Rare and Glorious - Introducing the Masters

Album Review

Rare and Glorious draws from the archives of Saregama, Ravi Shankar's longtime Indian record label, to compile a two-CD set of eight ragas with a total running time of 135 minutes; the tracks range across Shankar's career, with the earliest one, "Raga Hansadhwani," having been first released in 1962, and the most recent one, "Raga Shudh Kalyan," in 1988. Shankar's frequent accompanists, tabla players Ali Akbar Khan and Alla Rakha, are present frequently, although certain tracks are performed without percussion. Five of the tracks run 19 minutes or more in length, allowing Shankar time to explore the themes and gradually develop the dynamics of a complete raga. The sitar player was already over 40 when the first of these recordings was made, so he is heard as a mature musician practicing his art in full flower. This kind of music is not really susceptible to a "greatest-hits" selection, but many of these tracks are notable not only for the accomplished playing but also for their return to availability on this release, since they previously only appeared on long out of print LPs. Thus, the album justifies the words of its title, containing music that is both "glorious" and "rare."