Call of the Valley

Im not familiar with this kind of music…

I think this may be my gateway album into listening to this style of music outside of yoga or meditation.

Interesting classical indian music, a bit of a specialized item anyway, as you have to be quite acquainted with microtones and drones.

Listened to the one on Spotify and then looked at the review and they say it is a remake version. Listened on YouTube to the original, it is better for sure. Good background music.

Album was very peaceful & serene. It was a nice welcoming listen.

I enjoyed this but wouldn’t listen regularly.

2.8 I will rate it in the 3's as I can appreciate the absolute shredding of the sitar (reading its a santoor) but due to my western bias and sensibility I dont think I will be seeking this out

It’s definitely nice to listen to in the background while doing som office work - however, there are passages in some of the songs, where the sitar takes up too much space. Plus, I can’t really distinguish the tracks from one another. P.S. I heard that some band in the 60s heard some dude play the sitar in a movie studio, and then, later, the band tried to play the sitar on their own songs. Pretty cool story

That was very calming.

Nice and chill! Enjoyed it, but will never play again.

I liked this, it just got a bit samey after a while

I can hear the talent here but I am too trashy to fully appreciate it

A pleasant listen but not something I'm all that into.

decent

It's really pretty, and I like it's a concept album, it feels calm and grounded and I dont listen to music like this everyday. But at some point the flute work does get tiresome and I wouldn't want to listen to it everyday

So eine Musik ist ja immer mit Klischees vorbelastet, sodass es mir schwer fiel, da unbedarft ranzugehen. Wenn man sich versucht, davon zu lösen, sind hier wirklich spannende Ansätze vorhanden, die in der richtigen Stimmung einen coolen Vibe transportieren. Über die komplette Laufzeit ist hier aber bei weitem nicht genügend Abwechslung vorhanden, um eine höhere Punktzahl zu rechtfertigen.

Música microtonal para occidentales. No soy muy fan o más bien conocedor de la música india. Me llama la atención la técnica que usan, además del trasfondo espiritual que le dan a la música. Me gusto el disco, entiendo porque ha sido influencia para muchos artistas y entiendo porque estos artistas resultaron ser de este lado del mundo, es una música nueva pero a su vez digerible para el público occidental gracias a los instrumentos que usan.

Interesteing music

Enjoyed it a good bit actually. Ethereal and haunting, chill.

Appreciate it for what it is, but will probably never listen again.

2 days in a row it's an album I had to find on YouTube rather than streaming. I'd actually listened to this before, the songs are pretty recognisable from being heard in restaurants too. Good overall, not consistent quality and a little basic.

Hard to judge a genre with which I’m less familiar. Can only be sure it’s not my sort of thing at all.

Not my thing. Don't hate it, but don't care for it either.

I enjoyed it as background music.

I think it is good and sounds good, but goes really against my listening sensibilities, because it is so background and atmospheric

Expressive, vibrant instrumental. I could make out the difference between tracks and the melodies conveyed the track title like The Shepherd Girl.

Light Classical Hindustan. These world albums are often a nice surprise. This one was too. Beautiful sounds and musicianship. Very relaxing too.

O primeiro álbum que gerei no ano de 2026. Passei a virada do ano na casa do namorado de uma amiga da minha namorada. Acordei de manhãzinha, grogue e com dor de cabeça (ressaca), ainda deitado no sofá, peguei meu celular e chequei qual era o álbum do dia. Esperançoso que pegaria um já favorito pra começar bem o ano, me deparo com esse disco. Levantei a sobrancelha, franzi a testa quando li o sumário, fechei o aplicativo, e voltei a dormir. Hoje é dia 6 de Janeiro, estou voltando da minha viagem, e decidi finalmente pegar pra ouvir os discos atrasados. Eu estava temendo a escuta desse disco, imaginei que iria o desprezar, não ver valor algum, de fato, imaginei que iria dormir o ouvindo. Mas não foi o caso. Acabei me encantando pelas vastas paisagens sonoras brilhantemente compostas, e por mais que música indiana não seja puramente do meu agrado, há algo até que mágico nesses instrumentos e nessas composições. É fácil ficar transfixado nessas melodias e se perder no mundo pastoral aqui desenhado. Ouça o álbum no YouTube, obviamente. É uma boa experiência, faz o tempo passar rápido, e te leva pra um lugar distante. Bem bacana, mas não consigo me imaginar o ouvindo novamente em alguma circunstância. 3.5/5

An interesting listen but this really wasn’t my bag. Clearly they were talented, but I really didn’t get into it. Still, giving 3 stars out of respect.

This is excellent music to work to. This + Coffee = Zone (I'm in it). 3

sochli vibes hintergrund musig style. paascal hets no rechts gfühlt und i chönnt mers au vorstelle als ebe so hitnergrund/ambiance. aaber so zum aktiv lose chli böh

64/100. Feels like a light, natural listen, very meditative. Some of the flute playing is downright spectacular.

I was going to make a joke along the lines of "Call of the Poppadoms" or something similar, but then I actually listened to this... Absolutely lovely. If this is playing the next time I'm in my local Indian, I will be very happy indeed.

Glad to be introduced to this and there may be moods in which I want to revisit it, but not very often

This must have blown George Harrison's mind. It's interesting but I don't think I'll be coming back to this often.

Very nice background music. I feel like I’ve heard this played before at the teahouse

I enjoyed reading about this record more than I enjoyed listening to it - that's not to say I didn't enjoy listening too. It was interesting to hear about the record's influence on artists I'm really fond of like George Harrison and David Crosby. It's not something I'll be reaching for myself, but I appreciate the introduction.

Enjoyed this much more than I expected. I also listened to this while focusing on a tough problem at work, so it made for nice background. I could actually see listening to this more. In similar situations. Highlights Track 2: lovely melody Track 4: another pretty melody Track 8: also nice

#797. It's fine, I guess. 3/5: ok

Indian music. Holy scitar batman

Musically talented but just not the music we seek out. It made a good backdrop for working, but the songs did start to blend into one.

Meh, reint instrumental album, fungerte bra for å locke in som faen på matte 3

a little boring

After the heads up and listening to the correct record, big difference. This was calming and did what it seems to intend, gives you that pastoral moment, lovely piece of work, 3 Star.

Ok

It was an interesting change of pace. I liked listening to it. I don't know enough about the genre to comment more, other than learning that "classical" as a term has been watered down even outside of European music. It apparently just means "music without electric instruments or lyrics in a living language."

Very interesting and perfect for certain occasions, just not for many

This is very nice and atmospheric, but also a bit forgettable.

I definitely enjoy being exposed to more world music, but I don't know that I could comment on this past "it was pleasant and consistent."

Miellyttävän kuuloista, mutta aika itseään toistavaa. Tuntuu että tämän olisi voinut tiivistää lyhyemmäksikin.

Wife really liked it

This was interesting. I didn’t find it quite as mesmeric as perhaps I’d hoped, but I did enjoy listening to it. It also caused me to do a bit of research. I learnt for the first time what raga means as a style of music. That was really fascinating. And fun fact of the day was hearing the song Bageshwari (the penultimate track) which revealed to me exactly where the iconic long musical outro on The Who’s great song Baba O’Reilly came from. It’s well worth listening to the two tracks side-by-side (and, in each case, in full). Especially towards the end of Bageshwari (recorded 1968) it’s almost identical to the end of The Who’s song (recorded 1971).

New music to me. I sometimes listen to Indian music and enjoy hearing the different sounds from the traditional instruments from that region of the world. I enjoyed this album for the same reason. A difficulty I have with Indian music is that I haven't listened to enough of it. I find the tonal and rhythm changes as the music progresses jar with my western expectations. I guess I trip up when the next note or beat isn't what I was expecting and it takes a few seconds to get back into following the flow. That's not a fault of the music. That's how it's played. They just aren't progressions I'm used to hearing. I need to change the way I hear it to enjoy it more. All said, I did enjoy the album and it's prompted me to try to find more of this style of music to listen to.

Interesting foreign sounding music. I like te mood nd sounds of this album. Not one I would seek out to listen to again, but glad it's on my radar.

Quite enjoyed this. I was expecting something different, and this was a nice ambient accompaniment to my morning coffee. I’d have been happy if it was longer.

Good, but I'm not familiar with Indian music enough to have thought anything other than "Sounds like Indian music!".

I can't see this being a repeat listen, especially since it's not on streaming services and seems to only exist on cruddy YouTube uploads. But, I was doing some reading when I listened to this on a Sunday afternoon and it was perfect for that. I'll take this over all the shitty techno albums on this list any day.

3.5

This was very pleasant, I think that’s the best word that applies here. Sets a nice atmosphere from the get go and rides it out for over an hour. I don’t have much to say about each individual track, and I’m not sure this album should even be perceived on a song-by-song basis. I’ll take “Raga (Desh) (Dadra)” as my favorite, if I had to pick one. 3/5 throw it on and passively enjoy

Spotify has the tracks all mixed up which is annoying as according to wikipedia, the whole thing is a concept album about a Kashmiri shephard's typical day and tracks represent different times of the day. Anyway, it's relaxing to listen to and captures what I would guess to be a lovely sunny day. Lay back and enjoy. Best Tracks: Nat Bhairav (Ektaal); Raga (Pilu) (Teentaal); Raga (Bhoop)

That was different.

It doesn’t really move me, but I can listen to it for hours.

When I first started I thought this could be a 4 but the more I listened the less I thought I'd return to it. While it's interesting sonically, I didn't find anything I'd come back for.

It was fine, just a lot to listen to at once.

sehr chilly vanilly, man fühlt sich beim hören sehr mit der natur verbunden. Viel Zupfinstrument mit Flöten und Trommeln. Das Cover passt auch echt gut.

Many of the songs had this slow transition from mellow to fast that I thought was great. This is more of a background listen for me if I ever revisit it. Nothing formally Liked.

I’ll do my part and inform new listeners that the Spotify version of this album is incorrect. You’ve got to find the real version elsewhere, I used Youtube personally. This one is really tough to rate objectively. It is purely instrumental background noise. It’s inoffensive and pretty nice on the ears, but does absolutely nothing for me and I’m going to forget about it by tomorrow at the latest. The second song was also so quiet I could barely even hear it at all. I have no idea if that was intended, but it was just irritating enough to mention discussing here. Was it enjoyable? Ehhhhhhh, not really. Was it memorable? Absolutely not. Was it nice to have on while working? Kind of. It was, to its credit very relaxing and made me very sleepy. Maybe that’s both a positive and a negative the more I think about it. It’s clearly very well made for what it is, even if what it is isn’t for me. Every prominent artist in history just about has an “India” album, and it seems like this may just be the very album that inspired a ton of prominent, well known musicians to make their own “India” albums. So it’s got that going for it. This album, for that reason, is culturally significant, and more than welcome on the list. Now, the big question is whether I’m going to rate it a 2 or a 3. I don’t know. This one is really tough. You know what, it’s easy to get through. If I genuinely struggle to get through an album but can find aspects to appreciate, I’ll go 2. If it’s at least easy to get through, I’ll go with a 3. This is a 3.

Cool 3.5

I love this type of music and would buy it based on the cover alone but its just a little bit too background-ish type music for me, something you might hear while a massage is going on. I think if I bought it, I would not listen to it much.

Aunque esta música no es my cup of tea, ni de lejos podría decir que es un mal álbum. No fui el más feliz escuchándolo, pero tampoco me cierro como para no poder apreciar el talento de los músicos involucrados. No lo volvería a escuchar, pero más porque no es mi onda que porque no tenga motivos para hacerlo.

A nice enough album. Was more like background noise though because it sounded like 1 long continuous song 3 ⭐️

It was pleasant. For an instrumental album, it managed to hold my interest. However, being an instrumental album, it all kinda sounded the same. 3.5 out of 5.

Interesting. Actually enjoyed listening to this while working. Really cannot stand when they start singing though, have to skip immediately.

Very relaxing and a pleasant way to start the day, and top musicianship. Deserving of a place on the list to represent this style of music, but a bit too much like yoga/Indian restaurant music for me.

Cool

Background

very relaxing music. nice.

Chill and relaxing album. Standout songs: The Shepherd Girl Glacier Waters

The type of music I expect to hear in a dentist or doctor's office. Not offensive, not intrusive, just sits in the background to reward people who actually listen to it.

Loved! How relaxing and beautiful. Also mad that we’re going to Nepal & Bhutan in 3 weeks and this gets selected!

Certainly a unique listening experience…

A wiwi a wiwiw a wiwiwiw waa🐈

Interesting listen for world music. Kinda the first banger yoga album haha. Very talented just not my full time jam. I liked this much much more than what I imagine is bad music from this genre. 1967's pretty early for this. Cool album and bet I'll see it again somewhere.

Not something I'm going to go out of my way to listen to, but it was nice relaxing background music to work to.

Quite relaxing

It's a fabulous album as a whole and it has a wonderful Eastern vibe to it, but it's not an album where I'd replay individual songs later on down the road. As a collective project, though, this is great.

Nice background listening (sorry this sounds a bit dismissive). Could get into this actually.

Sounds like I’m in the doctor’s waiting room

I quite liked it, to be honest. It was pretty soothing background music while working. Not anything I'd be tempted to listen to on purpose, but pleasant enough.

Nice

The vibe is nice, and I like these drums (whatever they're called; can't say I know anything about Hindu music), but that's about it. This album is fine. I enjoyed listening to it once, but I don't see myself ever returning to it. It's just way too simple and calm, which is not for me.

Worked for me as background music and certainly a cut above meditation music. Some good themes going on but for me could've used a little more tension/release moments. The youtube cut I found was ripped from vinyl and had some hisses and other noise. Being old and remembering the days of scratchy records I really appreciated that.

It was ok. I imagine it was new to the western world upon release, back in the 1960's, but in the current age of globalism it just sounds ordinary.

I'm not well versed enough in this genre to understand the influence and importance this album had for Indian music in Western culture (according to the wiki description). I enjoyed listening while I worked, but can't rightly say I'll come back to "Call of the Valley".

This was a really interesting listen!

231/1089 - Let's spice up this 20 minutes of C# with 15 minutes of Db!

Not a bad instrumental album. Not something I'm likely to return to, but decent background music. 3/5

I’m sure it was influential, but all I hear is the soundtrack to me saying “I’ll have a chicken jalfrezi please, and we are going to share a rice and a peshwari naan…. Yeah, and a pint of cobra”.

Kinda like Indian New Age music. It was very chill.

Very interesting sound. Would listen again.

I listened to both - the album on Spotify and the one on YouTube. They do sound very different, but I don't have a strong preference either way. I did like the actually album, but I don't have any way to consider the context when it came out as it's apparently very influencial but sounds like a lot of stuff I'm more familiar with.

I’m a sucker for blues rock. The more harmonica the better. These British boys were feeling it! It isn’t quite complex enough to rate five stars, some of the lyrics are clunky, but I did enjoy listening to this.

Really nice, though I can’t imagine myself coming back to it.

Love the album cover, fits the music perfectly. Don’t have too much to say since this is so far removed from music I’m used to. The first half had some really cool moments but did get bored near the end and was waiting for the end. Interesting to read about all the famous musicians it influenced. Rating: 3.4

Peaceful instrumental music, from India - sitar and flute. “ Conceived as a suite, the instrumental album follows a day in the life of an Indian shepherd from Kashmir, using ragas associated with various times of the day to advance the dramatic narrative.” (Wikipedia)

Fine. I’ve heard better ragas

Surprised at this one. Very pleasant listen. 3.5 stars

Soothing

Calm and cool, very spiritual. At moments, it feels like I'm listening to the soundtrack of an RPG such as Final Fantasy. Not my favorite instrument, but it's easy on the ears on this record. I enjoy this music, but it's not something I would routinely seek out. I'd revisit it.

Definitely understand why this is so important and influential, and as far as music like this that's not at all "Western" it's easier for me to digest and understand but probably not something I'll come back to soon. 6/10

With this, we return to the musical stylings of India. Cool! While this is not my first album to come from the country, it is potentially the most influential, with this album being an earlier player in the introduction of Indian music to the Western world. Of course, earlier albums like Ravi Shankar's The Sounds of India had done the same thing, but this album is just as good if not better. We can have multiple albums from a country, okay? Besides, India's traditional music style is pretty cool! I've always liked the sound of it. The difference in how scales work is quite fascinating. I like the flutes. It makes the album stand out more. The compositions here are quite elegant and I really like that. This feels like a cohesive musical experience... probably because it was designed as such. How neat. The instrumentation does get a little repetitive, but that could be the fault of my ears that have grown used to the Western music styles over my years of experience. Still, I have a ton of respect for this album and I'm glad I listened to it. If only it was available on streaming. High 3/5.

I enjoyed this much more than I was expecting and the recording and fidelity sounded much more contemporary than I would have guessed. It would have sounded. 3/5.

Different but ok.

Ist gute musik aber eher für ein passendes Setting wie Yoga oder so. Kann das Album nicht komplett hören aber weil es eigentlich echt gut ist dennoch 3/5

no es el tipus de musica que m'agrada pero esta guay. potser tornaria a escoltar-lo en moments molt moooooolt concrets quan vulgui entrar en trance, meditar o desconnectar

This is just straight up classical Hindustani music. Complete with the slide guitar, santoor, flute, tabla, etc. to provide an atmospheric experience unlike much else. A good album to immerse yourself in. I can see how this would've inspired some of the psychedelic rock acts of the late 60's.

It was really nice to listen to.

Good listen, appreciate listening to stuff like this I would have never thought to listen to

Good album. Nice and relaxing. 3 stars.

Which valley?

Fine as background music. Not my usual fayre.

I like these sounds in the background. Worked well while working. But I'm not equipped to understand this music and be influenced like George Harrison et al. When I lived in Northern Libs in Philly in the mid 90s, I lived above Lenny Seidman, a pretty well known Philly tabla player. CONSTANT tabla came up through the floorboards. I generally like the sounds in this record but I'm still a little triggered back to the battles we would occasionally have (I was not the easiest person to live with back then and he had a constant Indian music soundtrack seeping up a flight of stairs).

Didn't hate it, just very much not what I typically listen to so not my favourite

I can see why people like this, it’s very soothing.

Pas écouté entièrement pas vraiment ma cam!🙏

Much like the bossanova and salsa records I've gotten previously, this is one of those "It's really good, but it's not the type of music I'd go out of my way to simply listen to". For me, it's good soundtrack or background music. As such, it's simply getting a 3. What I will say is that at the least, I can see this type of music's influence, usually in prog metal, weirdly. Tool and Intronaut use this style of drumming from time to time, and it's generally cool in those contexts.

Very pleasant, but it never really transcends the level of pleasant. I'm reminded a lot of the sound of balalaikas and so Eastern European music, an unexpected connection. I am very grateful for this entry on the list, I think it might be the first Indian entry I have heard in 426 albums which is truly shocking, proof that this list is way too focused on US and UK artists. And this does feel like a quota entry, "Ah, shit, we really should include one Indian album". I also feel that The Beatles and The Byrds being influenced by this album was probably what got it on the list, instead of the authors being impressed by its intrinsic merits.

So it supposed to represent a day as a herder, and it clearly catches that. This is more background music for me but pleasant enough

Llegué a la mitad, sonaba bien

The quieter passages of this album have a low-key ambience that's appealing. The fact that the music is often centered around single notes or repeating melodic structures gives the pieces an often-hypnotic sound and allows to more complex instrumental passages on top to really shine.

okay but not something I would want to add to my library

The YouTube is very different to the Spotify version. It’s better but you really do have to be in the right mood to enjoy it.

Honestly it's just classic Indian music. It's not really my tea but I respect the art. 6/10.

Nice traditional music, very interesting when done well

This is an artist new to me and at first I thought it was wonderful, beautifully played instruments with an ethereal quality . But then it just sounded like one of those albums you could buy to help you to sleep, like with dolphins cheeping. So after the initial interest it felt like no tracks stood out for me which is a shame.

Not sure what is meant to stand out about this but it's a nice change of pace from the rest of the list.

Found on YouTube. Interesting and different but not my usual music taste. Definitely worth a listen but I won’t revisit

Seems to be two different albums, one with the correct artists and sing names, kind of, and one with the correct album art. Both kind of meh.

i listened to the album on youtube after seeing the global reviews. really like the sounds and different instruments. but i wasn't in this specific mood when listened to it

Relaxing and pastoral, but perhaps a bit too much so. I liked the faster portions more and wished there had been more like that. Enjoyable listening, but I've liked other Indian music on this list more.

Interesting stuff

This is why im here. High quality music of a type i'd never normally come across. Lovely, chilled out orchestral indian fun

Not my thing

Make sure you listen to the original on YouTube and not the far inferior rerecording on Spotify. Beautiful album and totally understand how it introduced western audiences to Indian music. It is very much a light classical album though. Kenny G of this gorgeous tradition.

• 3/5 • unobtrusive - I kept forgetting that I was listening to it

This was something different. I think I listened to the right album, but it's hard to find on streaming. Good background music for working? Certainly not bad in any subjective term I'd throw at it instinctively.

I appreciate the reviewers who encouraged finding the original album on YouTube, as I didn’t want to waste my time with something that wasn’t the intended product. That being said, this wasn’t for me. I was just bored, even though I can appreciate the clear talent in the music.

This was pretty relaxing, unique music that I wouldn’t normally listen to. I went in thing I’d hate it because I didn’t like the sounds of India album, but this was decent.

Idk, sounds like all music from that region. 2.5/5

This was another one that is hard to evaluate just due to my sheer lack of familiarity with the genre. Even so, I can say that it was a pleasant listen and a nice change from the western music I've gotten on here since starting a few months ago. It wasn't overly complicated in its composition or production, but the parts all worked well together and made satisfying tracks. While the instruments were different than what I'm used to, they weren't abrasive or hard to get a feel for. The parts all went well together to form an album that had a nice vibe to it. It was easy to listen to even without really having any familiarity with the style. That said, I'm not sure what would make this a great album. It was nice, and I enjoyed it. But without knowing more, I can't evaluate it beyond that. I'm also not sure how much it holds in replay value, since I don't see myself wanting to put this on all that often. Overall: 2.8/5

Irgendwie cool.

Not necessarily something I would seek out, but I definitely felt some stress melt away while listening. Probably a 2.5 for me, but bumping for importance.

Simple, intricate, and engrossing. Not necessarily my music, but I appreciate its brilliance.

Very pleasant and relaxing, so relaxing I couldn't tell you a single thing about it now. Three stars seems fair.

A milestone in world music. Indian sound suitable for Western ears.

Cool listen, not sure if i’d return tho

Eventually managed to find the correct version of this on Spotify (not the first one that comes up). Very beautiful and calming. Strong 3

Не моё, но атмосферно

Very pretty sounds! While not every track impresses, the majority of the album does. That said, I don’t think I would come back to Call of the Valley very often.

Ganz chillig, wären 4 Sterne, aber das Instrument ist leider schon etwas nervig.

Fine

Great background music

I'm sure I've heard most of this in a restaurant. Very relaxing.

Pleasant and spiritual

5/16/25. This type of music I’ve never heard of before, but it was very soothing and peaceful. It definitely gives me more interest in exploring this sound further.

A wide eyed, whimsical hour of uplifting instrumental twists and turns that take you on several fully fledged journeys. When it hits, it really hits. When it doesn’t, it’s still musically interesting.

Excellent work music. Vibes were high

me hearing the dulcimer: ahhh yes, getting strong SWANS vibes from this me hearing the tabla: ahhhh, some TOOL influence on this as well, i like it flute @ 6:30 the control on the string bends is nuts do i buy a tabla??? side b draaaaaags

Table for 4 please.

shepherd's delight

Ahold vibes

Definitely skip the Spotify version and just go to the original on YouTube.

The link goes to a different album on Apple Music. Found on YouTube.

I usually enjoy Indian classical music, but this is Hindustani music for elevators.

Pleasant and surprisingly timeless. Not very exciting, though.

nice sounds, not my thing

Enjoyable to listen to the unique instrumentation and style. It’s pretty chilled and you can appreciate the musicianship. Can’t say I’m gonna rush back though.

2.5 Controversial opinion time: I actually though the Spotify version (i.e. the incorrect album) was better. After listening to it, thinking it was pretty chill, almost meditative, enjoying it, I went to see what people were saying and realised I'd listened to the wrong one. Seeing the comments furious about this, claiming the original was much better, my hopes were high. But nope. Fidelity didn't help, but didn't have as much soul as the follow up.

Interesting... but I'm not interested in this kind of music.

More tabla! Virtuosity knows many forms. I'm not a scholar of Indian Classical music, but this seems like it's an exemplar. Very "listenable" and (this might seem weird) but it reminds me of the best jazz guitarists, like Django Reinhardt or Charlie Christian, the personality of the player really comes through.

i mean it was nice i guess?

Probably won't be back, but I enjoyed listening to it and glad this list introduces me to such work

A very chill & pleasant listen. Not particularly outstanding, but would pair well with any task that requires mental focus.

Good background noise if you need it.

Schöne Musik

Nice music to read to. Enjoyed on a train to Busan.

Of all the albums I’ve listened to so far, this is the one I had the least frame of reference for. I found it a soothing listen though.

Instrumental Indian music. Spotify version is not right one! Needed to re-listen! Indian classical music, very relaxing. Can see the influence in works to come! Best track - can't choose since all blend to together and not on spotify Added another version of Ahir Bhairav

This was really calming but not super interesting to listen to.

This is an interesting experience, but I'm not going to get back to this album ever again.

Very chilled background music

too chill for me today

Not for me, but pleasant.

I prefer the Soundscapes album that is linked - great meditation music.

El enlace creo que llevaba a una versión actualizada, así que busqué la de 1968 y me ha gustado bastante. Mucho de lo que se oye me ha recordado a los Beatles y al Brian Eno de Ambiente music. Interesante.

A very peaceful and relaxing experience. Really hard to say anything else honestly. They are just three guys being good at their instruments and creating a calming an rural atmosphere.

Difficult to find the correct version to listen to, which wasn't ideal. Luckily found a vinyl rip on youtube. A pleasant listen.

Not bad for an instrumental album.

I get why this was influential, I’m happy to have heard it, and I will never listen to it again. It was definitely the best of its genre.

I honestly would not have minded if the name of this project was “1,001 Albums You’ve Never Heard from World Cultures.” But it ain’t. And when an album like this pops up I find myself wondering what the selection criteria here is. Surely there are more than 1,000 Israeli, Thai, Korean, Cuban, or Afghanistani albums that we should hear. That said, there was enough to enjoy here. I’m curious if it is the best representation of music from India and why this is likely to be the sole entry in this catalogue.

Like many people here, I listened on YouTube to get the original version. The Spotify version is a remake by the artists son. This album is good, but not great. I dig the tones and all but this is very same sounding throughout. To the point that I think even half the length would have been too long.

This was very pleasant. Put my headphones on laid down and chilled out for an hour.

75% Best: N/A Must-Hear? I can understand why this album was so influential in the West: it is rich Indian classical music. As I am not an avid classical music listener, I would not put on this record to focus on. Falling asleep or studying are the best times to listen to this record. Therefore, I am going to say not quite on the Must-Hear factor.

Fine. Pretty, delicate, but not moving me too much.

I have never heard this before. It was pretty good.

6/10

Started out really good, and then it all just started blending together, and sort of became forgettable.

I'm not equipped to rate this one. It's certainly pleasant, we've definitely rated far worse albums than this, and it's kind or fun. I could listen to this as background music while at work and be perfectly happy.

I was pretty skeptical because all the connections to the white musician enlightenment thing. But there were some genuinely exciting passages. The guitar was pretty good. There are parts that just sound beautiful. The musicianship is there. And unlike the previous world music album, it's not repetitive. I started the day super skeptical, but now I'm on board

there needs to be music you can play in the background of weird backwoods museums, and this fits that bill perfectly. 3.75 honestly would listen again

Nice. New to me. Listened to as background while writing my book, and the music was effective in helping me think.

This is pretty and all once you find the right version, but I wouldn't say any instrumental album is something I need to hear before I die.

Like others, I couldn't find this album on my streaming platform, but did on Youtube. It's good to see an album that's not Western-Anglophone. This album is a nice enough thing to listen too, but really it didn't grab my attention, so it's unlikely I'll play it again.

A calming influence into the world of Hindustani classical music

It was nice, but ultimately not the most interesting. Enjoyed it enough, though. 3/5

С одной стороны как бы на фон, но всё же слушать интересно при нехилом хронометраже. Выбрать что-то одно невозможно. Лучшая песня - Ode to the Sun God.

Found on YouTube. Peaceful

Opening track is ominous and pretty great and saves it, rest sounds like spa music. 3.2

Beautiful and atmospheric album from Northern India. I could only find a vinyl ripoff on YouTube - the scratching didn’t worsen the experience. It’s a bit monotonous in the end and I don’t really get the feeling of the apparent concept, but I rather enjoyed it nonetheless. I was happy to hear the link to neighboring musical traditions - especially obvious on “Bhoop”.

I do love having the non-English non-popular music items on this list to hear different approaches to music.

Not on YouTube music so couldn't listen

I really don’t know how to rate these albums. I was pleasantly surprised by this one though. Giving it a 3 because I genuinely enjoyed it.

I don't know if I'd ever listen to it again, but it's very soothing.

quite mellow and relaxing

It’s a little weird but it’s chill

Very gentle nice music for nice people at one with their lives.

It’s OK for background music. 3

I've never heard of this album or artist before, but I've enjoyed the Indian music that I've gotten to review so far. Given the other albums from India that I've reviewed, I think I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. However, I have no idea how the story of the day in the life of a shepherd will unfold across this music. This should be an interesting journey! I thought this album was fine, and as far as other Indian music that I've listened to, this album was probably among my least favorite. I found the first movement kind of rough to listen to at times; I wasn't a big fan of the santoor playing on that particular part of the album. However, later on in the album, I really enjoyed the flute and bansuri playing. While listening to this album, I tried to picture a day in the life of a shepherd in my head, to go along with the narrative of the music. I'm not sure I succeeded much on that front, but it was fun and unique to try. Musically, this was fine, but I don't think I'd come back to this album.

I’m pretty sure I’ve heard some of this at yoga. Also, good focus music for work writing

Very pleasant spa music. Would be great for a bath

very indian, not quite my stuff but good musicianship

Mellow Indian music. Very relaxing.

Calming and chill if you find it on YaTube, annoying screeching if you listen to the subpar remake on Spotify. One of the few world music albums on this list and this is very contemplative and relaxing to listen to.

Nifty but not my thing

Interesting!

Some traditional Indian music. Relaxing. Good exposure. But might not play often

I’m not sure how to review this without more context. I know nothing about Indian classical music other than what I’ve heard through the Beatles and scattered through other songs. The best way to describe it is… earthy? It makes me feel like I’m sitting in the dirt with a circle of my friends just chilling in the woods. I don’t even have any friends, so that makes it even more intriguing. It’s fine. I likely won’t be listening again.

Fine. Not my thing. I’m pretty sure this linked to the wrong album. I maybe found the right one on YouTube? This does sounds like something rockstars would listen to in the late ‘60s.

This was indeed quite nice, though a bit on the dull side. I do enjoy this light instrumental stuff from time to time but this one was just fine.

I’m glad that I read the reviews for this and figured out it’s not actually the album in streaming. I went to YouTube to listen. It was enjoyable, but I don’t think I’ll revisit.

Misleading, I think his son? may have done a remake? Anyway the spotify is a different Sharma, and listed as 2012. You tube had it. I love the aspect of indian classical music that relates to time of day, but I have not gotten anywhere near the ability to interpret or recognize say a dawn raga. Cool concept though, and enough western style guitar to keep my brain somewhat oriented.

This is why I’m doing this project. Absolutely not the kind of music I would ever come across organically, but an important work. I appreciate being introduced to this album, as it also lays groundwork for later psychedelic influence from the likes of The Beatles, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and many others I'm sure. 3.5⭐️

I don‘t really get if it’s cringey or mystical.

During my initial playthrough of this album, I was frequently interrupted, so had to listen to it a bit at a time over the course of several hours. Initially I didn't like it very much, but about three tracks in, I started to enjoy it. I even saw it as a potential five-star pick. Later in the evening, I was able to give it a full, uninterrupted playthrough, after which I realised that I didn't like it so much after all. In the end, I feel that three stars is appropriate. Perhaps the experience highlights how one's mood and situation affects the appreciation of music, just as much as how music can change one's mood. Interesting!

Interessant wel. In eerste instantie laten liggen omdat ik hier niet echt op zat te wachten. Maar nu ik het een kans geef is het best mooi. Gevormd door de Westerse popmuziek is muziek uit andere windstreken soms lastig te pruimen. Muziek uit het midden-oosten vind ik gewoon echt niet mooi en ook Indiase klanken heb ik soms wat moeite mee. De meer latino dingen slaan dan juist wel beter aan. Echter door het rustige karakter van deze plaat heb ik er toch wel lekker ingezeten. Ik mis de zang niet en de muzikale arrangementen zijn rustig maar wel interessant. 6,5/10 Highlights Raga Bhoop

Chill atmospheric music that was very pleasant to work to

OK to have on in the background. Just about scrapes a 3* for me.

Great background music. Too monotonous too stick. Favorite song: Bhoop

- Indian music is very much outside my wheelhouse, so it is difficult for me to evaluate this with any degree of expertise. I appreciate the exposure. - From what I can tell, it is good? Not something I would ever seek out on my own, but that is more due to personal taste. I could see this being mindblowing to Western audiences in the 60s. - Glad I found a copy of this on YouTube, because there was a New Age album of the same name on Spotify that was not as impressive.

This is a 1968 instrumental Indian music album (Hindustani classical music if Wikipedia is to be believed). Also if Wikipedia is to be believed, a bunch of famous Western musicians (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, David Crosby, Bob Dylan) all liked this. That's basically a full summary of the Wikipedia page. It sounds like what might be softly playing in the background of a nice relaxing yoga class. It's actually quite enjoyable. A bit hard for me to compare to any other vaguely Indian-sounding instrumental music that I've heard before, but also perfectly enjoyable. A solid listen for a Sunday evening. A minor note, but the Spotify button on this page takes you to some album that was released in 2012 and sounds a bit more modern, with Anglicized song titles and song lengths that don't match what Wikipedia says. I found a Youtube version that seems to match, so that's what I'm going with as the actual album. This does mean it won't make my Spotify playlist though, so I'm sad to have it excluded. Favorite song: Bhoop Other: Ahir Bhairav/Nat Bhairav 10/27/24

Windy caresses Everything and nothing Time aided by calm

I don't think I have anything original to say about this album. It's good though, thank you to the commentors who said to avoid spoitify

Interesting. Definitely a mood piece for either a contemplative or hookah cafe setting. The music mix & arrangement was well done. Again, not an everyday listening genre, obviously, very Indian.

I don't feel like I can really judge this album at all. While not unpleasant, it was absolute background muzak to me - when it finished and random similar artists played on Spotify, I didn't notice until multiple tracks later.

Not a bad album but it didn't move me all that much.

3 good album felt like I was playing civ

Instrumental

The Spotify link is wrong (can’t find it there at all), so the ratings might be of another album.

Interesting classical Indian music but I didnt care much for it.

Such a peaceful vibe, really liked this. I wish I knew the names of the instruments so I could say which one was really banging but especially the last one I felt like I was being put under a groovy zen trance.

Pretty chill probably wouldn't go back to it but good arrangement and performance

Another album I was glad to be exposed to. I may not listen to it all the time but it was definitely a relaxing and calming listen. Will revisit later in the future.

enjoyable

Quite enjoyed this! After a few listens I started to like that most songs have not much going on and then BAM a class bit. At first I thought ‘this is a bit daft’ but when the good bits hit its worth it. Will be back to this I reckon, 3.5 possibly a 4 with time

I have absolutely no frame of reference for this album, with very little knowledge/experience of traditional indian music. Seemed nice enough to me, had it on the background, went by quickly enough. Can't say it grabbed me compared to other Indian music I've heard in the past. Feel unqualified to pass judgement but as it neither annoyed or excited me, 2.5.

Zero frame of reference. I enjoy a concept album, and this appears to be a concept album. Sitars are wild instruments - so flexible tonally, and yet absolutely only able to be used in this genre of music. Some of the drumming was intense.

Really enjoy it surprisingly

Not a bad way to start the morning. Relaxing..

Would never listen to this on my own but found it very pleasant.

Surprisingly good. Nice background zen music. Try iy out!

Calming Indian-country folk style music. Some weird tracks, but mostly calming

A bit same-y over the full length of the album but I still found it very chill, with highlights of an attractively spiritual existentialism on the finish.

It's cool

s letste indische klassische album hani nöööd gern gha. ich gib etz dem e chance. s het wenigstens sicher kei scheiss lounge drums drunder. es wird schomol hackbrett gspielt. jeeetz chunt perkussion ine. recht coole moment. jo s hackbrett heisst santoor isch jo guet. irgendwie bin ich mir nöd 100% sicher ob ich s richtige han. d ufnahm tönt insane guet für 1968. etz macheds plötzlich voll dur-sache. ich check langsam es isch würklich jedes lied imne andere modus quasi. the prophet in the mountain isch recht geil isch sochli mixolydisch time. sehr geil de letsti track mit flötul goht etz au ultra hard. moll dasch e 3?

für en kaputte sunntig vlt gad gueti musig finds scho sehr cute aber s langwilt mi langsam schoo ES ISCH ERST S DRITTE LIED AAAA me muess aber sege s albumciver isch sehr geil joa kei ahnig ich finds sehr cute (v.a. d flöte) aber es passiert halt nöd vill, bin jz nöd trurig gsi wos fertig gsi isch

I think I could have enjoyed this more in the right context. If you're not able to switch off and let it take over then it's going to bounce off your pretty hard. It's not you, it's me.

Couldn't make it through the whole thing. It's pretty peaceful but just felt so repetitive with all the sitar-ing. I'm sure if I was sitting in "the Valley" listening to this man play this I would be totally entranced, but it feels like you need to be in the right time and place for this one.

Music that plays over an establishing shot of an Indian city before a British guy starts talking in a documentary/travel show.

Very well produced record. Great playing but let’s be honest. Boring. Never listening again.

I'll probably never listen to this album again, but I'm glad I gave it a try

A fun and chill instrumental album to put on during a bright and shimmering springtime morning while you lay in a field.

Very relaxing to listen to. And I loved that it had instruments and sounds I wasn’t used to hearing.

Nice relaxing record 😎👍

This grew on me. At first I just bought, “nice for yoga, but when else would I listen to this?” But then it turned into some pleasant background music while I was working. To be fair, the musicianship deserves more attention than I’m giving. It really is quite stunning, but I just can’t get into it more than that.

Best Song: Stars Twinkling Within. Really pleasant gentle flutes. Worst Song: The Prophet into the Mountain. Might have been the song with the most steel drum. Overall: It really did feel like the album, and indeed each raga, took a nice journey. Each felt more like a story than a traditional song. Overall, I liked the orchestrations, although I'm really not a fan of the sound of the steel drums. The flutes in particular, however, were lovely.

Interesting, but doesn't stand out as much as some. Hard to find, but there's a vinyl rip on youtube.

Peaceful and decent 6/10

I felt really relaxed while listening to this and I agree it's really beautiful (way better than what the Spotify link gives you). But I don't think I'd ever go out of my way to listen to it.

It's fine.

Very calming, nothing jumps out

I mean… I dunno what to say, really. It’s probably just a 3, but I enjoyed it. It’s really strong instrumental music, and it keeps a pretty solid quality throughout the album. Pretty energetic start, bit of a low-key finish. I get the energy of “it’s a farmer’s day” so from sunrise to sunset, yes, this is generally what a soundscape might feel like. It translates well. It’s just not that captivating to me where I can give it anything more than like, a 3. I zoned out a number of times in this album, and by the end, I just kinda felt like I didn’t need to listen back to it. It’s good music, but it’s not music I’d come back to unless I was really itching for this type of soundscape, or if I wanted to use it for say, ambience or study music. It’s totally competent, and I would recommend people give it a listen… but I’m probably not gonna come back to it, hence the 3. Still good though.

I liked it, it's quite a different genre to most other albums on this list. It certainly wasn't mindblowing but it made for a good relaxing musical journey.

Didn't listen through

Perfect background music for doing work. I liked getting to hear various instruments that aren't too common in western music. Overall not the most exciting album and a lot of it sounded similar but I liked it. It was peaceful to listen to and one I could see myself throwing on while at work for background music.

Interesting depature from what I typically listened too. I think it was actually quite solid and could see myself putting this on to calm down and enjoy some peaceful moments of the day! 3.5

definiitely different than 'western' music but I really loved this. It's not the same as something that really grabs my attention and makes me want to move like the 'blues-based rock' we all love in the west but it was well recorded and the players were fantastic. Really a great adventure!

I'll give the original a 3 and the Spotify recreation a 2.

Every once in a while an album will come along that really changes my perspective on something. The experiences I’ve had with traditional Hindustani classical music haven’t been a hundred percent positive. It’s just not something I’m used to. My brain isn’t programmed to put something like that on and really sink into it. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad, or that I’m not open to hearing more of it. Because opinions can change. And I would say that sort of applies to this album. It’s by and large the best music I’ve heard from this genre, but I’m still not totally into it. First off, don’t listen to the Spotify version of this. I thought it was strange how modern it sounded, since the release date said 1968. Then I learned the album on streaming is actually a redone version by his son, that is honestly much worse. It lacks the same feeling the original has. Of all of the music I’ve heard so far, this sounds the most ornate. Like it fits that adjective really well. It’s a very beautiful and atmospheric composition. And it’s written as a complex mix of those elements and more Western-adjacent sounds like guitars and flutes. It’s also written as one long suite that follows a day in the life of an Indian shepherd. It uses the Hindustani ragas that are commonly associated with certain times of the day to show the passing of time. Super cool concept. I think my one gripe lies in its repetition. It’s a bit one-note for me, and every song has the same feel. But other than that, this is a surprisingly good album, and one that intrigued me from the start. It also really helped push this sound to Western audiences and inspired quite a few famous musicians of our time, like members of The Beatles, which is always great. Rating: 6/10

Really liked this one! It was perfect for a rainy Saturday morning this past weekend. I'll pull this one out when I need to chill out again.

All instrumental, dulcimer/flute/guitar, very calming