111. Ravi Shankar - The Sounds of India

Artist: Ravi Shankar
Album: The Sounds of India
Year: 1968

So I've got a bone to pick with the editors of the 1001 book. The book is a compendium of popular music, and yet here we have yet another album under the "Indian Classical" subheading. I have nothing against Indian music, really, but if Indian Classical is represented, why no representation for contemporary Western classical. There are plenty of Western composers who've managed groundbreaking stuff in the past 50+ years, surely they could be included here, especially if we're deviating from the "popular music" trend for Indian artists.

Anyhow, diatribe over. Let's get to The Sounds of India, shall we?

Or let's not. I was not feeling this album at all. I found it a ridiculous and (dare I say) patronizing listen. Here we have Ravi Shankar, the master of the sitar, not just playing his music but explaining/teaching it to the audience. He explains what is meant by a "raga," it's not a scale nor a mode, but an ascending/descending pattern (is that not what a scale is?). He explains the beat established by the tabla drums. Sometimes they count to 10! Sometimes they count to 16! My thought: who gives a flying fuck? What on Earth does it matter what they count to? Just play your music, let me listen to it, and shut the hell up. Then he informs me that I need to be in a relaxed mood before listening to this. How about this, Ravi? I listen to the music and it will act upon me, like music naturally does. Why will the mindset that I bring into the listening of the album have an effect on how I will interpret its quality?

I guess what I'm saying is this: if you need to explain to me how to appreciate your music rather than just letting me experience it and allowing me to make up my own mind, you take away 99% of what makes experiencing new music fun.

I'm probably being completely unnecessarily harsh. I'm sure Shankar is a nice guy, but he's trying too hard here to win me over. The music is indeed relaxing, but it's all extended 10-minute jams of sitar noodling ad nauseum. Of my two forays into Indian classical music, this was by far the lesser of the two. But I have to admit, it turned me off from nearly the first second of the first track.

Rating: Avoid