Reviews (page 3 of 8)
No soy fan de la música de india, no se algo que yo escucharia
Bijzonder hoe je een bepaalde sound zo associeert met 1967, de psychedelische explosie, en de creatieve vooruitgang die er mee gepaard ging in de rockmuziek, maar ondertussen is het natuurlijk gewoon traditionele Indiase muziek van ver voor de 'Summer of Love'. Het tekent de toch wel een beetje de kortzichtigheid van de Westerse muziekluisteraar, maar vooral ook wel hoe krachtig inprenting van geluiden werkt. Hoor je iets voor het eerst in een bepaalde context, dan is die context ook direct de geboortegrond van dat geluid, ook al wist je wel van het verhaal van mannen als Donovan en George Harrison en hun avontuurtjes op het Indiase subcontinent. Oké, nu het album. Laat ik dan allereerst benoemen dat dit - ondanks dat het niet helemaal m'n dingetje is - echt wel in deze lijst hoort te staan. De muziek-culturele lading is te zwaar om het over het hoofd te zien. Het is misschien wel de bekendste Indiase muzikant voor het Westen, en de wijze zoals Indiase restaurants in Europa de ietwat fletse menukaart deed opspicen, deden zijn invloeden dat met de ietwat fletse rock & roll van de early 60s. Maar een geheel album is mij iets te spicy, net als dat ik waarschijnlijk een week om de WC pot gevouwen lig als ik in een écht Indiaas restaurant in Mumbai eet. Wel aimabel van Ravi dat hij de muziekvorm toelicht voor het maagdelijke witte oor, maar de spoedcursus ging voor mij te snel. Desalniettemin een voldoende door de culturele significantie. 6,5/10
Een klein lesje Indiase Sitarmuziek. Helemaal terecht dit genre/instrument zich in deze lijst bevindt, gezien de bijzondere bijdrage aan de popmuziek eind jaren 60. Vind het zelf niet altijd even 'makkelijk' om naar de Sitar te luisteren, maar de manier waarop Ravi Shankar deze bespeelt vind ik wel mooi. Het is heel kalm en daarom niet zo intens. Heb het een klein uurtje aangehad tijdens het werken, en dat ging aardig. Toen was ik het wel een beetje beu moet ik zeggen. Maar dit is wel precies waarom ik aan deze zotte challenge mee doe, eventjes die grenzen oprekken. 6/10
This guy microtones
So as a self described psychedelic rock fan, it would be sacrilegious to say anything negative about Ravi Shankar. Without this man the sitar would never have made its way to American music like it has. This man is wildly influential and single handedly put Indian music on the global map. That being said, HOLY SHIT THIS ALBUM IS DRY! It’s like eating an entire box of saltine crackers with no accompanying cheeses or meats and no water to wash it down with. It’s the Sahara desert of dry albums. If you like the sitar, you will like it or parts of it at least. But god forbid you don’t like the sitar because this will be one of the most difficult experiences of your whole life. Dramatic emphasis aside, I did enjoy the informative parts, as someone who truly loves music I found that part really interesting when he’s describing the way a sitar/microtonal instrument works and he’s showing how the scales work, all that stuff is really cool for music nerd purposes. Seriously I know I have very dramatic feelings about this album but I do think it’s worth your time if you either a.) have a real love and curiosity about music and the composition/creation of it or b.) your just a sucker for almost a full hour of just straight sitar.
Very refreshing to hear something different. I really enjoyed the depth of this music.
😴
The Good: Yes The Bad: Uhmmm… no garlic nan bread… The Ugly: The pain in my ear from too much sitar… I know, there’s an H somewhere in sitar… sue me. Ravi Shankar is the goat of his style of music, I will not deny that. Also undeniable is that he influenced one too many western artist in the ‘60s who were all going through identity crisissessss Crisi… whatever. Thanks for the lesson on classical Indian music. Thanks for introducing the sitar to the world. Thanks for nothing. World music is all lovely and such, however, there is a limit to my patience… also, why aren’t there any Japanese “opera” kind of albums on here? 2*
not my style but land mark
I dig the educational angle of this one. Indian music is cool and makes me hungry for Dhal Bhat and Samosas.
I always wondered about Ravi Shankar from his time with the beatles. I didn't realize the depth and history that he brought to Indian music and the tones and melodies on the sitar. Pretty cool album.
He's clearly talented and I appreciate the lesson about the music, but it just ain't for me.
Wasn't my thing lwk
instructional - prefer george harrison stuff
Indian
Not in the top 10,000 albums
Ženkliai įdomesnis nei visi kiti, kuriuos pastaruoju metu klausiau, pagaliau kažkas kitokio.
Not much to say that I haven't said about the other Indian/Pakistani albums, along with the samba and bossa nova albums. It's good music for if I want the vibe, but I will only really want that vibe in films and whatnot to set the scene. Unfortunately I have no cultural connection to this music, so it's scene music to me.
I do not want to learn the sitar but thank you. I feel like I should take drugs while listening to this to like it more. Wille its nice to hear a new kind of music, this record is very repetitive. The only instrument used on this album are a sitar and some percussion. But Its no doubt that this guy is extremely talented.
Not really my thing but the discussion of theory was interesting.
Educational but not inspirational
Others cite him as a key influence, but not me
Not my thing
Amazing virtuosity. But it does feel like a school music lesson. It's going to take me more than 24 hours to adjust to a wholly new (to me) form of music, despite the instructions. 2*
I FUCKING HATE SPANISH SPEAKING PEOPLE I HOPE THEY ALL DIE TOGETHER WITH ALL THE INDIANS AND PAKISTANIS MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER AND LESS POPULATED PLACE
This is just a lot of sitar at once
Am I an expert on Indian music now? 2.5 stars.
Trance-inducing, relaxing and beautiful. I have always loved the use of drones in Indian music, especially when I was first exposed to the concept as a kid through George Harrison's own examinations of the sitar (thanks in no small part to Shankar himself), but to hear it performed and explained by one of the masters is a real treat too.
Informative and awesome
neat but not my thing
Any album that needs to begin with a course, is not that great.
This is #day589 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… it's been a hell of a week, and I'm not sure a classical Indian music record (the second one in the last two weeks, if memory serves me) is how I feel like wrapping it up. But what can you do against a random generator? Of course, the man's influence on the 60s Western rock, particularly the Beatles, is undeniable. I'd also completely forgotten he's Norah Jones' father. Otherwise, not something I'd ever reach out for on my own. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day590.
#888. He's really good at it, I'm just not interested 2/5: I can smell this album
ja... indische musik halt... musikalisch sehr beeindruckend und kreativ und anders als ich gewohnt bin aber hab leider nix verstanden was der typ mir erzählen wollte und ohne lyrics ist es mir eh immer zu langweilig
Good experience
Jako mi je bio kul početak albuma kao edukacija, baš originalno i zanimljivo. Ostatak albuma mi je baš bilo teško slušati u komadu jer je specifična glazba i uši mi se umore, nema mi dovoljno dinamike. 2/5, 3/10
Interesting listen, it is just instrumental with that single Indian instrument, the sitar maybe? It turns into solid background music, but I don't think I'd come back to it on purpose.
nossa 5 tracks e 50 minutos jesus FAVS (top 3): dádrá, bhimpalasi, sindhi-bhairavi mençoes honrosas: - nao tem tanta musica a ponto de ter ate mençao honrosa KKKKKK mas eu nem sei como comentar esse album, sao musicas indianas e no inicio o cara dando uma brevissima explicaçao, dahora, e musica indiana é bem dahora eu amo os instrumentos, queria q tivesse um album indiano aqui com mais musica pra aproveitar mais pq esse msm q as musicas sejam grandes queria mais tracks! se queriam representaçao indiana aqui deveriam ter pegado um maior, se bem q pra 57 deve ter dado um bagulho legal ne, enfim, faz parte nota final: 3.5/5
Although Ravi Shankar was a world-renowned musician, I never heard his music until now. There were no Indian music stations on the radio back then. I enjoyed that he taught us Indian music fundamentals on this album - sort of Music 101. Too bad Indian music is not for me. He’s obviously a great player.
Haunted by Ravi Shankar. Every time I think of him I am compelled to tell everyone: "Did you know he's Norah Jones's dad????" And little Anoushka Shankar (less surprising daughter of Ravi Shankar) is everywhere (BBC Proms, SNL, etc) so I think of him often. Musical nepo-babies don't bother me as much as the other kinds, though. Also, the concept of this album is funny. I wonder if there are other "The sounds of _____" albums out there. Would be a fun series. Probably a lot more valuable in the pre-Internet era though. As for the tracks themselves... not that educational, it turns out. I do usually like sitar when it's in other songs, but 10+minute instrumentals never win me over, unless they're like, full symphonies. Still better than Norah Jones.
Day 19 — Ravi Shankar — The Sounds of India (1957) Listened: Mar 16–17, 2026 Genre: Indian Classical / Hindustani Classical / World Music Vibe: Meditative and educational — a guided journey through Indian classical music, building from individual sitar and tabla lessons into energetic, spiritual raga performances Highlights: • Máry-Bihág • Bhimpalasi Impression: Enjoyed learning how the sitar and percussion work individually and together. The narrated structure made it genuinely interesting as both a listening and educational experience. Rating: 2.1/5 Keep songs? Yes Revisit album? Maybe
Just not my thing. Kinda cool though
This album was very timely since I've been listening to more music from Anoushka Shankar due to her feature in the new Gorillaz album. I love the sound of the sitar and I really enjoyed that he was explaining the music before each song. He can absolutely shred. I thought this was super cool.
I'm very grateful I heard Ravi early on in this project. It helped unlock a lot of music for me, because I realized his influence on modern music. Also, shoutout to his daughters, Norah Jones and Anoushka! Here is my original review: "Super good. This is definitely one of those "important" albums that contemporary artists reference as their intro to Eastern Music. Its super cool, and really interesting. I love the microtonal sounds and finger picking. Its wild how the music sounds so complex, when in reality, it's quite simple. Basically, a Sitar and a Drum for most songs."
40 min sitar solo was not what I expected to return to. Hard to appreciate out of its introductory context.
Loved the explanations tho it makes it hard to imagine listening to it again. Otherwise fun to listen to but not my fave style we’ve had introduced. The instruments have beautiful tones though.
I’ve always known that Ravi is The Sitar Guy but my actual knowledge of his work started there and ended with him being Norah Jones’ dad. I really enjoyed this album, mostly because I felt I really learned something! It’s clear to me why Ravi is The Sitar Guy and this album found me at the right time to really appreciate it! 4 stars!
Much like I was instructed to, I tried to listen with an open and relaxed mind. It certainly felt educational but I don’t think I would listen to any of these again. Hard to judge because I’m also clearly not listening in the way that was intended
So this is impressive and obviously requires great talent. There’s a fun conversation happening between the three instruments that’s made more impressive by the explanation at the beginning. Unfortunately it doesn’t really sound good to me and that’s ultimately what I’m judging here.
I don't think I'm prepared to this amount of cultural shock during a workday.
This is more for those who like an education while listening to music. The explanations of the music cut into enjoyment. That being the case, I liked this much more than I expected I would.
Really interesting and fun
VERY good list pick. Different from the plethora of Western content, AND I love the parts explaining the music. A gold standard for what many more albums on the list should be
I was previously familiar with some of Ravi Shankar's material, but not this album. I appreciate how this album has introductions which explain what is going on. This goes a long way towards Indian music being accepted in Western societies. This and other Ravi Shankar music is very rewarding to listen attentively, but I also find that this makes for really good background music as well. I would listen to this again for sure.
Solid ragas here. I listened to this in the jacuzzi and was totally zenned out. Great music.
Definitvely not my thing. Its an album that sounds more like a youtube learning to play video. Its educational for sure about hindi music and their composing methods but not my favorite thing either listening to class like if it was music nor the hindi music
I really can't give it a fair rating because I'm simply not used to this kind of music. What I definitely don't like is the character of an audio-lesson.
It’s pretty cool Columbia records released this back in the 50’s to be like “stop being so white, other music exists”
I appreciate this albums inclusion, but yeah - it’s an hour of someone playing the sitar. 3/5
My brother warned me about the sitar albums and I naively said I liked sitars but this has really pushed me to my limit. How can an album so short be simultaneously so long?! It took me three tries to get this finished. The last track truly felt like some sort of endurance test!!
Nice experience. Had a lot of fun specially in the beginning, but it did get a bit tiring.
nonono habibi
I have never felt more like George Harrison.
Great music, nice energy, the spoken instructive bits are a little bit distracting though.
I actually enjoyed this, you don’t necessarily need his explanation at the start of the album but it gives it a quirkiness. There’s a cathartic feeling to this album, similar to listening to gamelan music. Found myself in the zone while listening to this at work. Also pretty cool to hear some world music in this list
I gave some real appreciation for the formatting of the album, but I don’t think it necessarily works in this context. The first track is an Introduction to Indian Music, but it didn’t feel quite like it. To me, the album as a whole was mainly Indian sounds. I think either having a more proper introduction or diving deeper into sounds that would be unfamiliar to a Western audience would be a better route to go on. Instead, this album is stuck in a liminal space where there’s not much to follow while also not painting a full picture of different sounds. There are some explanations and introductions, which I think is a positive for the album, but I think following up on them further would do so much. Technically skilled no doubt about it, but for an introduction I think there’s a lot of emptiness. Faves: n/a
Pretty interesting album. I enjoyed the explanation and then being able to follow it. His playing seems amazing! This was probably responsible for a lot of sitar in western music..
muy guapo
Sitar is just not for me
History for the western world. You know you got a banger if you are associated with an ENTIRE INSTRUMENT
thank you for teaching me my man, I'll try and remember it Will I listen to again: 5%
Not sure a tutorial needs to be on the list
I started out thinking this was pretty ok. Not my cup of tea, but kind of cool to hear another cultures music. But then he just kept counting. Not singing, just counting over the music. Then each song is like 20 minutes long or something and it just got so repetitive. Then I had to turn it off for a bit and when I turned it back on it was just so grating that I was mad I had to finish it and just said, “nope” out loud and turned it off.
Classic
As Mr. Shankar says himself, those seeking western harmony, melody, counterpoint, etc. will be sorely disappointed. Authentic Indian music has none of these elements, so this is certainly a curious listening experience. I really like the way Ravi effortlessly plays with meters that seem quite complicated to the western mind. I honestly had a hard time keeping track, but the long cycles of these beats give the music a sort of free and flowing sound. This is music that you just have to let wash over you, and really listen deep to all of the individual elements. The harmony that is explored on this album is fascinating, and unlike anything we hear in the west. That being said, while I appreciate this a lot, it is very difficult to connect with as an outsider to this musical practice. Ravi gets huge points for his explanations and introductions to the various ragas—you can tell he really cares about helping western listeners understand what makes Indian music so special. A unique and interesting listen for sure, and I’m glad I got to experience it, even if I probably won’t revisit it.
ai pra mim não rola perdão
Prog metal wont be here without this
I appreciate Shankar explaining Indian music to Western audiences, but those intros also make this feel like musical homework.
Ok 2/5
I thought this album was extraordinary!!! I like how he provides explanations to Indian music theory, instruments and techniques in order to introduce the listener to the song. Overall a very interesting album.
Ei paljoa intialainen pimputus kiinnosta
The music was good but the music theory portion was unnecessary for the average listener.
7/10 Well this was certainly an experience, and one I was glad to be exposed to. I’d rather get handed an album that pushes me into a different musical world than yet another slice of landfill indie from a bunch of kids who’ve just graduated from art school. As an introduction to hundustani classical music, this was an interesting starting point. The ragas are unfamiliar enough to me that I lose track of what he did in the introduction of each track before the track has really got going, but I think over time and with enough listening, I could get my head around it. I dis find the persistent background tanpura droning to be a little hard to deal with for so long, kind of like the background drone of a bagpipe. I get that it gives us a tonal centre to anchor the song, but it’s so relentless and unchanging that I find it a bit of a challenge. That being said, when I was able to just sit and allow this to take hold of my ear, I did find it to be engaging. That flow state of listening appears very important as the combination of the length and the constantly changing, improvisational nature of it defies my ability to hook on to musical structure or melody in the way that most western music does. It’s kind of like ambient soundscaping in that way, but with more of a hectic edge to it. Overall, I’m glad to have listened to this, and I did enjoy myself, but it’s so far outside of what I am used to from an album, that it’s kind of hard to really sum up my thoughts. Either way, it was an interesting 50 minutes of music, and you can’t say fairer than that. An Introduction To Indian Music - It’s an interesting introduction and summary of Indian music. Interestingly, and I know he specifically says it’s not like jazz, the way he describes it does sound a lot like jazz. Tonally, some of this also makes me think of the duelling banjos from Deliverance. But let’s get on to the actual music. Dādrā - It feels a lot like Ravi (and this may be typical of the form) drifts into an almost flow state when he’s soloing. Because of the use of microtones, it’s so tonally unlike western music that it’s kind of hard to parse, although the bulk of the key motifs do adhere somewhat to somewhat recognisable intervals, you can latch on to those, but the work that goes on between them is where the uniqueness of the sound lies. It’s certainly interesting and I really like the way the rhythms and tempo pulse over the course of the piece, from moments of almost calm to frenetic whirlwinds. Some of the way that rhythmic syncopation just pops out of nowhere from the back of those flurries is really satisfying. Māru-Bihāg - This feels more restrained and I was able to let it flow over me a little more easily than the previous track. It has a nice pulsing groove to it that sucked me in. It did get a bit more frantic later on, but that was a little easier to wrap my western ears around after having been eased in through the track. Again, it seems to be about that flow state, not just from the players, but also as a listener. Just let it wash over you in let the rhythm pull you along and these lovely little moments just pop out now and again. Bhimpalāsi - As with the previous track, there are quite a few moments of calm here that drift along and then little flurries burst out of that calm. It’s like watching the ripples of water on a lake and then a fish flailing out of the water and disturbing the gentle ripples with a burst of activity. I enjoy it when he grabs certain movements and works on repetitions and variations of those as it helps to centre me a bit more within the track. Again, this is an enjoyable listen, but quite hard to mentally process. Sindhi-Bhairavi - There’s a slow build into this. The way some of the notes drift and change even as they fade away is really evocative. It takes a good while for the rhythm to kick in and the shimmering quality of the sitar is really nice here. The intensity builds and builds until the tabla comes in. You really have to let this wash over you and allow different pieces of playing to present themselves to you here, from what I can hear. When i get into the flow of it, I do find myself slow bobbing along to it, but sometimes the intensity does get a bit too much and the lack of a central motif to hold onto makes it hard. There’s clearly a massive amount of skill here and when It does absorb me, I find it engaging and fascinating, but it’s so far outside my zone of understanding that it’s pretty hard to quantify how good it really is.
More academic than really interesting. While I can appreciate the tutorial nature, Ravi is clearly playing it safe here and I would enjoy something a bit less targeted at western audiences.
good background music for a day at work
i have a lot of respect for an album that includes listening instructions, however listening to this while i was trying to cram write a uni essay did make me feel like i was about 3 seconds away from a panic attack
Normally not a fan of the sitar, but the educational bits before the songs were really great
I enjoyed this! It's always nice to listen to other countries' cultural music.
I really enjoyed the introduction to Indian classical music and sitar at the beginning of the album. He knows how to communicate what makes it work and what differentiates it from Western pop music without getting too deep in the technical weeds. Maybe that’s just me. As to the songs themselves, boy howdy could this man shred. That’s the only verb that feels appropriate. He is tearing it up on the sitar. I don’t know if I’ll revisit this in full again, but I enjoyed my listen and do feel closer to “getting it”.
While I appreciate the lesson on the sounds of Indian music and appreciate the different elements that it brings, I did not want to start my day off listening to this.
like his daughter’s music better 3.0
I can certainly appreciate his talent, but not in the mood. 2
Really enjoyed the vibes here. The Sitar playing is incredible. However, I felt like I needed a bit more structure and melody. Even though the introduction told me there wouldn’t be. Dádrà was amazing and fast paced throughout. The other songs didn’t quite reach the same level
I have virtually no interest in Indian music, and this was very uninteresting. extended Talking segments and just generally not really anything that I really enjoyed
Mr. Shankar’s attempt at introducing Western listeners to classical Indian music would receive a helpful push from George Harrison about a decade later. This album is basically a 50-minute sitar solo with Mr. Shankar interjecting at various points to describe the instrument and the timing signatures he is playing. An interesting and educational listen that I’ll give an above average 3/5.
Historic, connected musical worlds etc., etc. in 2026 it sounds like an instructional manual
It’s better when the Beatles do it, but this is a very enjoyable album.
Great
An interesting album, although one which feels a little odd in its inclusion on the list. The music is good, and it is always interesting to get a glimpse into the unique attributes of the Indian music system. Favorite track: "Dádrá"
The SHANKANATOR! newsflash: you just got Shanked
Well. That was very interesting. I love how Shankar prefaced this by explaining traditional Indian music compared to western music, it really did help me appreciate not only the technique involved in creating this type of music, but also what this music means in a cultural sense. I can't say that this is something I'll go to back consistently, but I definitely do appreciate the unique culture this is situated in.
Æ skulle ønske det her va en type musikk æ i større grad evna å skjønne, for æ like jo å høre på det, men det bare ane mæ kor store nyanser og variasjoner æ går glipp av fordi æ ikke vet kordan man høre forskjell på nokka. Men fint e det.
What a cool album. Really dug the explanation of how Indian music is structured before going in to it. Made the different elements I tend to overlook stand out as I had a better understanding of whats going on.
Honestly can't believe this is from 1957. It sounds so good and I was in a complete trance for all of it.
Really enjoyed the live / spoken / teaching aspects of the album. Happy to have listened to this. The songs weren't totally for me in album form.
I like that there's so much Indian music on this list. there's also music from Brazil, and even Africa. But what about the rest of the world? such a restricted vision this list has. Anyway, in this record Ravi Shankar takes the time to teach you about the music of India and it never feels boringly didactic and the songs are fun.
Fascinating album. It's not for me, but I'm extremely glad it's on this list. Experiencing these kinds of albums is important and educational.
Interesting and important piece of work to include without a doubt. Is it the most enjoyable listen? It’s ok, sort of like 50 minutes of solo work from one of your favorite guitarists. Required listening that I may not go back to specifically for a replay, but that I can enjoy and appreciate when it shows up in other works.
Somewhat interesting, especially given the time period. I can dig some world sounds and some Indian sounds of this type and genre, but for some reason this particular spin was grating at times. Middle of the road here rounding down. 2.5/5
I can’t say that I enjoyed this, but it was interesting from a learning perspective. Hard to determine a beginning, middle or end, which may be the point. Pretty repetitive, and yet strangely hypnotic at times too.
Pretty cool that this album comes with instructions. Otherwise, this didn’t do much for me, very repetitive
Man, I don’t know. It was interesting and cool to broaden my world view. Ravi obviously got a lot of attention with the Beatles influence, etc. But I just don’t really find this super appealing. The sitar just sounds kind rattle-y. Like if you had guitar strings that weren’t sitting correctly in the bridge. And overall just sounds very dissonant with no resolve. Perhaps my ear palate is just too western to appreciate. 2
Thought this was gonna hit me right in my George Harrison...but it did not. 2.5/5
interesting
I appreciate getting something different, but this bored me.
2- Stars (4/15)
Good
This was a cool album, because Ravi Shankar was walking us through significant ideas in Indian music and how it’s played. The Indian music itself was also cool, with crazy instrumentals that rival the best instrumental artists in all of Western music. It helped expand my tastes a lot, and sure, it does feel more like a class as opposed to an album, but isn’t the point of doing this 1001 albums challenge to expand your knowledge on music?
I'm super glad this was included. Scrolling through the reviews for this one, I'm sad to see the average rating so low. So many people are acting like this is some kind of historical oddity rather than a rich tradition. Isn't the point of this project to expand your music taste? This album certainly did that more than most albums in the list. Before this, I hadn't really listened to much Indian music, mostly just fusion projects like Bela Fleck's collaborations with Zakir Hussein and some of the work of Simon Emmerson. I really appreciated the basic introductions, because I might have been completely lost without them. The album was definitely a hypnotic, meditative experience, like a less flamboyant version of Jam Band music, or an Indian take on Keith Jarrett. Favorite Track: Sindhi-Bhairavi
I knew I was going to love this, Whithin you Without you is my favourite Beatles song after all. More albums should include theory interspersed throughout.
This is MY JAM
“Hey honkys chill out for a minute” is a great intro. Like he pointed out, Indian music a little hard to analyze as a Westerner with no spiritual connection or really cultural understanding of what I’m hearing. So the simple conclusion I can give is that the little lessons were nice and I like sitar music in general, it’s very soothing. (3.5/5)
What can be said but absolutely classic
I really liked and appreciated the breakdown of ragas in An Introduction to Indian Music. For someone like me with no technical musical knowledge about music at all it helped provide a lot of context. "The Western listener will appreciate and enjoy our music more if he listens with an open and relaxed mind" - Yes, great advice for this album AND THIS PROJECT IN GENERAL. The reviewer who called this "More of an historic curiosity than a listenable album" - ???????? ???? Do you think everything in the world is put on for your benefit and that your life is the yardstick by which all others are measured? I am baffled by the incurious, self-satisfied, small-town views that I encounter every time on this site. Maybe an album is not for you, but also maybe don't phrase your opinion as such a monolithic truth? And THAT is the third-most insightful review of this musid? I despair. This list desperately needs more world music (and what a small-minded term that is, basically dividing the world into the English-speaking parts and then everything else), but this was a good choice for one of the tiny handful (3?) Indian albums on the list. Good stuff.
Fine but it goes on a bit and not really for me
Beautiful. Another album that subverts the usual album format - makes you listen with no skips
pretty enjoyable. felt like a music lesson, probably intentionally like that and it was good.
meh, mid, used in every indian scene in movies
This is an introduction to Indian Music. That's all you need to know. There is spoken word describing how it works and is constructed along with examples. If you're already well versed in Indian Music is this album ridiculous? Makes me think instantly of George Harrison.
4.5
Way better when blended with the Beatles.
Yeah, I think everyone should hear Indian music before they die. I'm far from an expert in this realm, so I can't speak to the relative importance of this album in that pursuit, but it sure was nice to have Ravi explain on the record how ragas work, and then play through them. 4/5
too much talking but enjoyable
The educational voiceover throws off the flow for me
So good. It’s insane this is from 1957 because it still sounds so fresh.
Tough to judge with no other Indian music to judge it against. I like the educational aspect of this, and it’s a pretty chill album, but it lacks the heft I typically look for.
Not something I am likely to return to, but it is legendary how much influence Ravi had on the Beatles and in turn so much of modern western music as a whole.
Después de Scum de Napalm Death con 28 temas en 33 minutos esto está en el otro extremo. Con 4 temas y más de 50 minutos y una música en las antípodas en todos los sentidos imaginables. Conociendo otras cosas del autor, este en concreto no me ha gustado, supongo que en su momento sería interesante por cómo explica la música que está haciendo, pero poco más.
1001 albums gave me this and I was really in the mood for this banger. I mean Ravi Shankar is probably the biggest shaper of the 60s psychedelic music craze which I love! He basically introduced the western world to Indian music. In this song we are explained to how sitar works and blends with the other instruments. Not only informative but also really fun songs.
This album made me feel like I was in opium den in Bombay, with a slack jaw... and not much too say, especially with the (what I believe) western equivalent of all the rapid picking and tapping on a guitar on the song "Dadra." It sounds absolutely sick. The only Indian music experience I have is from the Beatles few Indian songs, and maybe a couple other 60s songs, like "Paint it, Black" and maybe song or two from other drug-oriented groups in the 60s who had that one hit song that features a sitar, because it was the 60s that's just what they did as Paul McCartney would say. Highlight Song/s: "Dadra"
202/1001 Ravi Shankar - The Sounds of India Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ Whilst I can appreciate how his sitar playing influenced the Beatles and bought this style of music to the masses in that period, I wouldn't knowingly return to this. It is a calming record and some of the playing sounds so intricate.
Very different than my usual but super interesting
Don’t know what to think of this. Instruction manual rather than album
Not for me. I don’t want to be guided step by step through the arrangement of traditional Indian music
I love how the album started by explaining the sounds and styles of Indian music with a sitar. A 14 count is crazy, but I love the way he is explaining it all.
This a fantastic example of instrumentals narrating a story... Is the story ever-changing? Yes, but that adds to the appeal. The mind most likely will hear something different with each listen.
Interesting to see what this inspired but didn’t love that this was an instructional “how to” album
Fun sounds. I imagine that this is the best version of this kind of music and I found it enjoyable
Chill to listen to. Cool to see exactly what influenced George Harrison and the rest of western music adopting Indian elements.
I'm torn with this. It's more like a an informational document than an album to be listened to. I play guitar, but listening to an entire album of just improvisation is tiring and it felt the same here. It's interesting and engaging at times, but it grows tedious over the course of the album.
365/1089 - Liked the educational aspect of it a lot. Made the album sound better, when I kinda knew what was going on.
#11/1001🇮🇳 Simply stunning, especially the first and last tracks. I was aware of Shankar before but never listened to him in his own right. His descriptions prior to each piece seem a little unusual, possibly to be seen as dumbing down or novelty value but i dont mind them.
,,, sounded more like a training session with the Great Ravi explaining how to listen. Got Indian music not bad to hear from the bet... though you have to like the vibe.
Crazy this came out in the 50s
It’s fine, not really my vibe
I would have liked it better without the commentary.
Good to have it in the playlist to expand genres
The only people that MIGHT think this is essential listening in the western hemisphere are people that thought it was cool to go down the Beatles influence path. Even those people aren't listening to this on a daily basis. What are we doing here?
got a bit impatient listening cause it's 11 pm but enjoyed learning but defintely got a bit repetitive since a lot of the songs are roughly 10 minutes
Ravi Shankar – *The Sounds of India* (1957) A deep-dive review for listeners who want more than “it’s pretty sitar music.” ------------------------------------------------- 1. Core Concept & Structure ------------------------------------------------- This is **not** a straight performance album—it is a **guided tour** of North-Indian (Hindustani) classical music. Every track except the last opens with a 60-90-second **mini-lecture** in English where Shankar announces the rāga, tāla, and the emotional colour (“This rāga is usually played at dusk…”). Then the trio performs a **complete, unabridhed** khayal-style piece: alāp (unmetred intro), jor (pulse enters), jhālā (fast climax) and gat (fixed composition with tabla). The result is **half classroom, half concert**—a format no major Western label had attempted before. ------------------------------------------------- 2. Lyrics & Vocal Elements ------------------------------------------------- There are **no sung lyrics**; the only voice is Shankar’s spoken introductions. Yet the sitar **“speaks”** through **bol patterns**—syllables that mimic the inflections of Hindi/Urdu poetry. On “Dádrá” you can literally hear Shankar make the sitar **laugh** (a rapid “ha-ha-ha” pluck) and **sigh** (meend glissando), proving that Indian classical melody carries **semantic nuance** without words. ------------------------------------------------- 3. Music & Improvisation ------------------------------------------------- Rāgas used - Bhimpalasi – afternoon melancholy - Sindhi-Bhairavi – dawn devotion - Dádrā – light 6-beat folk love song - Pancham se Gara – rare pentatonic rāga Shankar himself popularised Tālas deployed - Tintāl (16 beats) – the “4/4 of India” but phrased 4-4-4-4 - Dádrā (6 beats) – lilting waltz feel - Rupak (7 beats) – asymmetrical 3-2-2 Improvisatory devices - **Meend** – 5-note portamento on a single fret - **Krintan** – left-hand hammer-on so fast it sounds like a tabla roll - **Tānpurā drone** – micro-shifts of ±15 cents create the **shimmering** carpet Western ears read as “psychedelic” ------------------------------------------------- 4. Production & Sound Quality (1957 mono → 1999 CD) ------------------------------------------------- Original: recorded in New York on **Ampex 300** mono tube tape; mic placement **1 m above** the gourd resonators to capture natural reverb. Pros - Dynamic range **40 dB**—extraordinary for 1957; you hear wood and skin as much as note. - No compression → **transient bite** of jawari (bridal buzz) intact. Cons - **Single-mono** means tabla occasionally masks sitar during jhālā. - 1999 remaster adds **digital glare** on high sitar strings; vinyl rip still preferred by purists. ------------------------------------------------- 5. Themes & Cultural Mission ------------------------------------------------- Shankar’s hidden agenda: **de-exoticise** Indian music for Americans raised on “Indian = snake-charmer” clichés. He repeatedly stresses **mathematical rigour** (“16 beats divided 4-4-4-4, but feel it 5-5-6”) to counter the idea that rāgas are “mystical modal soup.” The album therefore carries a **post-colonial** theme: **reclaim narrative authority** over how the West hears India. ------------------------------------------------- 6. Influence & Legacy ------------------------------------------------- - **George Harrison** copied the **spoken-intro format** for *Wonderwall Music* (1968). - **John Coltrane** studied this LP while composing *India* (1961); the **cyclic drone** re-appears in *Om*. - **Philip Glass** calls side-A “the DNA of minimalism.” - **The Byrds** lift the **Bhimpalasi** alāp for the intro of *Eight Miles High*. - **Sampling era**: DJ Shadow loops “Dádrā” drums on *Midnight in a Perfect World* (1996). ------------------------------------------------- 7. Pros & Cons at a Glance ------------------------------------------------- | Pros | Cons | |---|---| | Still the **clearest audio textbook** of Hindustani music in under 50 min. | Pedagogical structure **breaks emotional flow**—not ideal for passive listening. | | Performances are **first-take, live**; no overdubs, capturing **risk** of real improvisation. | **Mono** recording limits stereo sound-stage; tabla sometimes buries sitar. | | Shankar’s **tone**—equal parts **silky** and **metallic**—has never been bettered on tape. | **Five 9-minute tracks** can feel **samey** if you can’t yet parse rāga differences. | | Historical **Rosetta-stone** that **unlocked Indian music** for rock, jazz, and classical composers. | **No female vocal or sarangi** textures; presents only **male, instrumental** face of a vast tradition. | ------------------------------------------------- Verdict ------------------------------------------------- *The Sounds of India* is **not** Ravi Shankar’s most virtuosic performance (see *Portrait of Genius* or *West Meets East* for that), but it is the **most influential** package he ever delivered. Approach it like a **private lesson** rather than a playlist and it becomes **addictive**; skip the spoken intros and you’ll wonder why anyone sat through “50 minutes of sitar noodling.” In short: **5/5 as pedagogy, 4/5 as pure listening, 6/5 as cultural catalyst**.
Kinda soothing. Sounded like I expected it to sounds. Doesn't sound dated. I don't know any Indian music though.
Ravi Shankar - The Sounds of India In today’s episode, Norah Jones’ dad gives us a short lecture on Indian music, plays the opening to Within You Without You, and then tunes up for 10 minutes. 4 times. It’s not necessarily bad, but it is boring.
There is comfort in knowing that one day I will no longer be in existence to have to suffer through this album once again.
I can definitely appreciate Indian music and what Ravi Shankar was doing in the late 50's to introduce the music, but this sounds more like an education piece than something that I can judge on musical and artistic merit, at least not more than 3 or maybe 3.5 stars.
wish I was on some shroomies. If this wasn't attached to George Harrison, I doubt it would make this list. It's a fun listen but come on, not top 1000
I skipped over this album for a few weeks when I fell behind on this list. The artist was appeared in a crossword I did yesterday, so I figured it was time to come back to it. That story's about as enjoyable as this album was for me. Not to say it wasn't interesting. I don't know that I've ever listened to something where the artist introduced and explained aspects of the music I was about to hear like Shankar did here. It was refreshing in a unique way. But, I just didn't really like it all that much. The sitar is an exotic instrument to my American ears, and there was a lot of it here. I think I prefer when it's used as a subtle flourish in the music rather than as a major part of the mix like it was on this album. It was hard for me to really feel engaged, which was worsened by the lengths of the songs and album as a whole. I'm sure that's more my fault than the music's. I appreciate what he did here, and I think it's fair to have it on the list. I just don't really find this to be something I enjoy. I probably won't listen to it again anytime soon. Overall: 2.1/5
transcendental. There's a great story about when Davy Graham (legendary British jazz/folk/experimental guitarist of the Sixties) offered guitar lessons. One student turned up at his Brixton flat. "Right son, come in. I'll take the money for the lesson now - thanks. OK, listen to this" - and he put this Ravi Shankar LP on. "I'll be back in a bit". Davy nipped out for a drink, came back 20 minutes later, turned the LP over and said "Right. Side two now" and went back to the pub.
New sound for me, I like the vibe.
I remember listening to this on record as a teen. This listen was great, I like how he breaks down the music in the beginning and throughout in a matter of fact way. It helps you understand what going on. 4.5 stars
Interesting to learn a bit about how Indian music is put together, but the improvisational style is not really my thing
Me pareció muy curioso que el propio Ravi Shankar explica sus métodos de interpretación y el significado de los instrumentos en su cultura, antes de cada canción. Está interesante, no me voy a hacer fan ni creo escucharlo de nuevo, pero no me la pasé mal.
Album #27 Ravi Shankar: The Sounds of India Seeing how I live in Toronto, I am already very well acquainted with this album as I experience the sounds of India every day. In all seriousness, though, I do respect the vast influence that Indian culture and spirituality have had on much of Western music; the most egregious example being George Harrison and The Beatles, whose psychedelic eras can be directly tied back to Indian music. The issue for me, however, is that I am sitting around sober in a Canadian winter listening to this, rather than high off hallucinogens in an Indian temple. This is the sort of music you need to be completely immersed by and let take over you for its true form to be revealed. In my current listening conditions, I am unable to be grasped by the music, often having trouble distinguishing one sequence from the next. Ravi does warn of this in the introduction, which states that harmony and rhythm are not to be expected, which, unfortunately for me, is something that I actually quite enjoy in music. Maybe my unfamiliarity with the sitar as an instrument also provides a barrier. I do find it quite strange that this album seems to be the Indian music representative on the list; it is barely meant to be heard as a standalone album, but rather just an introduction to the sounds that comprise Indian music. It kind of feels like a cop out, and there are probably far more interesting Indian albums that could be included in the list. Overall, can’t say I enjoyed listening to this one, and it didn’t help that it is the album directly following my least favourite album so far (Speakerboxx/ The Love Below), which also happened to drone on for ages. But funnily enough, Ravi’s daughter, Nora Jones, was featured on that album, so it seems my least favourite albums share the same DNA Best Tracks: Dadra, Maru-Bihag, Sindi-Bhairavi Worst Track: Bhimpalasi Score out of 10: 2.5.
This was quite an educational listen which I surprisingly enjoyed, not really the music part but the theory part.
Very talented musician and I love the breakdowns of the instruments. A little long but a fun ride
Fantastic album. I've enjoyed Ravi's music since I first heard his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. All the instruments blend incredibly well and the droning is something thats appealed to me in recent years. There will never be a day this isn't 5 stars.
It’s fine - and fits a certain type of situation, but not a situation that I find myself in all that much. It’s interesting how the first track introduces us - like never before - to Indian Music
Das war ja mal ganz nett exotisch…
I honestly didn't mind the spoken word parts here, it's certainly weird for an album to do, but just based off the title alone, I assume this was meant to be at least somewhat educational. And the part where he saw to go in with an open mind in the introduction I'd say
Favorite Track: Sindhi-Bhairavi
This was interesting, I guess I understand why the Beatles really ended up liking this guy but it was interesting to say the least
I was grateful for the educational aspect of this album. It would not have been nearly as interesting without it. That said, my sensibilities are probably too closely tuned to “western music” to find this engaging for very long. I can’t help but think that if it weren’t for The Beatles, I’d have no idea who this was and probably would not be listening to his album now.
Not for me
Found it long to listen to
More of a lesson than n album, but an interesting one.
This was odd, and not what I was expecting. Sounding like an instructional album, but once the music begins properly it is enjoyable and interesting simply because it is outside my wheelhouse. Got quite into it. Not sure how many times I’d return to it though.
An Introduction to Indian Music n/a Dádrá 3.8 Máru-Bihág 3.5 Bhimpalási 3.4 Sindhi-Bhairavi 3.3 Score: 3.5
29/12/2025 Never judge a book by it's cover. This wasn't horrible as expected. Spotify listeners: 1.1 million
Very awesome
someone on letterboxd this week called me 'that friend who's too woke' and not to play into that but to me including this as the sole Ravi Shankar album is obviously orientalist and kind of racist, I know that Ravi made this to 'introduce' indian music and primarily ragas to the west but this like the least dynamic album of his and one that is mostly introductory and not representative of how interesting and good he is as a musician! it just bugs me!!!! anyways its obviously amazing cuz ravi is the goat but like come on!
Explaining music theory while you play feels a bit like a comedian explaining why a joke is funny
Technically brilliant but I’m not sure when I’ll ever want to listen to an hour of Indian classical music
I’m skipping this one for the culture.
I know Ravi to be the foremost sitarist in history, famously mentoring the Beatles and acting as their tour guide during a stint in India and psycadelics. I also know him to be the estranged father of former reviewer artist, Nora Jones. I have, however, never listened to his music. This was a nice experience. Calming and meditative. I don’t know that I fully understand eastern music but I enjoy it nonetheless. This would be a nice album to have I. The record collection.
This was fun to listen to.
As someone who has always been a fan of Indian classical music, (especially since the Concert for Bangla Desh in 1971), I loved this album. The album starts with an introduction to Indian classical music from the master himeslef, Ravi Shankar.
Not that listenable as an album, but very culturally important and belongs here over many an album.
This was interesting, but not sure it should be on this list as an album you should listen to before you die. I appreciate the educational lesson provided by the artist, but it makes the album come off as something learned in a music class more than an album I’m listening to for pure entertainment. The talking would kind of ruin the flow from song to song. 3.5 / 5
interesting album very informative about Indian music
Interesting
- koulunpenkille joutu - joo emmä tätä koko mitalta jaksanut kuunnella, mutta ihan kivaa näpyttelyä
I used to listen to more ragas, but found it pretty hard to sit through this one. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood. I did enjoy the parts where he talked about the music and how it's made and particularly suggested how the western listener should approach Indian music.
Does what it says on the cover. Interesting, educational and some lovely rhythms and melodies. Also very repetitive and not really my thing but yous can see some of the influences in other genres since it was recorded in '57.
Interesting, and educational.
Oddly satisfying.
I’ve always admired Shankar’s works from the BBC retrospectives and Proms renditions. It’s a very lovely album that has allowed me to have a small deep dive into Indian Classical music. They’re all great pieces of music i particularly enjoyed Dádrá and Marú-Bihág- GEMV (15.15.2025) Rating: 4/5
I can appreciate the importance of this album, but it's not something I'm going to re-visit.
I thought this was pretty cool, and definitely an instruction manual that western bands took up in the coming decades.
Neat intros explaining the theory behind Indian music. Great sounding sitars and tabla drums. I’m hearing a lot of Scottish or Irish musical parallels that I haven’t noticed with this kind of genre before. I enjoyed it overall as kind of an ambient listen… although I found the lead sitar activity a bit distracting. 2.7/5.0
As someone who has no experience with this kind of music, this was a great place to start. I loved the intros before some of the songs. I was primarily listening to it while I was setting up my classroom and occasionally I would give a stank face based on something I heard in his playing. If I can knock it for anything, its that I don't think this has the easily and immediate re-playability as most of the albums I've heard so far. Regardless I enjoyed it and its an easy 4/5 for me.
Cool record. Interesting to listen to for the first time. That said, I don't know if it would merit a relisten, so I can't give it a high rating.
While I do appreciate the explanations before the songs, sorry, but sitar music is not for me. I don't know why but it kinda gives me anxiety and even on the background the sound kinda bothered me. Might give it a go when I am not busy, but honestly I don't know if it will score more than 2 stars. . Also, is it a groundbreaking album just because George Harrison liked it?! I don't know...
New sounds to me.
2.5 stars. Interesting tutorial of traditional Indian music by country's most renown musician with lots of spoken word description of some music theory. Fine as a listen-through, would only have on in the background as something else to enjoy in the future.
I do like this. His wee educational talks are interesting. I did open my mind. It is good to zone out to and it certainly evokes a strong sense of place. By the end I was tiring a bit though. Enjoyable in small bursts for me
An okay album, I liked Dadra the most.
This album is an interesting curiosity. The first track was just Shankur giving the audience a music lesson. I can see how "The Sounds of India" influenced George Harrison. After a few nasty albums, this one makes a nice change. A lovely conclusion to the week. 3 stars for "The Sounds of India".
me puse este album mientras estudiaba q cosa mas rara con todo respeto no se si puedo get into this me siento muy alejada culturalmente las cosas raras que pensará la gente que me ve escuchando esto desde la compu, en fin un 3 por neutralidad. Creo que estoy sola hace bastante ya en el challenge asi que ojala me salga algo de jamiroquai o de los cocteau como simbolo de lealtad (algoritmo leeme porfa)
It was fine, not a huge fan of pure acoustic.
Educationally sound but not something I need to listen to again
This is crazy. I was just yesterday looking at the original lineup of Woodstock 1969 and saw Ravi Shankar on there and was thinking I wonder if he's on this list. Lo and Behold here he is. Also he's Norah Jones' father! Ravi was the guy that brought the Indian influence to the Beatles albums, as well as Ray Davies in the Kinks and many others.......so this guy is pretty much the guy that brought Indian music to the West, which is just incredible. Right off the bat, the first "track" in this song is teaching about the Indian "ragas" which are basically set foundational melodies. It's why when you hear a song with a sitar or this "Indian sound" it sounds similar....because the raga's are foundational and you use improvisation to build up from the foundation. It's really cool and this first track is a crash course in Indian music theory. Really smart to do it this way for a western audience that is inherently stupid; as you can tell from the user reviews of this album here. And of course, this music was huge with the Hippies and TO THIS DAY there are huge communities of Hindus and white Americans that study mantras practice transcendental meditation that are remnants of.....Ravi Shankar and the Hindu influence during the hippie era. Ravi isn't the only guy that brought Indian culture to the west, but he had a more significant role in the music industry since he had a major influence on the Beatles and George Harrison, as well as other prominent western musicians. Keeping in mind that this is Indian CLASSICAL music, I think it is my preference for enjoying music from other cultures. The best way to enjoy unfamiliar music and instruments is to enjoy it in it's natural state. The sitar sounds great and extremely difficult to play and Ravi is a master. It's simple in that there are only a couple of instruments playing and no vocals. I'm glad there are no vocals as it just allows you to feel the music and vocals would ruin it. It's closer to ambient music or Trance music to me, which is why I enjoyed it. I don't know if this is Ravi's best album, but I'm glad one of his albums is on the list because he is an instrumental (get it?!) part of music history and culture and doesn't get the credit he deserves.
It was good and interesting how he explained the music theory, but not quite as enjoyable as Call of the Valley.
interesting. I can respect it. But an hour of it is a bit much.
Interesting and instructive
weird album which is more like a beginners guide for school kids somehow, its either 2 or 4 stars depending on how i feel today.
Not really my vibe. But it was ok
Favorite Track: Bhimpalasi
Very talented, but not for me.
Was expecting an album, not an instruction manual 1 ⭐️
Echt verrassend rustgevend ik ZAL hier op terug komen.
Eine interessante Einführung in die traditionelle indische Musik
i had fun listening to it on way home to syracuse for thanksgiving. a change of pace. i think i liked the songs that autogenerated afterwards better because they had a bit more of a clear melody lol. i really liked the microtones play with the sitar and had fun thinking about how many worlds there are and how nothing is a universal language. it also is fun to rate this as an album because transformed into immutable mobile it is no longer merely an authentic rendition of indian music. so which standards of album am i supposed to use in my rating?
interesting but dont see myself going back to this. rating it purely off of my taste and not the quality bc the quality was certainly impressive. and i liked hte introduction, it made it accessible
Exactly as advertised. Like the intro explanation of the Sitar.
Excellent crash course. I should get some tabla.
Blind album and artist. It's an hour of sitar.
Best sick
Hell yeah I used a private session for this one, no offense to Ravi, but Indian music gets me in the mood for Indian food and I don't want Spotify's algorithm to make me wander of for some Lamb Vindaloo. I prefer my sitar in the background of Beatles songs and while I pounding down curry. Any album that has to have instructions on how I should enjoy the music is not music I am going to enjoy.
This is my second Ravi Shankar album, and let me just say, listening to this exposure-therapy-style helps it seep into the crevices of your mind. I bought the Six Ragas album, my first, because the sitar is a beautiful instrument and the album art alone was worth the price at the time. I dissected that by reading the album notes and understanding the exercise and display of instrumental intimacy. There's an alternate education in these albums, it feels about as impressive as classical compositions. That Six Ragas album was a tough pill to swallow the first time around, and I really appreciate in ~this~ effort that there's just a few key moments of explanation integrated into the audio track so that those of us without the knowledge can learn to appreciate the presented genre. Take an extra decimal for being Norah Jones' daddy and helping form her background. 3.8/5
Sounds very Indian. Not really anything I would play again, but it kinda slaps also.
As the name suggests, this is a good starting point for anyone wanting to understand and delve into Indian music, namely that played on sitar. The first song literally starts with Shankar explaining the differences to how the music he plays differs to that of Western music theory. In it he talks about changing your mindset to fully appreciate the sounds of India. Which is fair. This is a different type of listen, but is as good a place to start as any for anyone wanting to listen to something from outside the anglosphere.
I learned that Ravi Shankar was not only George Harrison’s sitar teacher but also Norah Jones’s father, which already places him in a fascinating corner of music history. Unfortunately, his music doesn’t particularly resonate with me, but it’s clear that he’s an extraordinarily important figure in shaping how Indian classical music was introduced to the world.
Kinda boring to be honest. Like it's fine, but I think it would have been nice with a bit more depth. 1/5 stars.
Beautiful!! Increased my focus at work!!
60 minutes of any one instrument is a bit much.
2/5 - cool music but just not my thing
it's not for me. It's cool that George was into this but I cannot do a whole record of it.
this was an introduction to indian music that i appreciate for the knowledge
Interesting.
I'm right in the middle on this - do I want to listen to it over and over? No. Does it have it's place on this list? Absolutely. While I appreciated the instructions/commentary a couple times, it actually interrupts the album where I'd be less likely to put this on, and might rather pick something different from him where it's just the music straight through. It's still cool to have a brief lesson though.
Informative and interesting but just not something I long to hear again
all sound the same
Fun sitar jam session
Okay culturally. Seemed more of a lesson than an artistic piece to be enjoyed.
Thoughts before listening: Sitar music by someone who was in the Beatles' general universe and influenced George Harrison. Looks like this was released in 1957 a full decade before his Beatles connection. Review: I understand why the Beatles and other 60s hippie musicians glommed onto this guy and his music. There is something entrancing about the sitar, and the way the music is constantly evolving and flowing means it aligns itself well to both psychedelic rock and an acid trip. I'm not going to add any of these songs to the playlist, but I am glad to have heard it. This is certainly interesting music. 3-stars
I’m always curious and receptive to sitar based music. Don’t know what the heck is going on but the slower examples of this music I find relaxing. The quicker stuff I like less but the pace the music is being played at displays what accomplished musicians they are. Ravi Shankar is no doubt the most famous and perhaps the master of sitar music. His attempt to explain the music at the beginning of the album is welcome but at 4 minutes long and considering how technical this music is it did not really enlightening me in my quest to understand. I suspect full mastery is more like a religion taking a lifetime of study and practice. So I think it best to continue in blissful ignorance accepting it on face value as an accompaniment to help me relax or as a background at my local Tandoori when snaffling a Chicken Bhuna. This album will serve those purposes well. 3/5 17/11/25
Could have gone either way, turns out I'm more pretentious than I thought. 3.4
I enjoyed this a high 3 star
Unique was for sure
Very vibey and I know Shankar is well loved. Nice background focus music.
I guess this album is truly meant to be instructional: the entire first track and the beginnings of others have him giving a literal introduction to Indian music. I like a little sitar as a embellishment, or a side dish, not as a main course. I recognize Ravi Shankar as one of the greats so I feel like this album probably deserves higher than the stars I'm giving it based on my personal enjoyment.
Listened to this one on a long car ride, very busy day and this one kind of went by. It is essentially an introduction of Indian music to Western audiences and it is enjoying to listen to Ravi play his sitar.
very interesting, definitely not an album id find myself listening to again but it was very informative and neat.
This is like Within You Without You but for whole hour. I thought that would with that lenght it will get me bored towards the end, but no. It's relaxing and magnificent. Will listen again
I found the explanations helpful.
спасибо конечно, это прикольно, но не очень интересно музыкально для меня
I’m well aware that this will rank up there with the whitest, most Western-centric things I have or could ever say, but while this is broadly pleasant and inoffensive, I like this sound so much more when it has a Beatles song built around it. In its raw form, it’s 10-plus-minutes of drone and sitar that I must confess, I was ready to move on from when it was over.
Super uvod u rage
This was quite enjoyable. I imagine it must have blown a few minds back when it was released.
Fine
I’m sure this is great for what it is, but no thanks.
I can’t 1 this, he means well and I’m sure is a great musician, but I just don’t like the way it sounds
No Ravi.
Interesting to listen, but not truly enjoyable to my western trained ears.
2.5 - Meh
This was an amazing learning experience.
Enjoyable, glad I listened. Didn't meet 4 star criteria, so I guess it's a strong 3 - This kinda stretches the meaning of an album, but I'm okay with that. This is lovely music. Feels like the musical Bob Ross
Virtuosic playing and nice little lessons at the beginning of some of the tracks. Can't say I was mad about the actual music, but by the definition of "albums I should listen to before I die" it belongs on the list
Rubbish
Wes Anderson vibes, but weirdly the vibes from the fox one, not the India one. It's very cultural but it's hard to smash this on at a dinner party without getting some side eyes. I'm not really sure what George Harrison was on, but it's not really my thing. (Oh? That much? Ahh, no wonders). 3 stars because 2 stars felt racist. If you are Indian or a white guy who uses crystal deodorant and is already appropriating his dreadlocks, go for your life.
Wasn't expecting a music lesson today. That was both cool and informative.
Unenjoyable.
The impact that Ravi Shankar had on Western audiences from the 60s and onwards is something that is worthy of unpacking in order to truly understand. It may have taken a few years and the changing of the times but The Sounds of India inspired a tidal wave that sent ripples throughout the musical landscape that can still be felt to this day. The only words spoken here are the ones given by Shankar as a lecture of what the ragas are and nothing more and that was all that was needed. Whether or not this is regarded as a masterpiece is up to anyone who comes across this but The Sounds of India being a historical milestone is absolute.
You have to be in the zone for this one. My first outing with ‘The Sounds Of India’ wasn’t enjoyable. Felt like it just went on and on and on without end. I’m listening to it again, and I am enjoying it much more. It’s very nuanced and immersive once your brain gets attuned to Indian drone music. Reckon this would be an even better experience with a joint.
Very pleasant, I love the explanations of the music and the different techniques.
When I first heard of Ravi Shankar, I was sure I wouldn't care for his music. Fast forward twenty years, and I'm actually super into drones and ragas now. This rules. Exactly what I want from this list. There should be more international inclusions
A very interesting record with sounds I have been exposed to but to a far lesser degree than hip hop beats or electric guitars. It was an enjoyable enough experience and a very interesting experience at the very least. This is a good
The historical importance of this album cannot be overstated. It is also incredibly useful as an introduction to Indian musical theory and instruments. I honestly appreciated and enjoyed the spoken explanations throughout the album. It helps to understand the interplay of the percussion, drones, and soloing sitar. But the chances of me putting this album on to listen to for pleasure are near 0. 3⭐️
Not my jam at all, and I did find my attention waning over the full album, but it was interesting and I respect the technical ability.
FFS what s load of rubbish
nop
I mean, it's Ravi Shankar. Ya can't fuck with it. That said, it does all kinda all sound like one song. But it's cool.
This reminded me of meditation music. Very soothing.
Not for me
The Master at work
I quite like Indian music, but I don't the ability to tell the difference between an accomplished musician/artist and a hack. This was ok, I made it all the way through, but it sounded no different from the music played in the Maharani restaurant on a Friday while having a lamb vindaloo.
Couldn't figure out why this is so low. Then I listened to it. Clearly it was picked based on the cultural impact and not the musical quality. There's much better ravi Shankar albums. But this isn't one of them. This is on the level of a children's instructional album.
Interesting listen, i found the instrumentals, like in the second song to be very hypnotic. Overall its not something i would listen to normally, but it was interesting to see how other cultures see music
I liked that the artist explained some of the musical components of music from India; however, I thought a lot of it sounded the same. I realize that the instruments were those which are associated with India, but I did wonder if the sound would have been more varied if different instruments would have been used.
This was a fun experience! I really appreciated the introduction teaching me how to listen to the music before diving in, it definitely increased my appreciation. While I don't I see myself listening to much more music like this in the future, I was glad to get to hear this album! Best: "Sindhi-Bhairavi" Worst: "Máru-Bihág"
That was a really cool experience! Normally I would hate an artist speaking at the beginning of their tracks, but this "album" listens like a study of classical Indian sounds, and that carries a very different vibe. It's like exploring a different culture of sound, and I was particularly intrigued when Ravi contrasted it to Western music saying that you shouldn't expect a "melody", and compared it more to Jazz. In the past I've heard a fair amount of Indian ambient music, and this seems like a more "pure" classical take. Overall I did not enjoy the music, but this is the kind of ear opening album that I cherish the opportunity to listen to once. 4/5