Talvin Singh
Asian Dub Foundation
Bombay the Hard Way
OK (Island 314 524 559)
Rafi's Revenge (Slash 314 556 053)
Guns, Cars, Sitars (Motel Room 3)
Ever since the Beatles added sitars to their sound back in the '60s, Western pop fans have been familiar with the sound of Indian music.
But what we heard wasn't really Indian pop music. It was just a gloss on the traditional sound of sitars and tablas, something rock stars threw in when they wanted their music to sound psychedelic and exotic. For all we knew, there wasn't any such thing as Indian pop music.
There was, of course, and in recent years, Indian pop has been making its way into Western record stores. Fueled by the popularity of "bhangra" - a blend of traditional Indian music, reggae and electronic dance music - a number of Indian and Anglo-Indian producers have become major figures in dance music circles.
Perhaps the brightest light is Talvin Singh. As a hit-maker, Singh is hardly the biggest name in bhangra (Bally Sagoo would probably claim that title). But because the multi-instrumentalist and producer takes such a daring and idiosyncratic approach to making music, he may be the scene's most influential musician.
"OK" demonstrates why. Stunningly ambitious, "OK" incorporates a wide range of sounds and musical devices, from clattering tablas to ornate ghazal singing, and from atmospheric electronics to twitchy breakbeats. But it isn't so much Singh's range that impresses as the connections he draws, using tablas to echo the frenetic drive of drum 'n' bass, or ground a goa trance groove with the mournful whine of a veena (a relative of the sitar).
Most Anglo-Indian dance music is a bit more prosaic than Singh's sweeping soundscapes, but that doesn't make it less interesting.
Take, for example, the Indian Dub Foundation's American debut, "Rafi's Revenge." Although its musical vocabulary is pretty straightforward - most tracks mix bhangra elements with dub and drum 'n' bass - there's an intoxicating intensity to rap-inflected tracks like "Naxalite" and "Free Saipal Ram." So even though "Rafi's Revenge" lacks the arty ambition of Singh's "OK," its visceral, club-focused drive more than makes up the difference.
If you want a sense of this new Indian pop's roots, dig up a copy of Bombay the Hard Way's "Guns, Cars and Sitars." Like its Hollywood counterpart, Bollywood (as the Indian film industry is known) made a passel of Indian gangster and spy films in the '70s - "Brownsploitation Flix," as the liner notes call them. What this album offers is an Indian analog to such scores as "Superfly" and "Shaft."
Composed and produced by brothers Kalyanji and Anandji Shah, they've been beefed up with extra drums for added dance-floor impact. But no amount of remixing can reduce the pungent flavor of the original tracks, making "Guns, Cars and Sitars" as much fun as any Bollywood shoot-'em-up.
Talvin Singh: ***1/2
Asian Dub Foundation: ***
Bombay the Hard Way: ***
Brahms, Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor (opus 15); Three Intermezzi (opus 117) (EMI Classics 7243)
Like Helene Grimaud and Kurt Sanderling in their fine recent account of the D minor Concerto, pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and conductor Sir Simon Rattle of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra eschew a barnstorming approach to Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1. There is plenty of power - no one plays the famously difficult passage in double octaves in the first movement more brilliantly than the young Norwegian - but his interpretation is essentially poetic and lyrical. This fine performance falls short of the Grimaud-Sanderling standard only failing to achieve quite the same level of hushed intensity and rapture in the slow movement. Andsnes plays the three intermezzi of opus 117 with warmth, delicacy of coloring and inwardness of feeling. ***
Stephen Wigler
London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Sir Colin Davis
Samson et Dalila (Erato 3984)
This performance of Saint-Saens' "Samson et Dalila" by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus ranks among the best on disc. It features the inspired conducting of Sir Colin Davis and a superb cast. Jose Cura is a great Samson. The voice is fresh; it has heroic richness; and it has enough steel so that top notes remain steady even under pressure. Olga Borodina is just as good as Dalila. She is seductive and sensuous; she brings more than the usual measure of subtlety to the role; and her still youthful-sounding instrument makes her changes in register relatively unobtrusive. Jean-Philipe Lafont, Egils Silins and Robert Lloyd are admirable in the other roles. ***
Stephen Wigler
Pop/rock
M.O.T.
19.99 (Sire/Warner Bros. 9 47101)
Looking for bar mitzvah entertainment that doesn't involve a loungey loser playing "Hava Nagilah" to a samba beat on a Casio? Just slip in "M.O.T. 19.99." Ice Berg and Dr. Dreidle's disc of clever, pun-filled novelty noshes, which mimic gangsta rap, hip-hop, Elvis and more, is what fellow rapping Semites the Beastie Boys may have sounded like in a former life. These righteous Hebros will take your party to a higher source. There's something for every guest. The kids will go meshugge over the straight-up kosher beats of the hard-core "Psychosemitic" and the Snoop Dogg-esque "Oh God, Get a Job." Parents will schvitz over such retro lyrics as "I sold my Chevy to the Levys, but the Levys don't drive." Some references may make the grandparents a little verklempt, but chances are, they probably won't understand the words anyway. Rap, Hebrew, what's the difference? ***
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Tamara Ikenberg
Come 2 My House (NPG 982)
So what happens when Chaka Khan, one of music's more seductive divas, is teamed with The Artist (formerly known as Prince), a performer never known for his coyness in the area of sex? Well, nothing quite as explosive as the imagination might conjure. The fact is, "Come 2 My House," Khan's first full studio album in six years, is fairly tame, though her pledge in the opening line of "I'll Never B Another Fool" will perk a few ears, even if it does not get quoted in a family newspaper. Ultimately, Khan's promise is a lot more fascinating than the album's result. **1/2
Milton Kent
Pub Date: 12/10/98