The Rough Guide to Bollywood

Amazon.com
With Andrew Lloyd Webber getting in on the act and Bollywood films making it into Leicester Square, India's film music has finally moved to center stage. But as DJ Ritu points out in her liner notes for The Rough Guide to Bollywood, it's been a long haul. "My English India is no longer a secret," she confides with relief. The tracks she and her colleague Bhagwant Sagoo have compiled offer a comprehensive survey of Bollywood's music from the 1960s through today. What's striking is how frequently the same few voices crop up behind the multitudinous faces seen onscreen. The voice of Kishore Kumar--India's answer to Al Bowlly--recalls a bygone musical age of graceful elegance. Asha Bhosle shows how a voice can change, chameleon-like, to suit the needs of the moment. On one track she radiates raunchy sleaze, in another dreamy seduction, yet the shaping of the phrases remains recognizably her own. Meanwhile, her sister Lata Mangeshkar can be heard in duets with a variety of male singers. On some of these tracks the boxy acoustics betray the venerable age of the recordings, while on others you can feel the atmosphere of the club all around you. That's where these songs have been tried and tested, and that's where they will now be most appreciated. For a different take on these same singers, check out Manteca's I Love Bollywood. Sugar-coated escapism rules! --Michael Church

Product Description
As the Indian film phenomenon sweeps mainstream Britain the Rough Guide To Bollywood is the essential introduction to the colourful, vibrant and dramatic soundtracks of the multi-million dollar industry that is bigger and more productive than Hollywood. Compiled by DJ Ritu, broadcaster and club DJ for London club nights Kuch Kuch and Club Kali and assisted by BBC Asian Network's Bhagwant Sagoo – this is a collection of the biggest and best Bollywood has to offer.

Tracks:

Chandni O Meri Chandi - Jolly Mukherjee
Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana - Kishore Kumar
Mehbooba Mehbooba - Rahul Dev Burman
In Aankhon Ki Masti - Ashoa Bhosle
Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyar Tera - Asha Bhosle
Tere Chehre Se Nazar Nahin - Lata Mangeshkar
Chahe Mujhe Koi Junglee Kahen - Mohammed Rafi
Awaara Hoon - Mukesh
Theme Instrumental - Nagin
Chabi Kho Jaye - Lata Mangeshkar
Yeh Sham Mastani - Kishore Kumar
Mere Desh Ki Dharti - Mahendra Kapoor & Chorus
Kehta Hai Joker - Mukesh
Chalte Chalte - Lata Mangeshkar
Mere Sapno Ki Rani - Kishore Kumar

Album Description

Love triangles, glitz, melodrama, music and tragi-comedy are all part of the hugely successful musical-movie genre known as Bollywood. The Rough Guide To Bollywood Gold showcases the leading singers and revisits some of the most glamorous movies from this vast and ever expanding scene.

Artists include: Jolly Mukherjee & Sridevi, Kishore Kumar, Rahul Dev Burman, Asha Bhosle, Mohd. Rafi, Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar, Mahendra Kapoor and Shailendra Singh

Customer Reviews:

Bollywood at Its Beautiful and Bombastic Best.......2007-04-27

If you're looking for a fix of Indian pop culture, this CD will definitely do the trick! "Bollywood Gold" is full of wonderfully vibrant music, all of it overflowing with powerful emotion spiced up with a healthy dash of sentimentality and melodrama. The instrumentation is good, of course, but in this genre vocals are the main thing, and so this CD features some of the classic voices of Indian film--beautiful and charismatic voices either feminine or masculine (and highly distinct in that regard) that tell a story in their own right, that are able to evoke a wide range of feelings in the listener regardless of whether the latter understands the lyrics or not. If you've seen these movies, you'll relive them here for sure. If you haven't, like me, then the enchantment of this music might trick you into thinking you have--or else inspire you to go looking for them afterwards.

As with most "Rough Guide" CDs, this one excels in giving the listener a fine range of tracks both listenable and representative, all lovingly handpicked by an expert aficionado of that specific musical form. "Bollywood Gold" comes to us courtesy of DJ Ritu, who in the liner notes does a wonderful job of introducing the different singers (Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey, Jolly Mukherjee, and Mahendra Kapoor) as well as giving a crash course in the social history of playback singing in Indian film, after which each track (in order) is explained in good, relevant detail (including but not limited to what movie the song comes from). All of this comes after a movingly personal reflection on what this wonderful music meant to Indian immigrant families in England, of how important it was in their lives--making this quite a bit more meaningful than the average "greatest hits" album. And, as this listener found out, some of that enthusiasm is definitely contagious.

Average customer rating:

Get up and Dance!!!
fun and dynamic sampling of Bollywood
Top 40
Eye-opener
A quick sampler of what Bollywood songs are all about

The Rough Guide to Bollywood
Kishore Kumar , and Lata Mangeshkar & Kumar Sanu
Manufacturer: World Music Network
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Best of Bollywood
Beginner's Guide to Bollywood
The Rough Guide to Bhangra
The Very Best Bollywood Songs, Vol. 2
Rough Guide to Bollywood Legends: Lata Mangeshkar

ASIN: B00005OW5M
Release Date: 2002-02-04

Tracks:

Dum Maro Dum - Asha Bhonsle
Roop Tera Mastana - Kishore Kumar
Piya Tu Ab To Aaja - Asha Bhonsle
Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata - Lata Mangeshkar
Chura Liya Hai Tum Ne - Mohammed Rafi
Pyar Diwana Hota Hai - Kishore Kumar
Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin - Kishore Kumar
Aap Jaise Koi - Nazia Hassan
Jaadu Teri Nazar - Udit Narayan
Tujhe Dekha To - Lata Mangeshkar
Kehna Hi Kya - Chitra
Didi Tera Devar Deewana - Lata Mangeshkar
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai - Udit Narayan
Ek Pal Ka Jeena - Lucky Ali
Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani - Udit Narayan

Amazon.com

With Andrew Lloyd Webber getting in on the act and Bollywood films making it into Leicester Square, India's film music has finally moved to center stage. But as DJ Ritu points out in her liner notes for The Rough Guide to Bollywood, it's been a long haul. "My English India is no longer a secret," she confides with relief. The tracks she and her colleague Bhagwant Sagoo have compiled offer a comprehensive survey of Bollywood's music from the 1960s through today. What's striking is how frequently the same few voices crop up behind the multitudinous faces seen onscreen. The voice of Kishore Kumar--India's answer to Al Bowlly--recalls a bygone musical age of graceful elegance. Asha Bhosle shows how a voice can change, chameleon-like, to suit the needs of the moment. On one track she radiates raunchy sleaze, in another dreamy seduction, yet the shaping of the phrases remains recognizably her own. Meanwhile, her sister Lata Mangeshkar can be heard in duets with a variety of male singers. On some of these tracks the boxy acoustics betray the venerable age of the recordings, while on others you can feel the atmosphere of the club all around you. That's where these songs have been tried and tested, and that's where they will now be most appreciated. For a different take on these same singers, check out Manteca's I Love Bollywood. Sugar-coated escapism rules! --Michael Church

Album Description

As the Indian film phenomenon sweeps mainstream Britain the Rough Guide To Bollywood is the essential introduction to the colourful, vibrant and dramatic soundtracks of the multi-million dollar industry that is bigger and more productive than Hollywood. Compiled by DJ Ritu, broadcaster and club DJ for London club nights Kuch Kuch and Club Kali and assisted by BBC Asian Network's Bhagwant Sagoo - this is a collection of the biggest and best Bollywood has to offer.

Customer Reviews:

Get up and Dance!!!.......2007-03-27

From the moment I put this in my cd player, I fell in love with this wonderfully diverse group of Bollywood songs. This cd just makes you want to get up and dance! I would recommend this to anyone looking for an good intro to Bollywood style music.

fun and dynamic sampling of Bollywood.......2006-02-22

The Rough Guide series is a great way for someone who appreciates great musicianship and danceable grooves from around the world to sample new genres.

This is one of the better ones. From the progressive rocker `Piya Tu Ab To Aaja' to the beautiful and spiritual `Kabhi Kabhi', to the instantly catchy `Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' and drivingly rhythmic `Tujhe Dekha To', you may well find yourself singing Hindi even if you don't comprehend a word. The common elements are beautifully controlled vocalists and skillfully complex arrangements that presumably tell stories related to Bollywood movies. You don't have to be an Indian music snob to love this album.

Top 40.......2004-12-16

Each song sounds like (U.S) top 40, every decade represented. The only difference is the language. I was bored.

Eye-opener.......2004-05-21

Although I had heard plenty of Hindi and Punjabi songs previously (indeed, Indian music is a huge influence on my own music), this was my entry point to dive in and study them. Incredible. This compilations covers the greats (Asha, Lata, Rafi), as well as the sixties through to the nineties. And the songs chosen are all-time classics which your Indian friends will all know and love, even if you've never heard them before.

A quick sampler of what Bollywood songs are all about.......2003-12-10

OK, so I don't understand a word of Hindustani, but those pop-like rhythms, strings, and exotic high-pitched voices of those women really got me ever since I saw Gumnaam, whose music video Thora Birch was jamming to in Ghost World, in its entirety. This sampler of songs from Bollywood, the Hindu film industry whose output puts Hollywood's to shame, serves as Bollywood Songs 101 for newbies. Seeing those exotic women on the inner sleeve made me wonder, just what kind of movies are they making down there? And just imagine how many actors those singers did the singing voices for. Highlights to follow:

Well, per Cornershop, we don't have a brimful of Asha here, but how about three doses? After hearing a few chants of "Hare Krishna Hari Ram", we hear "Dum Maro Dum" which features a funky 1970's style electric guitar, and then Asha herself. She and her husband R.D. Burman do "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" featuring some sax, ominous low octave piano notes before strings and organ sounds take over. This is a rollercoaster of a song, frantic swirling strings one moment, melodic jazz sax and vibes next, organ solo another... weird, Bhonsle's girlish but sweet voice is a highlight. Burman though, has some English lyrics, calling out "Juanita, oh my darling!"

Finally, Asha does a duet with Mohammed Rafi, who did the song on Ghost World Thora Birch was jamming to. "Chura Liya Hai Tum Ne" has been covered thousands of times in India, and is considered a classic there. This mid-paced strings and horns song

Fret not, there's also three doses of Asha's sister, the legendary Lata Mangeshkar, who has the record for doing the most songs for movies. She does a sweet romantic sounding ballad with Mukesh in "Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata." "Tujhe Dekha To" is a duet with Kumar Sanu featuring the usual strings and some exotic string instruments. "Didi Tera Devar Deewana" is a near 8-minute epic where Lata and S.P. Balasubhramaniam, do vocal duties on a catchy rhythmic song with the usual frantic strings, horns, and exotic string instruments, featuring some nice female backup singers. The best of her three songs here.

Another artist who gets three songs here is male singer Kishore Kumar, who does the mid-paced dance number "Roop Tera Mastena," "Pyar Diwana Hota Hai", both highlighted by strings. He does the first ever male duo vocal in Bollywood history with Manna Dey in "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin," a song for a curry western, as opposed to spaghetti western, and the opening swirling strings, clucking like a chicken, and skiffle beat, makes me wonder what kind of oaters the Hindi make?

Chitra does the light pop ballad "Kehna Hi Kya" and her voice is soft and melodic compared to songs by Bhonsle or Mangeshkar.

"Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" has all the hallmarks of a Bollywood hit, a sweet romantic score, choir, and a nice duet between a man and woman, who here are Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. This is the title song to the biggest Indian movie hit of 1998. However, my eyes widened when I read that other songs from the movie were better than this one. Well, if this is a primo song...

Nazia Hassan does "Aap Jaise Koi", which is kind of like a lightweight pop version of Blondie's "The Tide Is High" mixed with the strains of the Latin instrumental "Brazil." I'm not sure if I agree with the liner notes as this being an equivalent of "Dancing Queen", but it's still good.

All the songs here feature much of the same instrumentation, but the rhythms and music change enough that it's possible to tell one from the other instead of this CD being a bunch of curry slapped down on a plate. A nice dip of the toe into the Bollywood film song genre, which makes me want to check out Lata Mangeshkar or her sister so I can really get a brimful of Asha.

Average customer rating:

Goddess of Music

Siren's Voice of a Thousand Passionate Moods

Rough Guide to Bollywood Legend: Lata Mangeskar

Rough Guide to Bollywood Legends: Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar
Manufacturer: World Music Network
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Rough Guide to Bollywood

ASIN: B00015BOZO
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Tracks:

Inhi Logon Ne
Allah Tero Naam, Ishwar Tero Naam
Aayega Aanewala
Sare Shaher Mein
Satyam Shivam Sundaram
Aye-Dil-E-Nadan
Aa Jane Jaan
Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya
Yeh Dil Diwana Hai
Kuchh Na Kaho
Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha
Nainon Mein Badra Chhaye
Yara Seeli Seeli
Chandni Raaten Pyar Ki Baaten
Kaise Rahun Chup
Soja Rajkumari

Amazon.com

A luscious combination of Indian musical tradition, sweeping Hollywood strings, and Latinized big band, the music of Bollywood is the perfect antidote for those jaded Western ears in search of potent new emotions. This comprehensive anthology examines the fairy tale-like career of Lata Mangeshkar, Indian cinema's most famous playback singer. From her breakthrough hit in 1949's ghost story Mahal (the hymn-like "Aayega Aanewala") to the 1994 blockbuster 1942: A Love Story (the sweetly meditative "Kuchh Na Kaho"), the disc guides us through five decades of Bollywood magic, as experienced and defined by Lata's trademark high-pitched voice. This is highly melodramatic, occasionally campy stuff, overflowing with ingenious orchestrations and unexpected sounds. Melody reigns supreme, as in Hemant Kumar's heavenly "Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha." The bubbly "Sare Shaher Mein" finds Lata sharing the spotlight with younger sister Asha Bhosle--the only other Bollywood female singer who has been able to rival her in terms of sheer output and vocal mastery. In fact, the Rough Guide's own volume devoted to Asha serves as the perfect companion piece to this exquisite--and revealing--compilation. --Ernesto Lechner

Customer Reviews:

Goddess of Music .......2006-01-15

Firstly I would like to say, that I have never herd or watched any Bollywood, movies, this all changed when I was in France, for a business trip. Well staying in my hotel I was reading an article in a French English paper. On the front page there was a full story about the Cannes film festival, they had a few pictures of a few Hollywood stars, but the one picture that stood out by far, was of this Indian actress Aishwarya Rai. By far the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life (apart for my wife, lol). It seemed the French media agreed with me, they also debuted her as the most beautiful women in the world. To cut a long story short, I went to watch the movie Devdas, with my wife, even though we did not understand the movie as it was in Hindi, reading the sub titles was enough. I can safely say that it is one the best musical movies I have ever watched. During the end of the movie my wife was in tears, the movie had a profound affect on both of us, so much so that we decided to visit India, during our summer holidays; words can't not describe the beauty of this country. There certain places in India, that can only be descried as heaven. I have to travel a lot for my company; India is by far the best country I have ever been to.

During our visit to India, we bought a few CD's. Rough Guide to Bollywood Legends: Lata Mangeshkar. Firstly my wife played the CD, I did not think any thing off it, but one day, during my day of work I was going through my CD collection, and came across this CD. I decided to play it, although I did not understand the meanings of the songs, some of the melodies can only be discarded has hypnotic.

The clarity and power of Lata Mangeshkar's Voice is amazing. She is one of the best female vocalists I have ever herd. On par and even better then Mariah Carey here in the states. I have downloaded a few songs. The best include "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha", "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" and " Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha"

I would recommend that you purchase, this album, (try out the above songs by downloading them, you will be amazed)

I would also recommend that you watch Devdas, and Google up Aishwarya Rai (this women is stunning)

I would also recommend that you visit India, it's a huge country, we have been going for the past 3 years.

Siren's Voice of a Thousand Passionate Moods.......2005-04-10

This is one CD I could not pass up ... I already have two CDs where Lata Mangeshkar's voice is the most beautiful and spirited, therefore I had an idea I would be very pleased. Pleased? I am ecstatically happy!!! The incomparable voice, the rhythms, the instruments, the variety of films (1949, 1952, 1960s, at least one from 1970, several from the 1980s, and some from the 1990s), the tabla beat ... I could not ask more from any CD. My heartfelt thanks go out to Ken Hunt who selected the tracks. Additionally, this CD has the most extensive and informative liner notes I have seen in a long time. I can not find enough right words to praise the notes and musical selections on this CD.

REVIEW OF SELECTED CONTENTS:
Track #2 has a devotional theme. It is a magnificent way to begin any CD but especially with the poignant emotional voice of Lata Mangeshkar. It is in the "bhajan" style, which is a devotional hymn. It has a nice lyrical quality that hints at something exciting ... most likely the bright future of this very popular and talented Bollywood legend.
Track # 4 "Sare Shaher Mein" begins with a santoor which I am told is considered an "instrument of romance". There are fantastic clarinet-like or other wind instrument musical passages that sound like the Hungarian tarogato. There are hints of the Meditarranean with bouzouki-like improvisational sections and an intense tabla beat which provides trance-like qualities.
Track #6 "Aye-Dil-E-Nadan" also begins with the santoor and has wonderful orchestral arrangements along with a lovely violin section ... Again the Meditarranean music comes to mind. There are sections with soft waterfall like music which turns into more intense white water rapids at an unexpected bend in the flow of this river of sound.
Track #9 "Yeh Dil Diwana Hai" is very astonishing, exciting music. It is reminiscent of klezmer music and Israeli culture. There are definite hints of Sephardic, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors ... especially when the male voice accompanies Lata Mangeshkar.
Track # 11 "Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha" has Turkish sounding instruments very likely the flute. At times the musical passages change direction and become more Asian, in fact, very Chinese sounding with soft violins, flute music and tinkling instruments like chimes. The music and Lata's voice whisper of Asian sensuality ...
Track #12 "Nainon Mein Badra Chhaye" is among my favorites. Lata's voice is very sweet, accompanied on the santoor, again the thoughts of sailing on the Meditarranean arise. Her voice has unique trills and other variations ... accompanied by the heart beat of the tabla. Absolutely sublime music and her voice is joyful and serene.
Track # 13 "Yara Seeli Seeli" is my other favorite. The title is a refrain in the song and is highly addictive. There is an unbeatable rhythm and tabla beat. The song begins with an instrument which sounds like a Chinese erhu and totally takes me by surprise. There is a clip clop rhythm that develops which is hypnotic. Lata's voice expresses intense emotions. This selection is pure joy ... the listener can not but sing along.

Overall, the whole CD is truly an outstanding representation of the wide range of musical styles and talents posessed by this most famous and beloved playback singer of Indian films.
Erika Borsos (erikab93)

Rough Guide to Bollywood Legend: Lata Mangeskar.......2004-06-20

The rough guide to Bollywood Legends

Before I thank World Music Network, I owe my respect to Jowi Taylor who conducts "Global Village", one-hour show on music from all over the globe. Global Village is a production of Radio Canada International. You can hear the program via Internet or if you have a short wave radio (every Sat, 7 PM to 8 PM, 13785 kHz).
Month of May was celebrated as the Asian Heritage month. In one program, Jowi honored, Asha Bhosle, a female singer from India with narratives. One of her songs was also played. There was a quiz about Asha. If anyone could answer the quiz could win three CDs offered by Jowi.
I did not have the answer for the quiz. I decided to buy them. That is when I had the chance to know World Music Network and their beautiful compilation of songs from Bollywood. I bought these CDs from Amazon.com. These CDs are produced in Great Britain. Each CD comes with a booklet nicely tucked inside the front cover of the jewel case for the CD.
This booklet is a piece of history of Bollywood's movie making and the role of fabulous play back singers. I do not recall history to be written so good, so methodic, on a movie making industry. All the songs have narrations to detail the situation, the mood.
Back cover of the jewel case has nostalgic posture photo, going back even half a century. I find another music lover and scholar, Ken Hurt, in addition to Jowi Taylor. A team of other experts has captured the vivid details about the human face behind the songs.
One not only gets the songs in a CD, but a good flavor contemporary Bollywood. This is not a typical CD, mass-produced, commercially. Price is right. You will love them, if you have any degree of passion about Indian filmy songs.

The Rough Guide to Bollywood Legends: Mohd. Rafi
Average customer rating:

Beware - most of these are truncated versions

Rough guide to Bollywood Legends: Mohd Rafi

The Rough Guide to Bollywood Legends: Mohd. Rafi
Mohd. Rafi
Manufacturer: World Music Network
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Rough Guide to Bollywood Legends: Lata Mangeshkar

The Rough Guide to Asha Bhosle

Rough Guide to Bollywood Gold

The Legend: India's Best-Loved Singer

Rough Guide to the Music of India

ASIN: B0001F6WTM
Release Date: 2004-04-26

Tracks:

Chand Mera Dil
Chal Ud Jare Panchhi
Taarif Karun Kya Uski
Dil Ka Bhanwar Kare Pukar
Yeh Ladka Hai Allah
Hum Kisise Kum Naheen
Rut Hai Milan
Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho
Pardesiyon Se Na Ankhiyan Milana
Babul Ki Duayen Leti Ja
Woh Hain Zara Khafa Khafa
Nain Lad Jai Hai
Jo Baat Tujh Mein Hai
Aaj Mausam Bada Be-Iman Hai
Wadiyan Mera Daman
Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai

Amazon.com

Mohammad Rafi(whose name is typically abbreviated to Mohd. Rafi) recorded thousands of songs before he died in 1980. He is still remembered as one of the great playback singers of the Bollywood movie scene, which means he provided the emotionally charged singing voice for lip-syncing movie stars. Rafi got his start in the late 1940s, becoming well known for his voiceover work by 1952, and his rise coincided with the golden age of Hindi film. Recorded between 1957 and 1977, the 16 tracks here easily convey the passion of the singer even without the film accompaniment. A variety of modern and traditional Indian music styles is touched on here, and his specialties of love ballads and duets with women singers, most notably Lata Mangeshkar, are particularly well represented. For the kitsch factor, check out the groovy brown-sploitation of "Chand Mera Dil" and "Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho": both reference American soul and boogaloo, while the latter is also festooned with sounds of a thunderstorm and ocean waves. --Tad Hendrickson

Album Description

Over the years, Bollywood's dream-weavers have adopted many faces and many voices. Since the late 1940s, people have known, or suspected, that the face in close-up on the screen is probably lip-synching to a `playback singer', and in the annals of Bollywood, Mohd. Rafi's star shines bright. Decades after his death in July 1980 (at the age of 56), he remains one of the four most influential playback singers ever, alongside Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. His voice brought fantasy to life, and he continues to inspire succeeding generations. This album pays tribute to his overwhelming influence in the subcontinent and beyond.

Customer Reviews:

Beware - most of these are truncated versions.......2004-07-20

These Rough Guides to Bollywood Legends looked like really good sets with their quality packaging and extensive liner notes. Unfortunately, only 3 or 4 of the sixteen songs are the complete versions. The rest have been truncated and fade out unnaturally, generally just past the middle of the song. Most of the songs run about five to seven minutes in the original. On these Rough Guides, some suddenly fade out after barely three minutes.
I'd guess this must have been in the interest of putting sixteen Hindi film songs on a single cd which would be impossible otherwise. But nowhere on the packaging is it stated that these are not the complete versions. Pretty misleading on Rough Guides' part.
If you're looking for samplers to hear what these legends sound like, maybe they're good enough. But if you're a serious fan, you'll be very disappointed when the fade out comes just as the song is hitting stride. Go with the 'Golden Voices of the Silver Screen' comps instead, or just buy the originals.

Rough guide to Bollywood Legends: Mohd Rafi.......2004-06-20

The rough guide to Bollywood Legends

Before I thank World Music Network, I owe my respect to Jowi Taylor who conducts "Global Village", one-hour show on music from all over the globe. Global Village is a production of Radio Canada International. You can hear the program via Internet or if you have a short wave radio (every Sat, 7 PM to 8 PM, 13785 kHz).
Month of May was celebrated as the Asian Heritage month. In one program, Jowi honored, Asha Bhosle, a female singer from India with narratives. One of her songs was also played. There was a quiz about Asha. If anyone could answer the quiz could win three CDs offered by Jowi.
I did not have the answer for the quiz. I decided to buy them. That is when I had the chance to know World Music Network and their beautiful compilation of songs from Bollywood. I bought these CDs from Amazon.com. These CDs are produced in Great Britain. Each CD comes with a booklet nicely tucked inside the front cover of the jewel case for the CD.
This booklet is a piece of history of Bollywood's movie making and the role of fabulous play back singers. I do not recall history to be written so good, so methodic, on a movie making industry. All the songs have narrations to detail the situation, the mood.
Back cover of the jewel case has nostalgic posture photo, going back even half a century. I find another music lover and scholar, Ken Hurt, in addition to Jowi Taylor. A team of other experts has captured the vivid details about the human face behind the songs.
One not only gets the songs in a CD, but a good flavor contemporary Bollywood. This is not a typical CD, mass-produced, commercially. Price is right. You will love them, if you have any degree of passion about Indian filmy songs.

Rough Guide to Bollywood Gold
Average customer rating:
Rough Guide to Bollywood Gold
Various Artists
Manufacturer: World Music Network (UK) Ltd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1906063036
Release Date: 2007-03-13