"The Genius of" indeed. Ravi Shankar is simply the master of sitar, and this album is a fine example of his brilliant work. This is mind-burning Indian-Classical at its finest; the songs are waterfalls of shimmering stringed instruments that envelop you with strange feelings. This sort of music tickles the parts of the brain that Western music never has been able to. Thus, bizarre things creep up when listening to this with an open mind. I don't think I have ever truly experienced Synesthesia, but Ravi Shankar's music has come closest to triggering the effects of this rare affliction; I can almost see colors when listening to this music.
Powerful effects for just some $5 record I borrowed from a friend.
I remember the first time I put on this splendid record. At first, none of it made sense. To my narrow perspective, the music seemed meandering and boring. I just didn't get it at the time.
Having a narrow mind has always been looked upon negatively in our society, but in actuality, the mind narrowing itself is perfectly normal. There's no biological point in human beings having a vast, versatile brain. We would all have such an open mind that we would probably have a difficult time perfecting certain skills needed to live. Also, an especially open mind is petty and unnecessary when it comes to survival. Although today we might wish we could learn five different languages with ease, our prehistoric ancestors had no need for such brainpower.
Children possess this brainpower, though, which is why they can master a language at age 5, effortlessly play an instrument and be incredibly creative individuals. This open mindedness was indeed needed for survival, because a child needed to be able to quickly adapt to his surroundings. Therefore, this skill has been luckily been preserved, and the children of modern millenia are still incredibly malleable beings. However, at around puberty, the child's brain weeds off the unneeded synapses and connections it has, thus, the brain loses its versatility, and learning and understanding become difficult.
This naturally-occurring narrow-mindedness applies to the understanding of music as well. Like the Indian language(s) itself, Indian music evolved completely separately from Western music. The two bear no similarities. Whereas Western music is strongly focused on tempo and structure, the music of Ravi Shankar has no tempo, and instead focuses on the complexities of sounds. The percussion used in this album is not so much to keep tempo, but to create diverse sounds and rhythms to accompany the rest of the instrumentalists. The sitar, of course, is a wild beast that can roar or gently purr through the beautiful tracks, and follows no structure.
This type of free, loose music can be unstimulating to an audience that is used to structured, systematic music. Being part of this audience, I had a hard time appreciating Ravi Shankar. It was only until I sat down with the record with an open mind, did I realize how brilliant and beautiful this music was. And because it was so foreign, it was peculiar to all other music I have heard.
This music is simply at a different frequency. To be able to enjoy it, one must be able to have an open enough mind, an way to somehow expand the ability to appreciate and understand, to be able to pick up on this frequency Ravi Shankar makes. Go ahead and learn the new language of sitar. You will not regret it.
UPDATE: I canNOT find a link to this album. Usually, I can find a link for any album, no problem, but I have been madly searching for a good half-hour, and I can't find this album!! I'd post a link myself, but I don't have this album on my computer at all, I just have the LP. dammit. If I find or get a link, I'll be sure to post it immediately, but for now, I guess this is all fucked. hrmph... Well, here's some pretty sweet videos of him you might enjoy, sorry everybody .
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