Artist: Ravi Shankar (Feat. Ustad Alla Rakha)
Album: Live At the Monterey International Pop Festival (1967)
Released: 1967/1998
Source: Angel 66919
Genre: Raga, Indian Classical, World Music & Ravi Shankar's Very Own Sitar Style...!!!
Amazon Product Descriptions:
#1: On the best international-music albums you can practically hear the sound of minds opening and of cultural barriers falling; this is one of those recordings. Ravi Shankar (sitar), Alla Rakha (tabla), and Kamala (tamboura) rise admirably to the challenge of presenting essentially classical music to a pop-music crowd. The concert starts with the afternoon raga "Bhimpalasi." Shankar's technique manages to be dazzling without losing an iota of subtlety. He masterfully plumbs sorrowful depths, then rockets upward with flashes of bright exuberance. Rakha takes center stage on the next track, a wonderfully agile and flutteringly rapid solo tabla piece. The group closes the set with an invigorating, light melody from northern India. Though relatively short by CD standards, Monterey features two Indian master musicians at the heights of their considerable powers. It should not be missed. - By Jeff Grubb
#2: Much of Indian classical music was brought to the West by violinist Yehudi Menuhin when he recorded and performed with sarodist Ali Akbar Khan and sitarist Ravi Shankar in the 1950s and '60s. But it wasn't until Shankar's appearance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival (along with a friendship with the Beatles) that Indian music charmed the hippie youth culture and subsequently exploded into mainstream audiences' consciousness. So it's appropriate that this recording of Shankar's performance at that concert is documented--it's not only historically important but also musically outstanding. There isn't just a twangy plodding aura to Shankar's sitar here as many associate with Indian classical sitar, but rather an instrument full of verve and technical complexity. Shankar explodes as if reacting to the loving energy of the crowd in fitful ragas that drip with fruitful improvisation. His tabla accompanist, Alla Rakha, wonderfully complements his plucking through living, breathing cadences that sing in a voice all their own. Live at Monterey is an excellent introduction to a master artist during one of the most exciting eras in America's history. - By Karen Karleski
Amazon User Reviews:
#1: There are two ways to consider this performance/album. 1) It's impact at the time, and 2) It's musical value within the context of comparing it to other Hindustani artists/performances/recordings.
By the first standard, this performance is a 5. Hindustani LPs had been coming out in the USA since 1955, and some people were listening. Consider that John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar had been corresponding at least as early as 1961... more like '59 or '60 if memory serves. This was not widespread music here though, and the Beatles only used Ravi and the sitar as sound effects in the "Ooooh that is trippy and groovey, man" sort of way. For many people in the USA this performance/album was their first exposure to the music of Northern India, and as such, of course it holds a special place in the history of this music.
By the 2nd standard though... holding this up next to other Bhimpalasi performances, and or other recordings/performances of other ragas by other artists, this is more like a 3.8 performance. It's not that it isn't good, but let's face it, there is alot of stiff, brilliant competition in the world of Hindustani music. Ravi's affiliation with the Beatles, and Harrison's constant (for decades) hyperbole as to Ravi's status and ability within that world have hyped Ravi up to a level to which he does not actually stand. Were you to believe Harrison's constant blathering, you'd think the Hindustani world is Ravi bathed in light on the mountain top while all the other musicians gaze up at his artistry, hoping one day to attain half his brilliance. That is absolutely not the case, though. Of course proving this to people is often difficult because many of the people who believe Ravi to be The One & Only have never heard any other sitarists. They just took Harrison's word for it and left it at that.
I don't want anyone to just take my word for it. If you like or love this disc, particularly the alap, jor, and jhalla in Raga Bhimpalasi, I strongly recommend that you search "Nikhil Banerjee". Then scroll through his recordings until you reach the "Afternoon Ragas" disc. There you get Rags Bhimpalasi and Multani. There is no comparison between Nikhil's rendering and Ravi's. On this disc, Ravi's alap is not much to speak of, and it is almost just a time-killer until the jor and jhalla. Nikhil's alap is a masterwork. He plays some phrases that unfold around you and crawl right into your heart... his melodic brilliance singing to you from the alap through the gats. I think for most people, the highlight of Ravi at Monterey is actually the dhun. Again I would point you to Nikhil and Kanai Dutta's gats in Bhimpalasi and Multani. The tone, and melodic genius of Nikhil cannot be denied, and as for the style and explosive dexterity of Kanai Dutta, I feel his playing serves as more of a precursor to Zakir Hussain's playing style than did Zakir's own father, Alla Rakha (Ravi's accompanist here, on tabla). In truth, Ravi was not even Allauddin Khan's (Ali Akbar Khan's father) best sitar student, much less the all-time greatest sitarist of the 20th Century. If you need more proof, look no further than Amjad Ali Khan (sarod) and/or Debashish Bhattacharya's (slide guitar) incredibly powerful renderings of Bhimpalasi. Ravi's performance here is by no means bad, but it generally only stands out as a masterpiece to those who have yet to check out anyone else in the world of Hindustani music.
Having said all this, this performance is easily the highlight of the entire Monterey Pop festival. - By Pharoah S. Wail
#2: This legendary recording was originally issued by Liberty/World Pacific records in late 1967. This was the concert that first introduced sitar pioneer Ravi Shankar and Indian music to the western world and to the mass pop culture of the 1960s in the United States. It established Ravi's concert style of an elaborate Raga, followed by a tabla solo and concluding with a lively dhun. The raga presented here is perhaps one of the finest sitar solos ever recorded and is a good example of Pandit Shankar at the height of his early career. - By A Music Fan
#3: Shankar was or that he was on the bill, and came away fans. The same thing happened to me when I purchased the DVD of the festival about three years ago. I became instantly enchanted by the Indian classical form. Neither the original film of Monterey nor the DVD show the entirety of Shankar's performance, but this CD includes it all, and its breathtaking. "Dhun" will wrap you up in a spell, and when it ends it'll be like waking up from a dream. Absolutely beautiful, magical stuff. - By J. Merritt
#4: I always like to read the book before I see the movie, or, find more information about a place before actually visiting it. OK, I lied about the first part but you get the point. I read all about this famous concert, including the reviews here. I read the liner notes of the CD in which Raviji describes the tension and depression he went through that cloudy, rainy day in Monterey. One can feel it in his voice as he introduces the first raga, Bhimpalasi. I think that did it ! It set a sad, melancholic mood to this really really beautiful Raga. Since Indian music relies so heavily on improvisations, simply having a talent is not enough and no two performances of the same raga will never be the same. I do have another version of the same raga by Panditji and I must confess the one on this CD is absolutely unique.
Bhimpalasi, as Raviji describes is a late afternoon raga and it helps to enjoy it more if you can imagine a hot afternoon somewhere in rural India. The farmers have come back home with their oxen for some lunch and a siesta. It is so hot that all animal and bird acitivity has come to a stand still. Hence the pace with which the raga begins is very slow. One tries to find a cool spot in the house where some gentle afternoon breeze passes once in a while, you lie on mud floors for a nap and look at the distant banyan trees, see the leaves sway with the breeze and hope that has a cooling effect on you .
Eventhough this concert took place in cold Monterey, I wouldn't be surprised if Raviji was transformed in spirit, somewhere in Maihar.
Raviji plays as if there is no one in the audience. He is not performing for anyone, just getting lost in the music and let the music take over. What a feeling, just to be a listener of this music. - By S. Karulkar "Sangeet4Ever
Wildstrings Comments: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix must have steeled the show at Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. But the real magical moment of that festival was happened when Ravi Shankar has given his most spectacular live concert ever in his American live history. Though Ravi Shankar must have many magical moments in his career, IMO this particular concert was very very special. By then he was already a superstar with his collaboration with The Beatles (Especially with George Harrison). But still this performance introduced him to a very wide range of people and suddenly he become an icon of pop history. It's really not an easy task to mesmerize the rock loving people with this kind of music but that's what Ravi Shankar's music is all about. Highly Recommended.
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