The Sounds of India

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

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

Not my thing, but I guess it is good

nice to hear a different sound

1.8

Ein Sound aus einer anderen Zeit, aus einem anderen Land und meinem Geschmack ganz fern. SummselWummsel .. es ist ein Stern

This is something I've never encountered before! "The Sounds Of India" is more of a musical documentary than an album, so I'm not inclined to give it a higher score. Other than that, listening to a cultural expert explaining classical Indian music was delightful, entirely improved from the sitar's stereotypical use as a vaguely "oriental" instrument shoved in the background of shows, games and movies. The complimentary performances made for a relaxing evening. I was also endeared when I read that Ravi Shankar was a friend of the Beatles, having been an instrumental influence on their later sound (and a lot of 60's pop and rock).

I of course know who he is- and how talented he is and the impact he had on western music for a generation.

I also don’t necessarily have the context to fully judge it. I can appreciate the musicianship even if I won’t go back to it.

Another one to chalk down as an interesting cultural exercise, but not something I'd ever have any inclination to return to.

This is great stuff. It rewards the listener for intent listening, but it also rewards the listener for just sitting back and letting the music take over. The way the winding compositions endlessly unfold is a little unnerving, but never boring.

5.0/5.0

i was feeling a 4 for this but ended up enjoying it so much i didnt notice it ended and started playing other songs from him.

I struggle to enjoy sitar. I love the small lessons between numbers, but the actual music is not for me.

I'm not used to albums giving you an instruction manual on how to listen to them, but this is, as far as I know, one of the first traditional Indian albums widely released in The States. In short, I understand why this album is like this, even if I think it's a very on the nose, slightly clunky way of handling things. Though, honestly, some of the information about how improvisation operates within Indian music is genuinely interesting, and the narration has a certain charm to it, so I'm not deducting a lot of points. As for the music itself, I don't feel especially qualified to review this, as with many dense, improvisatory, instrumental genres. On first listen, I just can't appreciate the nooks and crannies like I should. But I did very much enjoy this. The effect while listening to this is very much calming and meditative, and listening deeply to this exacerbates these attributes. There's tons of movement, savant instrumental talent, and brilliant improvisation here, and I could see myself *really* liking this if I came back. I also wouldn't be surprised if this was really influential to the inclusion of Indian music within '60s rock music. Ultimately, very enjoyable, read this as a strong 3.

Was this my type of music? Hell nah.
Was it bad? Equally, no.
For that, it gets a 3

That was interesting. I don’t think this list necessarily has to include the 1,000 best albums in the history of global music. Just trying to come up with evaluation criteria for that would be a doomed endeavor. The list is clearly dominated by popular Western/American music. And that’s a good thing. In that sense, I find the “World” genre just as out of place here as, for example, modern works by Schoenberg or Stockhausen would be. Against this backdrop, this album also has little business being on the list. Nevertheless, I found it interesting to listen to this album as part of broadening my musical horizons. Although these Oriental-Indian harmonies aren’t to my taste, I admire the performer’s virtuosity. 3/5

Two would probably be more fair but god this was shite

love the educational bit

I understand the idea of conceiving some album that encapsulates the idea of Indian music and market it to a wider audience. However, out of the albums that I have heard from Ravi, this seems to not be his most grandiose and lush oeuvre, precisely tied to how accessible it sounds.

7/10 [KEEP]

took me back to my college indian music class

The guy who kickstarted the Beatles' (and the Western world's) interest in classical Indian music. It's quite similar to jazz in that both use improvisation. The record as a whole feels more like a tutorial than a cohesive album, but I appreciate Ravi's efforts to share music from India to the world.