Tabla Duet

1. Dhamar

2. Ektaal

3. Sooltaal

4. Dhun

Tracks:

Charu Keshi
Bhatiyer
Adarini
Marwa
Dhun Kafi

Tracks:

V 71/2
Jait
Sandhya Raga
Ghanashym
Tilak Shyam

Tracks:

Sitar And Violin Duet
2nd Movement Sitar Concerto No.1
3rd Movement Sitar Concerto No. 1
Morning Love
Indo - Japan Finale
Enchanted Dawn
4th Movement Raga Mala (Sitar Concerto No. 2)

Tracks:

Vandana
Hey Nath
Pather Panchali
Supaney Mein Aye
West Eats Meat
Oh Bhagawan
Friar Park
Tana Mana
I Am Missing You
Ta Na Tom
Fire Night
Sanwarey, Sanwarey
Dispute And Violence
Shanti Mantra

Customer Reviews:

Let's Celebrate Ravi!.......2007-06-14

In the history of recorded music, few "artists"- if any- have brought the world such a wide variety of material over such a long period of time as Ravi Shankar. He has been with us now, as it were, for over eighty years, and during his 75th year on earth, around 1995/96, this item, a set entitled "Ravi: In Celebration", was released to the public. The purpose was to "show the different aspects of Ravi's music" in the words of the late George Harrison, ex-Beatle, Ravi friend and fan, and among the compilers of the set. I aquired the set sometime later (I came to this man's music a bit later than 1996) and am now here to review it. So... In a word: WOW! Firstly, I don't know of many western artists who have even been honored with a boxed set like this, IF they make it to 75, which seems to be a big if these days. Secondly, what a wide array of wonderful material this set presents us with. The catagories are split for ways (in accordance with the number of discs) as follows: Disc 1- Classical Sitar, Disc 2- Orchestral and Ensembles, Disc 3- East-West collaborations, and Disc 4- Vocal and Experimental. Currently discs 1 and 4 are my favorites, but I will give an overview of each, as briefly as possible. Disc 1: This is probably the CD that will sound most like the Ravi Shankar you've heard before, especially if you've bought any other Shankar CDs. It consists of 5, ragas (that is, traditional India pieces; I don't really know any technical info here), each of lengthy duration, for the westerner anyhow. Each is enjoyable in its own uinque way: the first two have an exhilerating, playful atmosphere about them (especially the first, Charu Keshi), while the third is an interesting, if simple, piece composed by Ravi by his daughter, who plays sitar on it, the remainder is fairly enjoyable, great ragas really, although for those unprepared, track four is an evening raga, and is VERY slow for the most part, it is still enjoyable if, and only if, you really take the time to sit down and listen. 5/5 for disc 1. Disc 2: I know I've already said that disc 1 will be most like the Ravi you've heard, but if, on the other hand Arpan is all you've heard before coming to this compilation, these tracks will sound more familiar. All the orchestral tracks, the first two for me especially, are enjoyable and fiarly vibrant and varient, sonically. Overall highlights here include: V 7 1/2, and a track played entirley by an ensemble of Ravi and his sitar students. A solid 4.5/5 for this disc, not the strongest around. Disc Three: Here we beging the spectacular East-West collaborations. Starting off with a violin/sitar duet, and carrying through several movements of Ravi's various Sitar Concertos, an even stopping for an incredible live track, Indo-Japan Finale, this disc never seems to let up. These are just awe-enspiring collaborations. Highlights include: Sitar and Violin Duet, the second and third movements from Ravi's Sitar Concerto number one, as well as the afformentioned Indo-Japan Finale. Also of note is a beatiful track called Morning Love, in which Ravi duets with a classical flutist. 5/5
Disc 4: OK. First off, I've read some reviews here, claiming that this disc often sounds "dated and contrived". Well, I'm here to tell you that its neither. This disc is a favorite of mine, and unless you fall into the catagory of "Hindustani Purist", or easly see things as dated or the like, there is no reason not to open your mind to this disc. For starters, Friar Park is an absolutley GORGEOUS track recorded at George Harrison's mansion; behold how autoharp, sitar, and marimba mix, soncially. Then I suggest a huge favorite of mine, the funky West East Meat (what a title!) In it Ravi, and a few other Indian musicians basically jam with jazz bassist and the result is fun, and oftne weird (lookout for Ravi's utterances of random fraises in Bengali.) Fire Night is brilliant piece sure to win over jazz lovers, and Dispute and Violence, another hug favorite, starts off with unaccompanied vocals but quickly evolves into catch piece with with a brilliant hook. Tracks like Tana Mana are relaxing, in an almost hypnotic way, while the vocal offering, I am Missing You, sung in English by Ravi's sister-in-law, Lakshmi, is gorgeous in different sort of way than the other tracks: lyrically it emulates emotion and innocence and, despite arguable over-prodcution, still comes across as something fresh and different. In short, the open-minded will appreciate it most.Other material on this disc, such as the vocal offerings many of which have beautiful lyrical interpretations, will grow on you. 5/5 for disc 4, easily.
Finally, the sound qaulity is very good (except for a track or two where Gramaphone Company of India, Ltd, seems to have preserved material poorly), the mixes, and instruments crystal clear (you can really hear those tablas), and there is a booklet sewn into the package, so you won't be loosing it easily. The booklet offers a biography of Ravi, photos, and info on all the tracks, including Ravi's own notes, from which I draw much of the information for this review, and more. Also, lookout for George Harrison's brief introduction, which I quoted during this review. Overall, a wonderful music, wonderful sound, wonderful booklet= wonderful package. 5/5- A+. Let's celebrate Ravi!

Good Overview Ravi Shankar's Career.......2001-08-10

This box set is a good overview of Ravi Shankar's career. The classical Cd is especially good. Perhaps the set should have been at least 6 cd's with the additional discs being pure classical since R.S does constantly insists he is a purely classical musician.

I find parts of the East-West and Vocal and Experimentation disc to be dated and contrived ,not too interesting after a few listenings and as a result I rarely play these discs.

Listening to this set will enhance your appreciation for Indian classical music and for Pandit Ravi Shankar.

The accompanying booklet is quite nice , although I would suggest R. Shankars book Raga-Mala. I also think that the current remastered Angel CD 's are a good value. For those looking for good overview of Hindustani music check out the Raga Guide: Survey 74 Hindustani Ragas .

captivating.......1999-08-05

It's true, the quality of the music varies greatly from disc to disc and sometimes from track to track, but that's a concomitant of the fun, part of the exploring. My favorite piece is the Yehudi Menuhin collaboration. (Mr. Menuhin reveals in his autobiography he never learned to improvise, but you couldn't tell it by this: he plays with conviction and spontaneity.) The "classical" disc is consistently good; the movements for sitar and orchestra are fascinating; the pop song "I Am Missing You" is amusing. The set is attractively packaged and includes a lengthy biography of Ravi Shankar with historically significant photographs.

Also recommended (for sitar players too): PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

good mix of stuff, but NOT AT ALL for Hindustani purists.......1999-05-28

Initially this set was the jewel of my Hindustani collection, but overtime, some of the experimental music gets tiresome (especially disc 4) The classical sitar CD is excellent and shows Pandit Shankar in his prime with the masterful accompaniment of tabla player, Ustad Alla Rakha. The ensemble disc is really nice too, getting to experiment with the likes of south Indian players like violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam. The east/west disc is exhilarating at first, but the more familiar one becomes with the music, the sillier some of these collaborations seem. OFten what happens with the east meets west things is that one of the musicians leads with the other following/immitating (often blindly and lost). I do want to emphasize though, that the easterner is not always the leader or the one with superior understanding of how to collaborate. Anyway, this set serves well to introduce people to north Indian classical music, but some of it is too fabricated to stand the test of time. For pure sitar playing, I would suggest Nikhil Banerjee's "raga S.KHamaj/Manomanjari" double disc on the Raga label.

This record shows that Ravi Shankar is a genius!.......1999-02-25

All the records that I heard of Ravi Shankar's performances are masterpieces. Thanks to Ravi Shankar, I learned that good music does not mean only Western music.