WONDERFULLY intriguing, fabulously rewarding package of extravagantly recorded new versions of legendary Bollywood composer RD Burman's finest movie score moments from the 1960s-1980s. The Kronos Quartet have long played in the field where music and film mingle, but this sounds very much like a labour of love, augmenting eerily evocative Indian classical and pop music with vast overdubs, Chinese lute and new vocals recorded by Burman's wife, Asha Bhosle - the most recorded vocalist in the world.
It's a massive project boiled down to just 12 tracks. Way beyond the trashy, glam ethic immortalised by the current popular view of Bollywood (though that's plenty evident as well), Kronos have honoured the emotional core of Burman's music and added yet more dimensions to it. Beloved, O Beloved is at once playful and sincere; while In Dhanno's Eyes uplifts the soul and puts a smile on your face at the same time and If People Come carries the weight of a great story in its musical melting pot.
Delicately spiced then, and cleverly spliced, this makes for essential listening.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article