(Collection) - Rough Guide Central Asia (Worldisc)
Reviewed by Sadie O, 8/18/05
This collection is all over the map - in every way. Not only does the area involved stretch from China to the Middle East, but this comp features everything from "gotta get out of the village more" trad stuff to amazing rock/rap/traditional mashups. Much of it is loosely based on Persian traditions, but there's a cut that's damn near Chinese Opera, and some jew's harp and throat singing. There's some cut on this record that will add spice to any show on the station. Really!
I totally dig 11, 19 and 1. 8 and 12 are a bit of a hoot, too. Other tracks are good for trance or traditionalŠ
1. ***Whoa! Heavy metal guitar and violin - and dombra, the traditional longnecked lute. Great energy, cool mix of sounds.
2. **Bowed and long-necked lutes, eerie downtempo instrumental.
3. **Impassioned delivery of a trad piece by an Uzbek pop diva. Somewhat sad in tone, multi-instrumental (no drums).
4. Mid-tempo instrumental. Hand drums and eastern instrumentation (mostly strings) give this a very Persian feel.
5. Male vocals with hand drum and subdued Persian lute. Impassioned Sufi poetry.
6. Virtuoso lute, instrumental solo. Uptempo and upbeat. Lots of use of harmonics.
7. VERY sad song by Uzbek's biggest pop star. I've heard much better stuff by her, but this does show her beautiful vocal style. Full instrumentation, slow, minor key.
8. **Bouncy multi-instrument with male vocals -based on a trad Tajik folk tune, but it's really a cover of "If I Were a Carpenter."
9. More virtuoso lute playing, with a bit of hand drum. It's quite fast, and may be a bit too trad for most tastes. Cool, though.
10. Downtempo solo kobyz, a two stringed fiddle used to summon spirits. Definitely trance-y and otherworldly, if a tad long.
11. ***Crazy shit! English rap, Sufi folk singing, electronica, Western and trad instruments. Do the Sufi Stomp!
12. **Jew's harp solo! Sounds like it's based on the same song as the previous cut, possibly recorded in a bathroom. Gnarly!
13. Solo dutar (two stringed strummed instrument) - odd chords and trills. Up tempo and plucked with passion, but mellow-toned.
14. Pretty female vocals, strummed instrument. Mellow and haunting.
15. Full orchestra. Sounds kinda like a Lone Ranger soundtrack with bellsŠ
16. Apparently a favorite of taxi drivers throughout Uzbekistan. Male vox and lute with some orchestration, upbeat in mood. Probly won't strike a chord with non-taxi-drivers, though.
17. Slower and low-key, sounds very Chinese-influenced (plucked string instrument), however, it's Jewish Bukhara classical.
18. **Very ornamental and intense female vocalist. Joined by interesting trad instruments 30 seconds in, which lightens the mood.
19. ***Throat singing, Jew's harp, ocarina and flute, zither, and rock band. Holy shit!