Qawwali - The Art Of The Sufis Vol.1 - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Hypnotic traditional qawaal

Advantages: Traditional qawaal at it's best
Disadvantages: Those not used to qawaal probably won't appreciate it

The songs on this album were recorded just before Nusrat's death in 1997. It contains four tracks of traditional qawaal music. The first track, Khawaja Tim Hi Ho, starts of with a blaze of tablas and clapping and maintains its intensity for a whole 15 minutes. It's classic Nusrat. The secondary singers throw in wails and chants that hang in the air just long enough for you to appreciate the skill behind them. I've only had the album for a few days and I've already listened to it lots of times. It's very hypnotic. The other three tracks, while not as intense, are still fairly good. The last track, in particular, is very restrained and starts with a low drone of voices. It's perfectly paced and very relaxing. If you're a fan of Nusrat's traditional qawaal music, you'll like this album. Anyone not familar with qawaal would ...

Tyrian 28.07.2000 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Dust To Gold - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

NFAK Madness

Advantages: Great Music, Great Sound, Great Words!!
Disadvantages: CD = Scratch

This is one of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's best selling albums. It is great!! I absolutely love the words which he sings. This album does not only help me relax, but i listen to it whilst i try to sleep. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's voice is powerful in which he reflects his passion for Love and people in Love. So if you are in love, this is a great album to buy. The songs are about 5-7 mins long and are suitable for all ages. The only problem with this album is that it is on a CD which means that not taking care of it means it will scratch. My overall rating is that this is a great album which in competition with other artists shows that it is the best. I also feel that it is worth the price! Happy Listening!! ...

uzzer 03.05.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Magic Touch (Mixed By Bally Sagoo) - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

The Art of Elegance

Advantages: Hauntingly beautiful and curiously accessible traditional kto music from Japan
Disadvantages: It might make you want to buy the next two volumes!

? Being a unique experience to most Westerners (after all how much traditional Japanese/Chinese music do you hear over the course of the average year?) I don't see this as a problem. Surely it has a certain benefit as it places the listener in a situation where they are listening to (and hopefully enjoying) almost contextual music. In other words, we have to start somewhere and because a standard is a standard does not mean that it is music that is denigrated in any way. Just think of jazz and blues, music which exists to a great extent on the idea of standards, and these standards are often explored such that two versions seem entirely different pieces from one another. I believe this is called artistry. Thus, in this case what I believe is so wonderful about the Art of Koto vol.1 is that unlike some albums there is no smudge of sound ...

No_name 01.12.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Art of the Koto Vol.1 - Nanae Yoshimura