Ravi Shankar - The Essential Ravi Shankar

Great

Play it in the background while entertaining, cleaning the house or just relaxing. Plug it into your MP3 and create your own little sanctuary. Namasté. September 9, 2008

Listen to the CD before you buy

One should listen to this CD before considering a purchase. Historical perspectives are interesting for intellectuals and historians, but it doesn't make the music any more than it is. As a world music fan of 30 odd years I would say this one is 'lame', so buyer beware. September 2, 2008

An essential introduction to a master musician

Other reviewers here have noted that, if all you want is one CD of Ravi Shankar's music, this 2-CD set ought to do the trick. It also works as a good capsule introduction to Ravi-ji and his music; Disc One is a more pure distillation of Hindustani music, where Disc Two gives the listener a sampling of his collaborations with Western artists, all of whom seem to have had a good grasp on what was needed to make the collaborations work (not always the case with cross-cultural experiments).

Another bonus is that many of these tracks are not as readily available as one might like (I've yet to find a copy of the Chappaqua soundtrack anywhere), so their inclusion here is all the more welcomed. It is also helpful if one does not wish to buy every CD of Ravi-ji's music currently available; as it was, I already owned 4 or 5 of the Angel/EMI remasters (most of which are not covered by this compilation, making it, and them, more worthwhile). However, if you are as musically adventurous as I am, you'll start here and scour the world music bins of every record shop you can find to track down other Ravi Shankar albums.

Other Ravi Shankar titles I would recommend include Three Ragas (1956), Improvisations (1962; includes variations on the music he recorded as the soundtrack to the Indian film "Pather Panchali"), A Morning Raga/An Evening Raga (1968), East Meets West (1970; his collaboration with Yehudi Menuhin), and Inside the Kremlin (1988; a brilliant collaboration with classical musicians from Russia). May 17, 2008

if you were to only have one

If you were to only have one CD of Ravi Shankar's... this would be the one to have. I have several, and have been a fan of Indian Music since my introduction to the sound via the Beatles' Norwegian Wood (1965).
These discs in "The Essential" span works throughout the life-to-date of the Master Musician. From his virtuosic days when he rose to be the best Sitarist in the World, to later compositions and collaborations with very notable Western Musicians and Western modes.
April 5, 2008

A Journey to India by Sitar lesson

A great addition to your world music collection.

This is a masterpiece of the Sitar maestro, Ravi Shankar, definitly worth your time and money.

All in one classic Indian/ Hindi music, ranging from basic and yet elegant Sitar notes to sizziling ones with Tabla.

You'll be literally amazed by the master fingers running through those Sitar's 20 strings all at once by a legendary Ravi Shankar.

Again, this is a significant collection to all world music lovers. Must Have ! December 22, 2007

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