Live: Ravi Shankar at the Monterey International Pop Festival
Live: Ravi Shankar at the Monterey International Pop Festival | |
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Richard Bock |
Live: Ravi Shankar at the Monterey International Pop Festival is a live album by Indian
In the United States, the album peaked at number 43 on Billboard's pop LPs listings – the highest placing Shankar achieved on that chart throughout his career.
Background
Ravi Shankar's appearance at the Monterey International Pop Festival marked a highpoint in the popularity of Indian classical music in the West,[3] during a period when rock groups such as the Beatles, the Byrds and the Rolling Stones had increasingly adopted aspects of the genre in their work.[4] Adding to Shankar's own standing among Western youth, he had achieved fame for his role as sitar teacher to George Harrison, the Beatles' lead guitarist.[5][6] Having moved to California in February 1967 due to the demand for his concerts in the United States,[7] the festival was Shankar's first performance at a rock event,[5] as well as the first event to combine the diverse elements of contemporary popular music in a festival setting.[8]
Shankar admired the artistry and musicianship of some of his fellow performers on the three-day program, particularly Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding.[9] He was appalled, however, at the sight of Hendrix setting fire to his electric guitar,[10] and by the Who's destruction of their instruments at the end of their set.[11][12]
Performance
In addition to Rakha on tabla, Shankar was accompanied by
Part of the set was included in the 1968 documentary film
Release and reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [20] |
Q | [21] |
Billboard magazine predicted that Live: Ravi Shankar at the Monterey International Pop Festival would become Shankar's "best seller to date", given his popularity over the past year.[22] The album duly climbed to number 43 on the national Top LP's listings (later the Billboard 200), the highest placing Shankar ever achieved on that chart,[23] and reached number 20 on the same magazine's Jazz Albums list.[24] This success coincided with Shankar's continued run at number 1 on Billboard's Best Selling Classical LP's, with West Meets East;[25] in addition, the magazine honoured him as its Artist of the Year for 1967, the first time that an Indian musician had received such an award.[26]
Reviewing the UK release in October 1968,
Live: Ravi Shankar at the Monterey International Pop Festival was issued on CD in October 1998,[28] on EMI's Angel label.[29] AllMusic's reviewer admires the performance as "finely wrought, intense and hypnotic, and melodically rich".[20] In 2012, Rolling Stone critic David Fricke included the live album among the five best recordings from Shankar's career, writing:
One of the most explosive moments in D.A. Pennenbaker's film, Monterey Pop, comes after [segments featuring] the Who and Jimi Hendrix: the excerpt from Shankar's elegant and blazing Sunday-afternoon set and the sudden, volcanic applause at the end, by a truly stunned audience. There are many live Shankar albums from the Sixties and early Seventies; this one preserves a generous portion of an extraordinary moment in his life – and rock's expanding consciousness.[18]
Anastasia Tsioulcas of NPR Music included it on a similar list and highlighted the synergy between Shankar and Rakha, whose "memorable solo in ektal (a 12-beat rhythmic cycle)" she cited as evidence of "a profound and exciting partnership between equals".[30] The 1998 CD release is ranked at number 81 in Rough Guides' list of "World 100 Essential CDs".[31]
Track listing
All selections traditional, adapted by Ravi Shankar.
Side one
- "Raga Bhimpalasi" – 27:30
Side two
- "Tabla Solo in Ektal" – 6:15
- "Dhun (Dadra and Fast Teental)" – 19:25
Personnel
- Ravi Shankar – sitar
- Alla Rakha – tabla
- tambura
- Richard Bock– production
- Wally Heider – engineering
References
- ^ "New Album Releases". Billboard. 11 November 1967. p. 43. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 180–81.
- ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 6–7.
- ^ World Music: The Rough Guide, pp. 109–10.
- ^ a b Lavezzoli, p. 180.
- ^ Clayson, p. 210.
- ^ Shankar 1999, p. 196.
- Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ Shankar 1999, p. 199.
- ^ O'Mahony, John (3 June 2008). "A Hodgepodge of Hash, Yoga and LSD – Interview with Sitar giant Ravi Shankar". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ Kubernik, Harvey (2012). "Ravi Interview". The Monterey International Pop Festival Foundation. Archived from the original on 8 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Lavezzoli, p. 181.
- World Pacific. 1967.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ Broughton, p. 161.
- ^ Shankar 1999, pp. 157, 323.
- ^ a b Lavezzoli, p. 7.
- ^ Dyess-Nugent, Phil (12 December 2012). "R.I.P. Ravi Shankar". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ a b Fricke, David (13 December 2012). "From Monterey Pop to Carnegie Hall: The Best Recordings of Ravi Shankar". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Llewellyn Smith, Caspar (16 June 2011). "Masekela and Shankar play Monterey". theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Ravi Shankar At the Monterey International Pop Festival". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ "Ravi Shankar Live: Ravi Shankar at the Monterey International Pop Festival". Q. July 1999. p. 146.
- ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. 4 November 1967. p. 88. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Gallo, Phil (12 December 2012). "Ravi Shankar's Impact on Pop Music: An Appreciation". billboard.com. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "Ravi Shankar: Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Kirby, Fred (13 January 1968). "Mahler Takes Listings Crown From Beethoven". Billboard. p. 34. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ Tiegel, Eliot (24 February 1968). "U.S. Digs East Music: Shankar". Billboard. p. 10. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- Disc and Music Echo. 12 October 1968. p. 16.
- ^ Mojo Collection, p. 652.
- ^ "Ravi Shankar – At the Monterey International Pop Festival CD Album" > "Product Description". CD Universe/Muze. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Tsioulcas, Anastasia (12 December 2012). "5 Essential Ravi Shankar Recordings, From 'West Meets East' To 'West Eats Meat'". NPR Music. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ Broughton, pp. vi, 161.
Sources
- Broughton, Simon (2000). The Rough Guide to World 100 Essential CDs (Rough Guide 100 Esntl CD Guide). London: Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-858285986.
- Clayson, Alan (2003). George Harrison. London: Sanctuary. ISBN 1-86074-489-3.
- Lavezzoli, Peter (2006). The Dawn of Indian Music in the West. New York, NY: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-2819-3.
- The Mojo Collection (4th edn) (2000). London: Canongate Books. ISBN 978-1-84195-973-3.
- Shankar, Ravi (2007). My Music, My Life. San Rafael, CA: Mandala Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60109-005-8.
- Shankar, Ravi (1999). Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar. New York, NY: Welcome Rain. ISBN 1-56649-104-5.
- World Music: The Rough Guide (Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific) (2000). London: Rough Guides/Penguin. ISBN 1-85828-636-0.