Reviews (page 5 of 8)
some really fun covers on this album
Sitars abound on this one. The name says middle eastern and to no shock so is the album. This was a different cover album than I have ever heard. It works. I’m not sure where you would blast this at full volume but it’s good to say I’ve heard it. Choice Cut: Light My Fire
This started on shaky ground with cover versions, but thankfully it picked up later. He is a great sitar player and when doing his own songs is quite enjoyable. That said, this really isn't something I would listen to again.
After an early morning pilates workout, I got the vibes, but only after skipping the first track…Jumpin’ Jack Flash? GTHOH with that cover song.
Torn by this album. To start with, it takes an interesting concept of marrying West with Eastern Rock. But it seems to do that only through a couple of random cover songs that shouldn't be covered. And then the rest of it is just straight up boring. I got through it, it was listenable, and a small percentage was interesting.
The nephew of the great Ravi Shankar, he is absolutely shredding the sitar on this. Now why they chose this instead of something from Ravi's catalogue, I can't say. This is really just a bunch of uninteresting sitar covers of popular songs. It also peaks right at the beginning with Jumpin' Jack Flash, hurting the flow of an album that needs those extra points to keep an interest.
very cool tbh didn't realize there were covers, looking at you "light my fire" prob a 3
I can dig some of these tracks, including "Jumpin' Jack Flash." This whole album would definitely be better on acid.
Amazing talent from the seventies. Opened quite a few ears to a different type of string instrument
Indian pop album from early 70s. The cover of Jumping Jack Flash is so so but the cover of Light My Fire is horrible. I could appreciate the rest of the album, such as the 13 minute instrumental track (very nice build up) and especially liked the last song, some folk tune interpretation according to wikipedia, a great way of ending the album.
This is what I imagine the late 60s sounded like. Super psychedelic! While I don’t mind the style of music, it just sounds super dated.
This album isn't particularly ground-breaking today. Maybe it was back in 1970? It sounds awesome, though.
Sitar Vs Synth, unfortunately there are no real winners here. Most of the tracks I enjoyed more before the sitar came in. Jokes aside I did really like the last track, which earns it an extra star.
At the beginning the combination of Indian music with rock music is still interesting, but in the long run it becomes quite tiring.
Ok. At first I thought this could be fun. Sitar instrumentals of famous rock songs. Those were fine. Then we got to Sagar (The Ocean). It’s just sitar jam session. When it ended and the next song started my three-year-old in the back seat even asked if it was the same song again.
Covers were interesting. Otherwise, ok album.
Who knew the Rolling Stones just needed some sitar? I enjoyed this.
Nie takie złe nawet
The covers are so interesting. I like this music, but some of the songs are a bit too long...
Very chill
C'était un bon album. Les covers de Jumpin Jack Flash et Light My Fire étaient plutôt surprenante. Un peu unidimensionnel mais j'aimais comment j'avais l'impression de voyager avec les sonorité de cet album. 6/10
Odd album but I quite enjoyed this. Last heard a sitar at a graduation ceremony at the end of last year and in the right hands it can be very pleasant. Not quite sure how I feel about this being rock and roll covers, and I’m not sure I could ever go to 5 stars here. But it’s OK
A milestone in raga rock. Sagar is great
What a trip. The 'Light My Fire' cover through me for a loop.
I'm glad I had the opportunity to listen to some sitar music. It has a very unique sound that's able to create a certain mood that traditional Western instruments can't. I found the fusion of sitar with synthesizer very interesting. I'm not generally a fan of putting covers on an album. I love standalone covers when the new artist puts their own unique spin on it. But it feels unoriginal and a bit pandering to put them on albums, which I feel should be representative of the artist's own ideas and personality. In this case they only served to pull me out of that mood that this album otherwise does a good job of creating.
Favourite songs: Metamorphosis, Light My Fire, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Mamata (Affection), Raghupati Least favourite songs: Dance Indra 3/5
Obviously talented and like the effort to integrate some of the current hits of the day Just not my thing
Almost a Tonk…liked the covers.
I definitely didn’t have version of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Light My Fire” with sitars on my bingo card for this project, but here we are. This was good. Entirely my thing? Not really. But good. It’s hard to argue with the musicianship. It goes a little off track at times (Sagar, namely), and while it’s always atmospheric, it also sometimes just lingers a little too long on a specific theme. But hey, for all I know that’s a hallmark of this genre of music. This gets three stars because, for the most part, I don’t necessarily love it but I have to admire the musicianship, effort, and creativity that went into it. Standout tracks: Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Snow Flower, Light my Fire, Metamorphosis
I kind of dig the Moog meets Sitar aspect of this album. The cover was... awful but thankfully was only one track. Overall I think this is alright, if not forgettable. I wouldn't listen to this again and didn't add any of these tracks to my favorites but this is okay overall.
listened on 3/19, 2x - nice mainly instrumental sound 3.1
Loved
It is very gimmicky. Not bad, but "famous songs played with sitar" gets old before the album is done.
Nice covers revisited with indian vibes, I won't have them in 1001 best album ever tho, lack a bit of originality?
Nice to get some non-western representation here. Beautiful music.
What a classic album from the talented Shankar family vaults. I've listened to this album a handful of times and there are several tracks that I like a lot here. Bridging the gap between Indian traditional music and Western music is something that was certainly popularized by the Beatles, but the Shankar family continues doing this work. Just last week, Anoushka Shankar released the beautiful single New Dawn.
Multiple times now I’ve gotten excited for a fusion of western rock and traditional Indian music, and multiple times I’ve been disappointed. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Light My Fire” were fun, but once the novelty effect wears off it gets boring.
The sitar is such a cool instrument. Had a lot of fun listening to this album.
Love the guitar on this. Past that... not much else to love I guess.
Speaking purely from a "did-I-enjoy-this-record" standpoint, this was much better than his uncle's The Sounds of India. I appreciated that he covered The Rolling Stones and The Doors, because it's more fun to listen to something you already know. Ananda's originals were pretty cool too. The best way to describe this record is that it's interesting. You get a peek into another culture. My favorite here is Mamata - a very pleasant, ambient song. The rest kind of drag on a bit (especially that 13-minute track), but I could never hate becoming exposed to this stuff.
Really interesting. I liked the Western song covers less than the other stuff, they felt a little too gimmicky.
I actually enjoyed this
lol what
3.5/5. OG indie rock.
This is pretty dope. Some fun takes on popular songs like "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Light My Fire". Shankar gets some funky sounds out of the sitar and it's not music I'd normally listen to but I enjoyed it. It couldn't be any more of a 70s-type of music
Disappointing entry for this type of music, focused on covers of western songs that didn’t really do it for me. But the original ocean locked me in, and over all love the sound. This illustrates the unspoken requirement of this list to be western music; a version of this instrument/style that wasn’t western covers would’ve been better
kuuluisan ravi shankar veljenpoika. helmoilla, hameenhelmilla sortunut länsimaiseen papskaan. covereita, cover - lauluja länsimaista... onneksi tulee vähän india musiikkia loppupäätä kohti, the strongest chord progression mechanisms. in the world... sagar
Not expecting Jumping Jack Flash. Was expecting the following twingy twangy
interesting stuff and a neat concept for an album. unfortunately i didn't enjoy it as much as i had hoped i would, given the synopsis and message on the front cover. the 13-minute song was particularly not to my taste, and regrettably the only two tracks that really stuck with me were the covers. i did love the use of sitar + moog synthesizer in general though. not sure if I'll come back to the other tracks here honestly. favorites: jumpin' jack flash, light my fire
Although I'm struggling to understand the reasoning for including it on this list, I can't find too many faults with this album. It's a cover-heavy sitar album that might've had George Harrison creaming in his pants, but it's a mood lifter and a welcome blend of popular western and eastern music at the time.
Eastern traditionalism meets Western sensibility in this synth- and sitar-fused raga rock reclamation project.
The first track was disappointing, but I thought the album got better from there. Although it was interesting and pleasant enough, it didn’t leave much of an impression.
Not my cup of tea but an interesting listen.
One of the nicer sitar based music I’ve heard
Interesting listen, have never heard sitar mixed w psychedelic 'rock'. A lil much for me at parts but was a cool listen.
3/5. Definitely a fun thought experiment. Feels like bardcore with a sitar instead of a lyre. I enjoyed this one, especially the covers and jam session with Sagar. It had a good mix of multiple ideas but still felt like they were trying to stuff out, nothing solidified yet. He can damn sure play that Sitar though, going ham in those solos.
A blend of rock, sitar, moogs and go-go backing vocals. Probably the kind of record DJs and crate diggers would cream themselves over. It's ok in small doses - a whole album is a bit much. Best Tracks: Jumpin' Jack Flash; Light My Fire; Mamata (Affection)
Wasn’t expecting much as the opening track kicked in, thought it would just be a bunch of sitar cover versions. However, the original tracks are pretty good; Sagar (The Ocean) is pretty epic.
It's an interesting idea to front-load an album of sitar music with covers of favorites, then transition to more standard sitar music. I got Ananda's father, Ravi Shankar, earlier in the list with a similar idea to introduce western audiences to the sitar (though his was more an explanation of what he was playing, which I found to be a great idea). It's fine, and I appreciate the use of western instruments throughout. Favorite tracks: "Metamorphosis", "Sagar (The Ocean)"
Not a favourite but amusing and definitely worth a listen
I've come to listen to this album quite a lot, especially when driving. I never knew sitar could be so funky. Nevertheless, it's very gimmicky. After a couple of songs you're good for a couple of days.
This is a cool album, but kind of a one-trick pony. That jumpin jack flash cover is something else though. THATS what covers are supposed to be - a different take on an established song that really stands out on its own. Anyway, not bad but nothing youll listen to twice. 3/5
I groaned so loudly when I saw this pop up, but actually it's nice. I like the covers on here unlike some others, particularly Jumpin' Jack Flash. I like all the weird spacey sounds. I'm not sure about the extended 13 minute track, but overall it's a really chill album.
Cool mix of genres, the sitar version of Light My Fire was awesome. (3.5/5)
it's okay ig. wish there was more variety in the instrumentation ig. idk 6.4/10
I like the first half of this one a lot, but the second half is pretty boring. Both of the covers on side one are done really well. I love the general style of mixing the sitar and indian influence with both the Stones and the Doors. It's super unique. Favorites were Light My Fire and Metamorphosis.
I really enjoyed this until track 6. It lost me at track 6. I would have rated this 4 stars but since I didn't care for it after track 5 I am going with 3.
Well, that was different. After the first track I thought I'd end up enjoying this album, but unfortunately it all started to blend together for me. Kudos for coming up with something new and different, but I don't think it ultimately worked all that well even though it wasn't bad. 2.5.
light my fire cover really good
Umm. Space sitar psychedelic rock. Interesting. I can't decide whether its better or worse with the 2 covers...
What a cool fusion of sounds! Guess I’m a fan of the sitar now. 3.1
Absolutely not something I would reach for, but this fusion of sitar and moog works pretty well, though it can never completely escape the whiff of cheese.
trance inducing, chanting, a solid trip !
Fun album I would not have hard otherwise.
I liked to begin with but got kinda sick of as it went on
Good effort. Kinda interesting. Wish I could do 2.5
Not some thing, I would typically listen to, but that is the beauty of this app. I felt like the first half of the album was really good, and then unfortunately the second half got a little bit slower. Overall still a really great album, especially as background music while working. Favorite songs - Snowflower, mamata, raghupati
I really wanted to give it a 2. It's just covers without any lyrics. But damn, it is definitely better than a 2. Good background/working music.
Good but not great, interesting but very short, unlike anything from the west but repetitive, a mass of contradictions and sitar. The couple of rock covers were very cool, but limited replay value. I liked it, but didn't love it; probably because I don't know enough to appreciate the style and genre.
Dishoom had one of these songs on their album, which is neat. Pretty great sitar jams
Interesting. Weird cover of Jumpin' Jack Flash but also some original indian style almost psychedelic music. Felt stuff listening to it but wouldn't really listen again.
Certainly a record from the time.
Decent.
I was a bit worried about this one, then read the review in this site and thought maybe I’m right to be. You know, the first few tracks were cool with the electric rhythm guitars and other arrangements. Then it just sort of coasted after that. Not a bad listen, but it didn’t blow me away.
Fun to hear the covers of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Light My Fire" played with sitar. "Sagar (The Ocean)" is a standout track too -- a 13-minute build-up with some nice shredding at the end! A nice, jammy, easy to listen to album of Indian-rock fusion.
It's easy to arrive at one door that lends to a tossed off thought that amounts to forgetfulness. It is another to arrive at that door, get inside and find some gems and there are plenty of gems in this self-titled sitar mastery from Ananda Shankar. Surely the 60s and its marriage of Indian and Anglo music was dwindling but it couldn't have been noticed here. Obligatory nods to the best rock bands of the day abound but the album should be best remembered for its beyond beautiful and fascinating Sagar, which is more than worthy of its admission price. Favorites: Jumpin' Jack Flash, Mamata (Affection), Sagar (The Ocean), Dance Indra, Raghupati.
Niet helemaal geluisterd, maar dik. Paar dikke covers
I was just reading about Ananda Shankar earlier this week after I was assigned Nora Jones's album, but before then, I'd never heard of him or this album. This album was a nice listen, with the two cover songs being my favorite tracks. Ananda's goal with this album is printed right on the cover, and I think he succeeded in that aim. Even though only two of the songs were covers of already popular songs, when I was listening to the other songs, my brain was trying to convince me that there was something familiar with them too. I'm not the biggest fan of the sitar's sound, but I still enjoyed listening to this album, especially since it was a unique combination of western and eastern music.
-never heard of this artist or album -but im excited to hear this -already this sound is so COOL -would love to hear some singing personally -but its fine this is so neat -i’ve said it once and i’ll say it again: I LIKE LYRICS! AND SINGING! -loving light my fire tho -omg was not expecting the last song to have a voice in it -i did enjoy this album, but i didn’t love it or hate it -overall it was a beautiful sound throughtout the whole album, lack of lyrics is part of the low rating
I actually like Indian music, and I like rock music that has Indian influence, but this somehow isn't working for me. It almost sounds like a joke at times, with the sitar trying to play the lead part of songs like Jumpin' Jack Flash. I did enjoy some of the more traditional Indian-sounding songs though, like Sagar (The Ocean) and Metamorphosis. 3 stars.
“Did you know the Beatles discovered India?” “Ever hear that George Harrison invented the sitar for “Norwegian Wood”?” “You know about raga rock, which was all cool and psychedelic because it was a bit foreign-sounding?” And so it goes on. A lot of popular music discourse seems to centre so much on Western artists slapping a sitar on their tracks that we rarely seem to hear about it the other way: Indian musicians bringing Western influences into their work. This album of Ananda Shankar’s is worth hearing for this reason alone. It was 1970, psychedelia was already on the way out, and Shankar was aiming to combine his traditional instrument, the sitar, with dominant trends in western music (rock, psychedelia, the Moog synthesiser). As a result, the opening song on the record is an ear-grabbing cover of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, the sitar covering the lead vocal line. Two tracks later, we have the same with a drowsy arrangement of the Doors’ “Light My Fire”. While these covers are perfectly serviceable, overall they come off as a distraction, shoehorned in by Shankar to bridge a gap between cultures. Of course, we shouldn’t blame Shankar too much for taking steps to bring his music to a wider audience. It’s just that he shouldn’t have worried too much, as the original and traditional material here outclasses it in almost every way. The traditional “Snow Flower” is delicate and elegant, with some lovely atmospheric keyboard work. “Mamata (Affection)” is an unlikely pairing of sitar with bossa-nova: soothing and strange, it has to be heard to be believed. And although “Sagar (The Ocean)” is a bit of a lull, we recover in full force with the softly menacing “Dance Indra” and the communal, high-spirited singalong in “Raghupati” (the best track of all, it could run and run). Shankar’s playing feels nuanced and emotive, managing to not bore me throughout the album even if the songs around it were sagging slightly. “Ananda Shankar” is unlikely to appeal to anybody who doesn’t appreciate the sitar, but I’m glad to have had the chance to hear this. And of course, today I have learned that The Beatles did not invent Indian music. Shock!
I didn't know it was possible to shred this hard on a sitar. Really fun album.
Quite good. Nice tunes. Good to put on in the background
Killer first track
Meh
This is such an interesting record. A sitar driven album that features a couple of dope covers and some REALLY cool songs native to Ananda’s native India. I certainly haven’t ever heard of something of like this before. Check this one out!
This album was pretty interesting. Not really a fan of a whole album of sitar, but that's probably just my western music - trained ear. A nice bit of variety from the typical 70's white man rock on this list.
i've heard different versions of "jumpin' jack flash" before, is this the original? goes extremely hard still. a little bit long for what it wants to do, "sagar (the ocean)" especially doesn't need to be 13 minutes long. but there's some really nice stuff here too, so it evens out enough.
For some reason I was familiar with this cover of Jumpin' Jack Flash and really liked roughly the first half of this album. It started dragging a bit at the end. Not too shabby, though!
I like most of it, but the 13+ minutes Sagar is booooring. Favorite song: snow flower.
Did not hate this half as much as I thought I might!
Really enjoyed the first half of covers but the second half of original material was a bit grating. Nice change though thanks ananda
An interested spin on Indian music, probably an easier introduction for a western listener, being interlaced with some late 60s rock elements. Great exposure, but hard to put on on a whim.
Amusant d'initier les gens avec des reprises de chansons connues. Me semble quand même un peu lourd et répétitif, parfois dissonant.
difficult to appreciate
Have had a very 1960s day catching up on my list - The Mamas and The Papas, The Monks, and now this. All totally different but great in their own way. I like the original tunes; not so keen on the cover versions, but can see how this might have helped Ananda Shankar get an audience back in the day. It's going on my Working playlist.
Disappointment. The doors/stones covers are very bland, Side B picks up with some interesting tracks with fleshed out concepts
I like thought! Scitar by Shankar.
It's not groundbreaking, but it's not as bad as people are saying. There's only one Rolling Stones cover and a Doors cover and they're both more interesting than a lot of the covers of those songs. The whole idea is to mix modern electronic instruments with the traditional sitar. The sitar definitely overpowers the rest in most songs.
I can imagine having this as a slightly ironically cool album in the 90s to put on the background of a gathering, but come on, it's ridiculous. Not BAD, per se, but just... very very silly.
Favour tracks: jumpin jack flash; light my fire
Nice vibes of a cross between traditional sitar and psychedelic rock. Kind of washed over but it was nice. The synthesizer parts were a pleasant surprise. Really illustrates that the combo can work and I’m surprised I haven’t heard it more often.
If you like 60 minutes of sitar, this is for you.
All over the place. I enjoyed the Stones cover, some of the songs were a lot of fun, but some, particularly the 13-minute long Sagar, dragged quite a bit. The best of this album is really great, but as a whole I wasn't a huge fan. At least give the Jumpin' Jack Flash and Light My Fire covers a change, and maybe Snow Flower as well.
It was decent reading music.
I enjoyed this album. It's a cool bit of "fusion" - but as cool as Jumpin Jack Flash and Light My Fire were, it's really just someone else's song played with different instruments. The original pieces were actually a little more interesting.
Raga Rock, Rock with an Indian influence. Covers Jumping Jack Flash and Light My Fire very well. The rest of the album is sweet and easy to listen to and enjoy - with or without a doobie. 3/5
Mellow Indian sitar jams. Loved the Stones cover, and the Doors song was ok too. A westernized take on the Indian sound.
This is an interesting mix of sitar and electronics. I definitely preferred the arrangements that were more 'traditional' and maintained emphasis on the sitar. That said, and on the whole, this was a good listen.
3.4
Never heard this before. When I started listening I was very excited, and I really wanted it to be one of those rare gems. But it wasn't as good as I had hoped, it became a bit too monotonous for me I think with the songs being hard to distinguish from each other. I think it worked well as a mood setter though, and it was nice to have on in the background as a variety from the usual stuff I listen to. It was definitely not bad, but didn't capture me as I had hoped either. Plus points for being different though!
This album was much more enjoyable than I initially thought. I love the mixing of Western and Indian music styles. The sitar sounds amazing backed by bass, drums, and background vocals. Favorite songs: Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Light My Fire, Mamata (Affection), and Metamorphosis.
Interesting idea but not great. something that would catch my attention at a restaurant or cafe
very 70s lol. but pros for sitar. forgettable, 3 stars imo re how it connected with me.
Reckon George Harrison loved this. Personally quite liked a few of the covers early on. The lengthier, more classical Indian stuff was alright too. However, having had a (brief) Ravi Shankar phase as a teen (dont watch) those numbers didn't really compete with the old master in terms of richness and ultimate zen-ness. Raghupati was great though, a brilliantly executed fusion. My new favourite record by an Indian. If the album had stayed on that path this could have got a really high score. 3.5
AJ: it’s a gas!!! Weed helps. Very cool album. Cool to read he hung out with Hendrix. 13 minute The Ocean, yo. Wicked cool. Weed helps. Cat: this is great! Heavy rock elements with sitar and minor modes, complex rhythms. Love the additional instruments too (especially clarinet)!
I liked this and the fusion of sitar with the cutting age synth technology of the era was surprisingly effective. The music though seemed under-ambitious, most evidenced by the two pedestrian covers of over-exposed rock hits.
Not sure how a album of covers is a top 1001 smh
Interesting for sure but not something I would want to listen to on a regular basis...
Weird sitar covers of old pop 2.5
- unexpected. Have it on in the background and then suddenly will realize I know the song
Metamorphosis is a five- star banger that just keeps building. This was quite enjoyable.
It turned out to be a pretty impressive melding of western rock with sitar and traditional Indian music. I was disappointed in the two cover songs since they felt like Ananda sold out to add more sales to the record, but most of the others are pretty cool and groovy. 6/10
Did not like the covers of Jumpin' Jack Flash or Light My Fire, the other more traditional Indian songs were great though.
Nice palate cleanser.
Pretty neat but instrumentals can only do so much for me. Light my Fire and Raghupati were fun. I’ll keep this album in mind if I do any psychedelics.
This was a pretty fun listen. I liked the covers and enjoyed the traditional stuff too. I don’t have much to compare it to but I had a good time listening to it
When I saw this I wasn’t going to listen at first. Then I saw Jumpin Jack Flash was the opening track so I was curious. I actually thought it was pretty good. A couple of interesting covers and the rest was ok too.
We’ve all heard 60s rock incorporating elements of Indian music, but I’ve never heard the reverse until now. This was interesting, but at its best on the songs that were not rock covers. I’m glad I heard this, but would not listen again.
Niet verkeerd, maar het gitaar achtige instrument wordt na een paar nummers heel irritant en lijkt op een jammerende kat
I liked the covers, but the middle was not my favorite style.
Catchy fun!
Interesting stuff, but I don't care for the Indian music.
This is what I wish were more on the list. I never had heard of this artist (but I know his uncle) and this was a really interesting take on some rock songs mixed with Indian music. I won't say it was super successful but it's worth the price of admission and something that I enjoyed listening to.
An Eastern flavored “Light My Fire” and “Jumpin Jack Flash”. The other tracks are a bit more loose and don’t grab my attention.
some sitar covers of known rock song. Not a bad way to start my day but nothing I'm going to seek out.
Some good jamming moments but I’ll most likely never come back to this record.
I have to admit I listened to this one a few tracks at a time as opposed to all in one sitting. I think that may have made it drag a little bit less than expected. However much I adore instrumental covers, I was a little underwhelmed by them this time. Overall, the non-covers were more refreshing but the sitar I can only take so much of, personally.
This is fine.
Enjoyed it. Thought some of the songs and covers were pretty interesting to listen to, and thought it ended with a nice banger.
Too much sitar. This album is relentless sitar.
An interesting listen that kept my attention. The covers of Light My Fire and especially Jumpin Jack Flash were very cool but the hilight is the 13 minute composition Sagar (The Ocean) which has some wich ebbs and flows beautifully. 3 stars
I honestly don’t know how, but this worked to some extent. Not the The Rolling Stones and the Doors covers; those were absolutely horrific. But I was quite impressed with “Snow Flower”, “Sagar (The Ocean)” and “Dance Indra”. I don’t know exactly why, it just worked. That being said, I hope we’re not getting another sitar album the next month.
Trippy sitar tunes
ok
This is very much of its time - from the choice of covers to the mix of Indian music with early synths.
-The covers of "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Light My Fire" are cool -The gets jamming pretty good on "Metamorphosis" -Got pretty slow and sparse in lots of sections. I much preferred "The Sounds Of India" by Ravi Shankar
Can definitely understand why this has strong appeal to the production savvy members of our club. It just sounds so crisp. And I like it as background music! But I'm not about to sit down and listen to 40 minutes straight of the sitar front and center.
This was interesting and I'm glad I've heard it, not necessarily my thing but I appreciated it. Found one of them a bit disturbing and irritating - Dance Indra I think. Actually really enjoyed the 13 min one and how it built- really interesting layers and timbres
Eh
I enjoyed most of this album and would be happy to put it on in the background. By the end, it did feel like it was dragging on a bit too long
While the cover song interpretations were neat to listen to, I'm more interested in the original music. I love being exposed to musically sounds from other cultures and this album was interesting. I'd definitely listen to it again and seek out the rest of his discography.
Bit worried when I saw the cover versions but I ended up enjoying this
Juste pour le light my fire
Probably revolutionary for its time. Worth a listen.
Solid
Pas mal mais 1 point de malus car non occidental
3.5 Right off the bat I was surprised. This is simultaneously nothing like and exactly like what I was expecting. This is what the 60s must’ve sounded like. Really interesting, fun pace for most of it. I can see myself listening again for something different but also safe sounding.
3 I appreciate this list recognizing music outside of Western/English-speaking countries, because not only do I feel like it's typically neglected when it comes to top album discussions and rankings, but I admittedly have also done a really poor job of exploring myself. Granted, this album is a take on Western music (it literally says so on the album cover), but I feel like it's a good stepping stone into venturing out further. Aaand I quite enjoyed it. My guy shreds the sitar in ways I didn't know one could, and I really thought he bridged the gap between two cultures effectively. Both of the covers were really, really good, to the point where I may even say Light My Fire... sounds better on a sitar than on a keyboard? It didn't blow my mind, but it definitely encouraged me to listen to more world music - so an effective record through and through. Favorite songs: Light My Fire, Raghupati, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Metamorphosis
3.5 for me, loved the Rolling Stones and the doors cover, the Sintar mixed with western music was cool
Never listened to something like this before, but I can say I enjoyed it. Not sure if I would ever come back to it though.
While not the biggest sitar fan, this album surprised me as being accessible due to such songs as 'Jumping Jack Flash' and "Light My Fire'. Not for all tastes, but much better than I had anticipated.
Wow, was definitely not expecting that. It was an interesting concept and it's weird that the sitar is so culturally ingrained in my head as a "sixties" sound. Was a bit of a slough to get through though. Good album but not my thing.
This one surprised me, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The sitar and moog work really well together, and the fusion of eastern and western rock music was great. Melodic and familiar at times and almost trance like at others.
Good
This was an interesting album for sure. However, its execution varied throughout. The first few songs were enjoyable; the covers were not nearly as bad as some reviewers were making them out to be. The album did drag towards the middle to the end though and for a short 40 minute album to feel like a drag is not a good sign. This album still gets three stars because it is doing something interesting and fusing two very different styles of music. Though western/Indian music had been incorporated before, it was always from a western artist. Here we see the flip side, an Indian artist incorporating western music into Indian music.
Interesting concept
Well.. It's different that's for sure. I admit I sort of like it and I wasn't even high.
Another “enough is enough” record. Interesting though a few songs and a kind of novelty cover, but couldn’t hold my attention further.
A very intersecting album but exactly what I was looking for in this type/style of album.
An interesting take on popular music using a musical style most were not familiar with? Sure. A must-listen? No. There are more sitar styled albums that should bump this from the list, heck there are more options from people named Shankar. 3/5.
går litt i surr for eg prøve å henta meg inn igjen her, men trur detta va ganske ok?
It was just acceptably there. Made little impact on me.
Yea a really interesting listen
Nice easy listen. The sitar sounds awesome.
Interesting Indian music, not my favorite but I appreciate the sounds.
Enjoyable escape, blend of Western and Eastern music is it called fusion.
Alright, but just sounds a little bland and stereotypical to me
Like others, I'm not too big on those covers, but Raghupati is fantastic, so is Sagar.
De covers zijn wel leuk, maar een sitar-nummer van 13 minuten lang is me er toch wat te veel aan.
Interesante pero cansa
An interesting listen, but the covers make it sound like one of those pan pipes albums you buy outside Pennys
Quite cool actually!
Very interesting and enjoyable.
Interesting take on some western covers, almost a reverse-Beatles effect. An interesting fusion of traditional Indian instruments and rock
Interesting application of rock and Indian tradition, but nothing exceptional throughout.
Positively surprised at first due to the combo of rock and Indian music but as the album progressed, the novelty wore off. Just a decent album, no more
De gick rätt så hårt!! Minus poäng för coverszzz… av ”västerländsk” musik också…🤮
I enjoyed it
Ananda Shankar brings a taste of mainstream to their world music on this effort. With many contemporary songs it is a useful reminder of how connected India and the mysticism movement was to the era and Rock music.
I find this music style really interesting World music , I would say I can listen to this daily but 3
Nice sitar. Pretty easy on the ears and once the groove starts it continues to the end. The 8 songs cruz along and before you know it the album is done. But with that there is no moments of YES!!! or NO!!!.
This was pretty interesting. Was weird to hear the two covers using Indian instruments, thought Light My Fire was awesome. I think I prefer the more traditional tracks on side 2. Overall solid album.
Why is it that any cover version of Light My Fire sounds twee and like muzak? Even the on eon this album. There's a couple of comparatively low points (Light My Fire being one of them) but overall this album is great.
This is fun. I actually listened to this last year without realizing what it was.
different style of music than I'm used to but I can rock with it
Gefällt mir gut.
weird but entertaining.
Interesting listen
3.7 - Sitar music has a way of putting me in a trance. I suppose that’s the point. I felt my mind drifting to a pleasant place. The subtle fusions with rock and Moog are gravy.
Interesting. Enjoyable listen. I like the Sitar blended with modern synth and other instruments. Some good covers of other popular songs from the day.
Interesting world music.
Pretty cool - definitely feels like a record that could only be made in the 60s (yeah, the release date says 1970 but we all know this is the sound of the 60s....). Lots of sitar, not much singing - mostly instrumental. Definitely an interesting record - even if just as a historical document. I found the first half (which seems more rock oriented) more interesting than the second half. Some cool sounds on this record for sure - glad it's on the list but not necessarily something I'll be listening too a lot... unless I start doing a lot of acid.
Fine. For me, certainly more enjoyable than Ravi Shankar's sitar music. But, still not my thing.
Magical
This must be what elevator music in India is like.
it's fine?
My co-judge and I cringed after we recognized the first song was a Stones cover and bolted to the bathroom when we heard Light my Fire, which is tough because we only have one bathroom here. After that things got better, especially on side 2. I find the western orientation in terms of melody/song structure/instrumentation makes him more listenable, though less technically proficient I'm sure, than his uncle. I'm deducting a point for the pop covers, though he certainly wouldn't have made this list without them. A strange choice by the 1001 folks.
3 stars. There has to be better eastern music to use for this list. Kind of making me seasick
The covers I'm aware of on this album ("Jumping Jack Flash" and "Light My Fire") are unnecessary. I enjoyed the rest of the tracks. Not my favorite album though.
The covers are fun, but what I really enjoyed was the second half. This isn't something I'd usually say, but if the 13 minute jam (Sagar) had been the whole album I would've given it 4 stars. I felt like I had a little trip to another world, and that was just sitting at my desk in the office...
Probably won't listen to it again but it was an enjoyable one-off. The Doors cover was the highlight.
Classic Shankar, but didn’t lend itself as well to the modern style as classical
Something of a messy mix here. The covers are quirky. The longer tracks verge on the rambling. Probably best suited to having on in the background.
Okay? A fine listening experience but not something i really seek out. 3.5.
You've got to be bold to turn down making an album with Jimi Hendrix, but when you create an album like this it's easily justifiable. Shankar didn't want to make a straight sitar-guitar focused album, he wanted to truly blend the Indian classical music he was accustomed to at home with the western psychedelic wave that was flourishing in the 60's. Fun rock hits and Moog synthesizer tones really make this a unique and interesting album that I think everybody truly needs to hear at least once in their life. It's peaked my curiosity on Indian music, and I'd say it's accomplished the goal Shankar had when creating this record. While this album isn't the origin of raga rock, I'd say it's the heart of it. Favorite Song: Metamorphosis Least Favorite: Sagar (The Ocean) only because of it's slow start and it's a pretty long song. It's still a great piece, just not one I'd revisit as much.
This was incredibly fun to listen to! Really enjoyed this record, definitely outside of what I’d normally listen to but hey that’s what all this is for, right?
An enjoyable listen. The original compositions were better than the Rolling Stones and Doors covers, which had a bit of an Indian restaurant vibe. Interesting that this was the first fusion of Indian and western rock music, which makes the former more accessible, but has been repeated many times since, so doesn't seem as ground-breaking as it perhaps once was.
// Favs: Jumpin‘ Jack Flash Score Decent 3
very interesting funky noises not gonna lie.
SFIIIINKSS
Classic rock covers at the top were cool, bsides were pretty .... bsidey
George Harrison's Indian fusion songs have never been my favorite, but they're definitely cool, so it's interesting to hear the inverse of that kinda. Also, fun fact, this guy was the nephew of Ravi Shankar, who was a close friend of George's and they played together a whole lot, and Ravi Shankar is also Norah Jones' dad. So this guy is Norah Jones' cousin lol
Shankar achieves the mission statement laid out on the album cover; blending Eastern and Western music with the use of his sitar. 7.6/10
This was fine.
I liked the sound of it, but it was a little repetitive
A fun blend of psychedelic and Eastern sitar music. Very similar to the Beatles' weirder stuff. Some of the music was a little lugubrious for my taste though.
Had a lot of fun with this record, and that cover of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" works insanely well. Cool fusion of Sitar with rock and roll songs before playing some originals.
Ouvir musicas que eu ja conhecia mas com um toque oriental foi bizarro (mas nao ruim)
The covers are fun, but the novelty soon wears off.
Best grappig.
Some of this was good, but honestly, something you'd listen to in the background of a curry house. Muzac.
Interesting! Had worst fears that it was just going to be an album of covers to begin with, but it went into its own thing. Would (and should!) listen again out of curiosity, as its something I had never heard of before and would never have thought to try otherwise.
Enjoyed the covers and the sound was alright but it slowed down a lot in the back half. 6
Soul sitar
Disco muy particular destacando el sitar entre los demas instrumentos, combinando un sonido de la india con algo de rock... las versiones de jumpin jack flash y light my fire están bien, del resto de canciones solo salvaría Metamorphosis. Puntuacion 2,5/5.
Interesting sound but nothing transcendental
I had to listen in 2 sessions as Amy came in and said, "that music is making me homicidal"
Quelque bonnes tounes, le sitar n’est pas utilise comme une toune 100% mais plus pop. 3.5*
Rock music but with a sitar. The second half of the album you could very well get completely lost in if you were in the right headspace *wink wink*
not much to write home about, great instrumentals, novelty covers and thats kinda it.
Oh no please not Sitar music. Edit: I was very wrong god has blessed me with rolling stones songs but with Sitar. Life is good. Covers are the only good songs.
Holy shit this is such a fun album - kind of gimmicky but really really enjoyable
Very mellow, good transcription of Indian and American music from the 70s overall cool sounds 3.3
This was great.
Well… cool I suppose. The novelty wears pretty thin after a couple tracks though.
Very zen and kind of trippy i don’t mind it
This was probably a celebrated album in the 1970's. The sitar's sound was very unique to the sounds of the day. The album featured a few covers of recently popularized songs. The recording quality is good. Would I pay money to own this album? No.
2.75. This was different and I'm glad I listened, but probably wouldn't go back and listen. I do like the traditional sounding Indian instruments
Have some songs on a Spotify playlist
Classic rock style with heavy Indian influence, decent listen
5.5-6/10 FT: Raghupati
This kind of hippie stuff appeals to me right now, mix of Indian sitar stuff and guitars. Not annoying like desi pop. I'm sure this guy is a god to devotees of the Bellingen global festival haha. 3/5.
Favorite Song: Metamorphosis Least Favorite: Snow Flower
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.
*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
Olipahan mielenkiintoiselta kuullostavaa levy. Eka cover ”Jumpin’ Jack Flash” kohotti odotukset, mutta sitten lässähti. Ei oikein maistunut, vaikka sitar on hieno soitin.
I love a bit of sitar but not really convinced by this…
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*
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
It wasn’t bad it’s just not my genre. 4/10
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.
Less of a revelation than a novelty
The covers were often fun. The pure sitar songs are a fucking SLOG.
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.
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
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.
Not great, Bob!
Music that i listened to before I die, not sure I needed to though...
not my kinda thing
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
For a sitar cover band it’s pretty good. But who asked for a sitar cover band?
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.
Kind of putting me to sleep while I was working...
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.
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.
There is a certain difference between an interesting album and a novelty album. This one is the latter.
Barely a 2. Hate albums of rock covers featuring an off-the-beaten-path instrument. The originals were meh.
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.
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?
This was on Dr Dimento, wasn't it? I think I probably could have died without hearing sitar covers of the Rolling Stones.