Call of the Valley

Cool listen, not sure if i’d return tho

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

Really chill, awesome world music with primary sounds from India, but there seemed to also be some Spanish guitar riffs and possibly Latin rhythms.

I don’t think I was stoned enough to fully appreciate this one.

I was curious about Call of the Valley—I'd heard a lot about it. So I put it on via Spotify… and honestly, after a few minutes I was thinking: what is this kitschy mess? Total new age noodling with vague flute sounds and sparkly synths slapped on top. For a moment I thought I was listening to the worst album ever.

Luckily, it turned out I’d accidentally landed on some kind of 2012 re-recording, made by Shivkumar Sharma’s son. That version? You can completely skip it—total waste of time.

Eventually, I found the original from 1967—first on YouTube, and a few months later I even came across a copy in a second-hand record store here in Melbourne. That’s the real deal.

It’s a beautifully understated album, and I totally get why it’s seen as a classic of the genre. Classical Indian music like you rarely hear anymore: pure, unadorned, and not yet fully influenced by Western or Bollywood-style sounds—apart from the use of a slide guitar. The combination of santoor, bansuri (bamboo flute), and slide guitar is super melodic and works surprisingly well.

Highly recommended for anyone curious about Indian classical music but not sure where to start. Just make sure you’re listening to the right version.

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?

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.

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

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.

Calming but not my thing.

This is cool sort of ambient vibe record. Though very evocative with its instrumentation. What an absolutely lovely stroll through the mountains!

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.

Don't think I'm gonna be returning tp this one too many times but it was a crazy journey. Loved it.

I didn't find much enjoyment in this album :/

Not for me!

Lovely. Delightful music. Vaguely new-agey. And I mean that as a compliment. This type of album is pretty much why I'm doing this 1001 album thing. I've never heard of it and would never have tried it. Now, I like Call of the Valley.
Great cover art.

I liked this. Chill Indian music.

I have very little frame of reference for deciding if this is amazing or completely average. I haven't had many instrumental albums so far, so that alone was nice. It's a style of music that no algorithm would have recommended to me, and that I would not have picked myself, but I really enjoyed it.

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”.