The Sounds Of India

This is bearable for all of about 5 minutes before I desperately want to turn it off forever. A little goes a long way with this album. I’ve had to listen to probably about 5 albums from India at this point over the course of this project, including a soundtrack from a Bollywood film. I can confidently tell you that this is the worst out of all of them. I find it admirable that in the 1950’s a single Indian man was eager to share his music with the world. That’s very cool, and I respect the hell out of it. I’m sure that Ravi Shankar was a very cool guy, and I think that for the time this album might have been an interesting listen. But I have made it my quest to listen to every album on this list, uninterrupted, at the bare minimum one time through completely. This one was tough to get through even the bare minimum one time. It’s just an hour of the same guy playing a sitar, and I don’t even know what my “favorite” song is, because it sounds the exact same for the entire hour, interrupted briefly by Ravi explaining what he is doing. Again, it’s admirable, but it’s a lot. I actually really like Indian music when it’s not just the traditional sitar the entire time, but this was all substance and absolutely no style to be had whatsoever. There is no way I am going to be returning to this one when I’ve already heard now multiple much better albums from India. And I do like what I’ve heard. But this is just a lot, and it’s so repetitive, and I can’t say I enjoyed it all that much. If the reasoning for making the album wasn’t so admirable, I’d probably rate this a 1. But at the bare minimum, this album is at least bearable to make it through, even if I have no reason to ever return to it. For those reasons, I’m going to be rating this album a very low 2 out of 5, and promptly forget about it in its entirety by tomorrow at the latest. I would question why it’s on here at all, but the author has a proclivity to add plenty of albums from other countries that he deems important to listen to, so I understand why it’s here. But if this is your first experience with the Indian albums, I can assure you that it gets much, much better than this. This may be a good introductory album on what Indian music sounds like, but it’s also stripped completely bare, and lacks a solid enough reason to actually listen to more than a few minutes of it at a time. If you’re in to the sitar, man have I got an album for you!! For everyone else, there’s Mastercard, err, I mean, there’s better albums. Yeah, that’s what I meant. It’s a 2 out of 5. My “favorite” song, in copious amounts of air quotes is “Máru-Bihág”, which I basically just picked at random. I have nothing nice to say about it. Ok, that’s all I have to say about this one. Luckily it wasn’t my Friday album, I say tempting fate once again. Until next time.

I do not care for Indian music.

some really excellent virtuosic playing. the trio are all absolutely locked in, and the selections are pretty solid. only real drag is the recording quality but that's 1957 for ya

Sitar toliko probije mozak kad se dugo sluša... I ovi opisi su mi bili pomalo smor.

Good album! I really liked how the tracks have short introductions that explain the methods behind the playing. Favourite track: Sindhi-Bhairavi

I wanted to give this a higher rating and I admire Shankar's attempt to teach western audiences about Indian music. But, damn, this is the most boring album I've heard in this whole thing. It literally drones on and on, just the man and his sitar, playing on...and on. I know that he was a hero to George Harrison and he's Nora Jones' father, but one song would have been enough, not over 50 minutes.

Easily wins for most educational album on here. I'm not a musical theory guy, even with Western styles, so i guess my problem with this is that the teaching format made me want to understand what was going on, and I intellectualized too much. And the way I enjoy music is to feel it- I didnt feel this and I didnt enjoy it. Appreciate how good of a sitarist he was and ive always liked the sound of the tabla but not my cup of tea, preferred Call of the Valley, which just jumps right into it.

I'm getting steadily into ICM now (mostly morning ragas, which tend to be my favorite) so I have a growing frame of reference now for what I like and don't like (the music that center on droning instruments mostly). Shankar is basically performing examples of various Indian scales here, and the music trades in some creativity for educational functionality. Shankar still shows his chops as do the tabla and tamboura players, so there's enough to enjoy here on it's own merits.

Hypnotic. I could listen to this all day. Had the privilege of seeing him live almost 42 years ago. A master of his craft.

I think everyone needs to watch Shankar's performance at Monterey Pop

I think it's great that he decided to make an instructional album to demonstrate traditional Indian music and clearly he's a very talented sitar player. But to my ears tuned to western music it sounded like 50 mins of jamming that didn't really go anywhere from where it started. It's kind of calm and soothing but I can't imagine I'll revisit it.

I really appreciate the effort Shankar took to educate people about Indian music. It’s always seemed so alien and unreadable to my western ears and even more so for contemporary listeners. This changed George Harrison’s life path.

I have read Ravi Shankar many times before (like on The Concert for Bangladesh) but never heard this album before. It's set up like an introduction to classic Indian music lesson and it works that way. Probably good background music but it doesn't really attract me or hold my attention.

the cowards in the other reviews will never understand the beauty of the sitar. they will not survive the wilderness. 7/10 FAVOURITE SONG: DADRA

I have the album "The Genius of Ravi Shankar" from 1972. It includes parts of the album "Sounds of India," and I have to admit that even back then, the introductions really got on my nerves. Nevertheless, the music is fantastic. And I think Shankar's influence on Western music is undeniable. I like the music, the songs from the 60s and 70s where the sitar appears. However, it must be said that all of that is a product of its time, and I think its relevance today can be disregarded, with a few exceptions. But in world and fusion music, it certainly still has its significance and function. On this album, there's currently too much sitar and Indian music for my taste, but as I said, I find the occasional accents wonderful.

Ravi Shankar et Shivkumar Sharma dans la même semaine. Les résultats d'hier aux United Snakes of America. Peut-on dire qu'il y a toujours de l'espoir dans le monde?

regardez moi comment ça a l'air compliqué ce gros instrument là. Ça sonne si bien le sitar et le tabla!

Vraiment cool avec les explications de monsieur Shankar. J'ai pratiquement rien compris mais j'ai quand même été envouté

Thanks for the introduction, but I'll just sit through it and wait till it's over.

Interesting but not for me.

I appreciated the tutorial-like nature of this album, even if it did break up the flow of music. I hope to see more world music in this godforsaken list, but in less of an introductory format like this album was. Let me experience the breadth of the music the world has to offer, Dimery. Or else.

2.0

My introduction to Indian music and the instruments. The opening song always reminds me of a scorching summer day where you can see the heat simmering up from the tarmac.

뭔가 처음에는 그냥 그랬는데 들을 수록 마음이 편해지는 느낌의 연주곡 이었다. At first, it didn’t make much of an impression, but the more I listened to this instrumental piece, the more at ease I felt.

Рави Шанкар - фигура, безусловно, значимая не только для индийской музыки, но и для мировой музыки в целом. Один из главных вдохновителей и учителей "тихого битла" Джорджа, по сути, тот одним из первых в западной/европейской рок и поп музыки внедрил звучание ситара, все началось на Rubber Soul а закончилось тем, что ситар начали использовать множество других музыкантов в рага-роке, психоделическом роке, прог-попе, да и в целом, вся эта тема с индией, медитациями, просвещением и учениями стала модна в богемной тусовке 60-х, во многом благодаря вдохновленными битлами от Шанкара и Индии, в целом. Альбом в своей концепции безумно прост, в начале Шанкар дает нам некие tips&tricks в четырехминутной вступительной части, а далее идёт больше 40 минут искусной игры на инструменте.

I think this is here for historical significance. The talking was a bit distracting but educational. I liked the music otherwise, 4*

# Album Name: The Sounds Of India # Artist: Ravi Shankar # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Some nice sounds but way too long and repetitive # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No

Odd album with lots of talking during it in between songs. Not my cup of tea.

The only people that ever cared about this kind of music were doped up on LSD

This 1957 album is in the genre of Hindustani classical music. For me, this is one of those albums in the project that force you to listen to something you normally wouldn't. I found the brief explanations of this music vs. western music to be interesting. And the instruments (sitar and tambura) create a unique sound introduced to many westerners by George Harrison. But this music on its own isn't for me. Each song is basically an improvised solo on a sitar in a particular scale with the constant background drone of the tambura.

It was fine to play in the background

Talking at the start was cool. Didn't love the music

Important album for sure and no question of the level of musicianship, but as someone coming to this music from a rock/pop sensibility i feel like I would have to spend a lot of time with it to really understand it.

into the world

The record that introduced Indian classical music to a generation of Western listeners — Shankar’s spoken introductions explaining raga structure and rhythmic cycles a deliberate bridge across a genuine cultural distance. George Harrison heard it and went to study with Shankar, which tells you what it did to people encountering it fresh and open. The sitar playing and the tabla dialogue are extraordinary on their own terms, the improvisation within the raga framework operating with an internal logic that rewards the listener who can find the entry point. The honest limitation is that the entry point takes time to develop, and a tradition this far outside the musical world that shaped everything else in this project creates a distance that respect alone can’t close. Not a failure of the record — a fair description of where the listening ear currently lives. A three that acknowledges genuine importance without pretending to a love that isn’t there yet.

Some cool sounds but not a great album for me.

Thursday, 22 October, 2026 Interesting…but I don’t need 50 plus minutes of sitar music.

Idk. I enjoyed it. Maybe a tad long, but not bad at all.

As heard on George Harrison... Also sowohl verstehe ich, dass man für den Westen™ ein 4 Track Album aufnimmt und es dann Sounds of India nennt, obwohl es klassische nordindische Musik, als auch finde ich es ziemlich abstossend, in diesem Kontext über Musik nachzudenken. Wenn schon 1001 Alben absurd ist, wie krude ist dann "und eins davon ist the Sounds of India von dem einen indischen Musiker den man so kennt, Quote erfüllt, nächstes Pink Floyd -adjacent Album bitte."

Educational & influential, The Sounds of India is a deliberate attempt on the part of Ravi Shankar to introduce Indian music to Western ears. B/c I know virtually nothing about this music, I have no idea if this is the best the genre has to offer or just the most palatable for the West. All I do know is that it's really, really enjoyable to listen to. The whole experience is pretty uncanny. It's somehow incredibly frantic, decidedly improvisational, mind-clearing, thought-provoking, & fabulously peaceful. It's always & ne'er changing, it drones but doesn't drone out or fall apart. +, it succeeds in developing an interest in the music I didn't have before. Like, uh-oh, I'm now gonna have to learn all 'bout Hindustani classical music, certainly a bottomless pursuit.

Very interesting intro to Indian music.

Sitar slop

Not my thing, but I guess it is good

I enjoy Ravi Shankar's music. Thank you, Beatles, for introducing me to him!

Imagine a world that has never heard a sitar or unique beats of Hindustani music. And now pretend that you are bold and talented enough to explain that to the entire Western world in a beautiful assortment of music.

i dont know what u want me to say this was a lesson and it was kinda cool but it wasnt like an album broseph

I appreciated the little introduction, when he said don't expect to hear any harmonies like in western music I did think Oh those are my favourite bits. I kept losing focus throughout the album, with their not being chord progressions and just drones, the sort if limited sonic pallete of just sitar and percussion, I struggled to focus on Shankar's sitar playing apart from a few moments towards the end of each track where he'd step it up a bit. My favourite was Sindhi-Bhairavi, maybe because the tintaal was the closest to a typical Western 4/4 it felt a bit more familiar.

Ok, so I'm not a fan of Indian music. But, this is more engaging than the pan flute stuff Zamfir puts out. Happy I heard it, and don't plan to come back to it.

Лекция, которую я бы прогуливал

I bet it's excellent, but it's not for me

like its fine? Just like an hour of sitar playing. Not bad or anything, just very samey. Could be good for some background music, but not really the highest praise in the world

nice to hear a different sound

No chance

ngl the parts where he's talking about counting in 14th's etc were pretty interesting

Interesting but not my thing at all.

This probably is an album you should listen to because it was so influential. Today, the sound is familiar and doesn’t need the narration - making this not quite what it must have been to western ears 60 or 70 years ago.

rate

This was super interesting. It’s almost like a textbook on Indian music with the explanations of how everything works and rundowns on all the instruments. Not to mention the music itself is great. This was a really cool experience.

Phenomenal

Idk why but we've gotten a lot of Indian music recently. This was alright and a good mix up from the usual list music, but it was long and a little plain for my liking.

I can't understate the impressive feat pulled by this guy in convincing a whole movement of hippie culture that his music should define their generation. I know very little about Hindu and Indian music, but it sounds to me like Shankar simply gaslit his audience into thinking that disorganized and unending sitar solos are the keystone to all music of his culture, and that anyone who doesn't appreciate his self-indulgent style of music is merely close-minded. This guy is the "Anyway, here's Wonderwall" guy of Indian music.

Neat.

Soundtrack to take away curry

What next, the instructional VHS for "How to set up the IBM System/36 (Model 5360 / 5362) server? My MiL is a yoga teacher and even she doesn't subject me to this. He's right on one thing, this shouldn't be compared to jazz. Jazz is good. I checked twice that I didn't have this on 1.5* speed. I've had more relaxing stress dreams. I'm sure he's very talented, and adored, but there are bagpipe players holding their ears listening to this, and those fuckers listen Bagpipes all day.

I feel like I can’t in good faith rate this because it doesn’t seem to be made to be an entertainment listening experience as much as a didactic instrument. It was interesting but I don’t know this type of music enough to rate it. I can’t say I particularly enjoyed it or would want to hear it again. It also kind of gave me anxiety, and my cats became agitated - can’t tell if they like it or also got anxious. 2.5?

oooookei lets not .... para gustos colores

So this is what George Harrison was on about. The introduction is helpful - yes, you should be in the right frame of mind before giving it a listen.

так вот чем упоролся харрисон прежде чем ему открылись все духовные чакры не осуждаю, 3.5

I never critically listened to Indian music. I know Indian music, and can recognise it, but I never learned its principles. this album aimes exactly at this: teach the listener some basics of the Indian music theory and building blocks. however, apart from its educational purposes, I didn't enjoy the music itself. it was too repetitive, and I think I won't listen to this album again

This was great! I get why George Harrison changed his life over it lol

Likte tutorial i begynnelsen. Lurer på hvorfor dette almvumet var på listen? Liksom en oppsummering eller introduksjon. Påvirket den mye musikk senere, denne spesifikke platen liksom?

Loved a bit of sitar back in the day in my Beatles revolver phase, but not sure I can do a whole album

This dude is Norah Jones' dad?

1.8

Def interesting I just don’t think I’m at the best level of understanding to fully appreciate it.

9/28/26. Need to put a pin on this one so I can give a full, dedicated listen. Challenging listen at first since it's outside my Western bubble, but really appreciated the short lessons and explanations throughout. Maybe this can be my entry to another world of music.

This is George Harrison's fault

I don't know what to listen for when it comes to raga, so I really appreciated Shankar giving background information on this! I'm still not sure I quite get it after the first listen, but I'm probably coming closer than I would have without that?

Was going to joke about "listening with an open and relaxed mind" but then I did, and actually largely enjoyed this. Its *very* sitar heavy which, as someone who does not listen to this type of music often, is a little grating after an hour. But its always great to be exposed to great music that Ive never heard before. 3/5

Whilst I absolutely see this album as interesting & clearly an education in Indian music, I just can’t force myself to enjoy it. The tracks feel laboured and boring to me. I’m fully aware that listening to this requires a cultured ear, but realistically I don’t take much enjoyment from listening to it.

Just can't get into it. Like the explanations though.

This album is a sonic tapestry. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - An Introduction to Indian Music - Dádrá - Bhimpalási

OK. 2/5

One for those on a higher plane but there is no doubt about his mastery of his instrument. However it's a bit like going to your Indian take away to be told your order will be ready in 5 minutes. 50 minutes later your still waiting with anticipation. Neither the takeaway or the music will be getting a revisit from me

4/10

Actually really nice I like how he talked me through it It's like Indian music for dummies

Ravi Shankar is not my thing I’m afraid.

It’s getting exhausting after some time but overall interesting

Learning and instrumental background music to put me in a work flow?! more likely than you think

Nope!

this is some crazy shit for 1957

As my wife like’s to say, “There’s music out there for everyone…. and then there’s this shit”. Tough crowd.

I skipped the instructions, knowing I won’t remember them anyway. Halfway through “Dádrá,” I’m enjoying this so far. The pluck of the strings is nice. Ooh, now it’s speeding up, almost in the way that a guitarist will do in a rock song. It all blends together after a while but not in a bad way.

First time listen. Ughh. I appreciate the influence on the Beatles and all, but good lord this hurts my ears and almost makes me hate music.

Vaca catch up

Not for me

Индийская музыка уже и не выглядит очень экзотичной.

uhh idk I kinda approached this with a closed mind and was looking for the harmonies as well as other western influences and was also trying to attribute this to jazz but maybe I was just listening to it wrong

While I didn’t like it I am glad that this project has albums like this. I never ever ever would have chosen to listen to mr ravi and now I have. So now when I make the claim that I am not a fan of the sitar, I have someone to point to And aside from the 53 minutes of sitar the album also had some sitar! Ok but for real I’m not going to rate this as low as my heart wants to because I still have to recognize his pure talent and his goal of spreading indian music to the west. This might get bumped later as I ruminate but a three for now

I actually really enjoyed listening to this: all of the music I listen to is very much western and I appreciate how shankar is trying to educate people on non western music.