent cover that I will use in future music quizzes. Nothing I would listen to often myself though.
Private session used for Spotify on this one. Indian takes on 60's hits, I see this as nothing more than a novelty, amusing to listen to once, except for the 13 minute dirge called Sagar, I didn't need to hear that at all.
Sitar over modern electronic/pop/rock backing, pretty fun
Covers of rock songs in a raga format is such a good idea. And the other songs aren’t too bad either.
Mais uma combinação com música indiana, interessante isso nunca ter chegado em mim antes. Pelo que vi é sobrinho do Ravi Shankar, que tocou com os Beatles. Citara sempre traz um sorriso, instrumento mágico. Interessante, tocou The Doors na citara huauuha, ficou muito bom. Faz sentido isso estar nos anos 1970, talvez um pouco atrasado, chegou depois do Woodstock. Gostei bastante do álbum, muito bem feito, animado, som foda da citara, me inspirou enquanto organizava minhas coisas aqui.
8/10 At first I was doubting that I will like it, but actually, its really good! Beatles knew what they were doing when they picked this instrument to make their music more unique
I can see how this influenced the world music scene. It's a shame to read that it wasn't recorded with Jimmy Hendrix as was originally intended, I think that would have changed the feel entirely. In saying all of this, parts of the album peaked my interest, and other parts faded into the background. Not sure about the covers, the original music was more interesting.
Love the concept, but I got tired of the same-ness of it all.
nah
An album with a goal, clearly stated on the album cover: ""...to combine Western and Indian music into a new form... that is melodious and touching"". The problem is, it fails at this in a few different ways... It's mostly either awkward covers of western songs, or just Indian music with a synthesizer meandering around the mix. It just doesn't work... Except once. Track 4, Mamata, truly is a melodious and touching song that blends the two styles into a new form. It's beautiful. If the album were full of songs that hit the mark like this, it would rate very highly for me. Fav track: Mamata, obviously.
More of a trivia than music I'd listen to. I like world music, but that didn't give much to work with
Quite liked the Rolling Stones cover (because i like the original song), didn't like the 13 minute song (felt like a lot of nothing for a good amount of time), and the rest was meh. Doesn't feel essential and I was happy when it was over.
music is love
The sitar is mesmerizing. The covers are fun. 2.6/5.
This was unexpected. His take on a few rock classics was actually pretty good, and a cool way to kick off this album. Personally, it had me interested, and that led to me listening with more of an open ear for the rest of the record. Snow Flower and Mamata were both cool tracks, and Metamorphosis had it's moments. I would say that later stuff in the record wasn't as great for me. All the same, a decent listen. 3 stars.
Varför finns denna?
This was very interesting. Glad to see Indian music on this list. It's a pleasant surprise
Very very fun I like it! That one 10+ minute song did not need to be that long tho
Fun & cool
SITAR SHREDDING GOES UNFATHOMABLY HARD some tracks did drag on though so 4.
very cool
I always thought Ananda was a woman (Amanda?). A bit disappointing, but still an awesome album. Rocking and meditative at once.
It is an interesting album. Bridging east and west with some covers and some really beautiful playing of his instrument. I feel like towards the end I was ready for it to be over. 2.5/5 Might listen again
The Indian music version of jumping jack flash was interesting. I was amused thinking of Mick Jagger as a sitar. I wondered: hang on this might be worth listening to.... but not so much after that.
The covers were heinous, the synths were also heinous, but Shankar plays the hell out of that sitar, Metamorphosis and Sagar RULED
09/05/2026 I can't hate it, but I sure as hell don't love it. Spotify listeners: 48.4k
Another one where "pleasant" feels like the best descriptor. Especially considering when it was released, it's good all the way through and especially interesting to me as someone already into east-west fusion through groups like Kula Shaker. Never quite rises to great, although the covers are nice and Sagar is a highlight that flies by despite the runtime.
What a weird and wonderful album this was. Really had no clue what to expect, and came away pleasantly surprised. Not something I'd listen to all the time, but happily in the background. Some great covers, and a few decent original songs. Definitely worth a listen at least once.
The sitar has a very pretty sound.
When to listen: psychedelic vibes. Did I need to listen to this? No. Do I love weird covers? Yes.
This is an odd album. They are doing covers of 60's rock songs with a synth and a sitar. Yet it works WAY better than you think it would. It's fun. Yeah I'm digging this album far more than I thought I would. I saw it and went what? Now I'm going, this needs to be added to my library. It's still a super weird listen but I'm hooked.
Mamata (Affection) and Raghupati were the most enjoyable for me in this album.
groovy baybeee ✌️✌️
feel like austin powers woulda gone crazy for this one tbh. fav: metamorphosis
An album with a goal, clearly stated on the album cover: "...to combine Western and Indian music into a new form... that is melodious and touching". The problem is, it fails at this in a few different ways... It's mostly either awkward covers of western songs, or just Indian music with a synthesizer meandering around the mix. It just doesn't work... Except once. Track 4, Mamata, truly is a melodious and touching song that blends the two styles into a new form. It's beautiful. If the album were full of songs that hit the mark like this, it would rate very highly for me. Fav track: Mamata, obviously.
Jumpin' jack flash - 4 Snow flower - 4 Light my fire - 3 Mamata (affection) - 2 Metamorphosis - 3 Sagar (the ocean) - 2 Dance indra - 2 Raghupati - 3
Didn't see this one coming Will I listen to again: 50%
Couldn’t finish it
Not really my thing either, some of the covers of songs were pretty interesting, but not enough to salvage this. One star.
Nice!
recovers strongly from what starts off as bargain bin novelty CD tier. i wish that either there were more vocals or that the compositions were more dynamic -- the back half has it going on.
7/10 Very surprising album. I dig the psychedelic vibes
lol. So this is a cover album? Of classic American rock where the guitar is replaced with a shitty sitar and synths? Why does anyone need to hear this? Get real, 1001. Honestly, this feels insulting. I don’t give a shit about world music at all, but if you’re gonna throw it on the list—with the premise of its inclusion on the list being that I NEED to hear it before I die—at least throw on something that actually represents actual world music and not just a record that apes Eurocentric cultural norms but with a sitar. Plus, I hate the sitar. This one was always going to skew low for me. 3/10
3.0 - Ok
it was great but it was kind of boring
I love the sitar. Sitar covers, so good.
Yes, Side A is him piggybacking off of his uncle’s success with the Beatles, but it’s still a fun concept. I don’t know enough about Indian music to say if it was executed well or not, but I enjoyed it. Side A also did a good job of priming my western ears for Side B. Yes, “Sagar” was too long, but it works in an album where it’s the only song of its kind. I can see how this would have its place.
Shankar's album is one reason I do this project. The only thing I knew about the sitar before hearing this is the Beatles songs that incorporated the instrument or international movies with sitar songs. This album was something new and unexpected, and a true delight. I'll revisit "Dance Indra" and the Stones cover "Jumpin Jack Flash" again, for sure. "Raghupati" is my favorite.
It's a pretty good album, I thought the cover songs were interesting but not necessarily an improvement. The later songs on the album that had their own Indian and western synth sound were really solid.
Raga-rock som er indisk inspireret og så sådan fusion mellem indisk og vestlig musik. East-West hedder det. Men Raga er vidst normalt vestlig musik med indisk pynt så at sige, hvor det her album er meget stærkere på begge fronter. Så det føltes ikke bare som vestlig musik med en smule indisk så at sige. Som er det der har gjort albummet populært. Det er jo pisse fedt med psykedeliske lyd igennem sitaren og Moog’en. Som er en form for synthesizer åbenbart. Der er masser af gode lange numre som virker helt hypnotiserende og man bliver virkelig betaget af universet omkring det, så overall er det rigtig godt. Han er åbenbart blevet populær i elektronisk musik omkring 90’erne i London og lærte at spille instrumenterne af hans familie. Det er åbenbart både på Fatboy slim og red snapper haha
Vibing hard while cooking
The covers that presumably provided the headlines and brought commercial success to this album in 1970 are its ruin for me in the 21st Century. I am basically ignorant of Indian music, all my encounters with it having been through fairly typical western routes or lenses, but I do understand that even the material here that sounds most traditional to me, is probably quite westernised. Nevertheless, the 13min+ “Sagar (The Ocean)” is something I can get on board with much more easily than a Doors or Stones song that, out of context, comes across as kitsch muzak no matter how well it is recorded and produced. From the little bits I’ve read, it seems my feelings are in line with Shankar who, while keen to experiment blending the traditional with the western, considered the covers a compromise to his vision. Quality artists have good instincts about these things, though I guess without the inclusion of the covers, there’s little chance I’d be listening to this at all today.
The last song was alright, though the album kind of got boring after the first few songs when the novelty wore off
Who? when I saw the name, WTH? when I heard the first song. This was tremendous, can’t stop listening to this Sitar rendition of Jumpin Jack Flash and laughing delightedly. Feels very much like a dream sequence in a new Austin Powers film when he meets the Rolling Stones and the Maharshi at the same time. Loved Loved Loved this maniac album.
Didn’t finish it. I really hate the sitar as an instrument.
Der indische Sitarspieler und Komponist Ananda Shankar – Sohn des Tänzers Uday Shankar und Neffe des Sitar-Meisters Ravi Shankar – nahm sein selbstbetiteltes Debütalbum 1970 in den Tonstudios von Hollywood auf. Produziert von Alex Hassilev und auf Reprise Records veröffentlicht, verbindet die Platte klassische nordindische Sitar-Musik mit westlichem Rock, psychedelischer Elektronik und einem frühen Moog-Synthesizer, bedient von Paul Lewinson. Shankar siedelt seinen Raga Rock damit bewusst im Niemandsland zwischen zwei Welten an: weder rein klassisch, noch bloß exotisch verbrämter Pop. Die bekanntesten Stücke sind seine Sitar-Interpretationen von „Jumpin' Jack Flash" und „Light My Fire" – Covers, die heute wie Kuriositäten wirken, 1970 aber als kühner Brückenschlag galten. Weit überzeugender ist das dreizehneinhalbminütige „Sagar (The Ocean)", das langsam und meditativ anschwillt und zeigt, was Shankar eigentlich beherrschte: atmosphärische Tiefe statt Fusion-Effekthascherei. Mit Bassist Jerry Scheff, bekannt aus Elvis Presleys Band, besitzt der Sound zudem eine unerwartete Erdigkeit. Das Album entstand ursprünglich in der Absicht, Jimi Hendrix einzubinden – ein Vorhaben, das nie realisiert wurde. Vielleicht war das zum Besten: Das Gleichgewicht zwischen Sitar und Moog trägt in seiner Zurückhaltung mehr, als jeder spektakuläre Gitarrenauftritt es hätte tun können. „Raghupati", das volksmusikalische Finale mit gemeinschaftlichem Gesang, schließt das Album mit einer Wärme ab, die man diesem Fusion-Experiment gar nicht zugetraut hätte. Ein Kultklassiker, der seiner Zeit zu weit voraus war, um eine Karriere zu begründen – und genau deshalb bis heute nachwirkt.
It was an interesting way to blend Indian classical music with western sounds. I was intrigued and entertained the entire time. Not something that I would go back and seek out to listen to again but I do think that this is an album that is worth listening to.
Want to like it, just seems gimmicky. Feels bad to say but cmon
I’m kinda conflicted on this one. The rhythms are good, my toe was tapping, but the sitar kinda sounds like a whiny cat, ya know? I think I would normally give it a 2.5, gotta decide which way to round. Likely up, to repent for my cultural bias.
Viac by ma to bavilo, keby to boli vlastne piesne. Tieto prevzaté veci sú také nijaké...
I don’t know, feels like this was a bit of a novelty at the time for the different sounds it introduced. But there’s not much going on listening to it now.
About as authentically Indian as a Bombay Bad Boy Pot Noodle. And just like a pot noodle, I imagine I would like this more after several beers.