A Meeting by the River
A Meeting by the River | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 1993[1] | |||
Recorded | September 1992 | |||
Genre | Blues, international, new-age, pop rock[2] | |||
Length | 39:35 | |||
Label | Water Lily Acoustics | |||
Producer | Kavichandran Alexander, Jayant Shah | |||
Ry Cooder chronology | ||||
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Vishwa Mohan Bhatt chronology | ||||
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A Meeting by the River is an album recorded by
Composition
A Meeting by the River was recorded in September 1992; it features Cooder solely on slide guitar and Bhatt on the Mohan veena, a stringed instrument he created.
The collaboration between Cooder and Bhatt is Alexander's first attempt to record musicians of different cultures together, one of his goals when he founded the record label.[7] Author George Plasketes described Bhatt's playing as "highly nuanced" and said, Cooder performs in a more "loose-jointed, slip 'n' slide style".[5] According to Gioffre, Cooder and Bhatt use improvisation and "voice-like" phrasing, showing melodic performances in an alternating fashion and in unison.[2] The album contains four tracks, three of which are credited to Cooder and Bhatt; tracks range in duration from approximately seven-and-a-half minutes to twelve minutes.[2] "Longing" has a structure similar to a raga. Author Tom Moon said Cooder takes the lead on the hymn "Isa Lei" as Bhatt contributes "elaborate squiggling asides" and "swooping nosedives".[9] In 2011, Bhatt performed "A Meeting by the River" at a music festival in honor of guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Bhatt said of the song, "Music has no religion and no geographical or linguistic barrier. It speaks a universal language. My composition – 'A Meeting by the River' – aims at explaining this."[10] Bhatt has said he considers working with Cooder his "most special" collaboration.[11]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
Chicago Tribune | [4] |
Rolling Stone | [12] |
Gioffre wrote a positive review of the album and called Cooder and Bhatt "genuine masters" of their respective instruments.[2] He described the musical interplay between the musicians as "nothing short of astounding" and the album as a rare instance in which a combination of genres works. Gioffre also wrote, "this album is masterfully recorded; each instrument is clear, distinct, and three-dimensional sounding. A Meeting by the River is a must-own, a thing of pure, unadulterated beauty, and the strongest record in Cooder's extensive catalog."[2] Peter Margasak of the Chicago Tribune awarded the album four stars out of four, describing Cooder's performance as "arresting" and Bhatt's as "haunting". Margasak wrote that the fusion revealed a "rare, often transcendental beauty" as the two artists "gently and intuitively" found common ground.[4] Rolling Stone called the album "fruitful" and awarded it three stars out of five.[12]
Chart performance and recognition
A Meeting by the River reached a peak position of number four on
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
Billboard's Top World Music Albums | 4 |
Track listing
All tracks by Ry Cooder and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt unless noted otherwise.
- "A Meeting by the River" – 10:03
- "Longing" – 11:56
- "Ganges Delta Blues" – 9:57
- "Isa Lei" (Caten) – 7:39
Track listing adapted from Allmusic.[2]
Personnel
- engineer, liner notes, producer
- Vishwa Mohan Bhatt – Mohan veena, performer, slide guitar
- Joachim Cooder – dumbek
- Ry Cooder – bottleneck guitar, guitar, performer
- Tim de Paravicini – technical consultant
- Kevin Michael Gray – mastering
- Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari – tabla
- Rumi – liner notes, quotes
- Mike Sexton – cover photo, photography
- Jayant Shah – producer
- Leslie Shirack – art direction
- Gus Skinas – authoring
- Paul Stubblebine – digital mastering
- Susan Titelman – photography
Credits adapted from Allmusic.[8]
References
- ISBN 9781841958606. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ Allmusic. Archivedfrom the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- OCLC 13119119. Archived from the originalon February 11, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 9780754665618. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ISBN 9780521556606. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ a b "A Meeting by the River: Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ OCLC 179803341. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- Dawn Group of Newspapers. Archivedfrom the original on January 19, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ "A Meeting by the River: Charts & Awards". Allmusic. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- OCLC 23379369. Archived from the originalon September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
External links
- Jazz.com review by Ted Gioia (2008)
- "How high do you want your fi?", a 2009 Stereophile article featuring A Meeting by the River