This compilation is a coupling of two complete albums from the mid-'60s, featuring two of the legendary masters of Indian music, sitar player and composer
Ravi Shankar and sarod player
Ali Akbar Khan. It is easy to see why
Shankar appealed to forward-looking musicians like
the Beatles,
John Coltrane,
Philip Glass,
Collin Walcott, and
John McLaughlin, along with generations of Indian folk and classical musicians. A song like "Raga Bilashkani Todi" has a subtle yet driving rhythm and builds to a powerful crescendo, but at the same time retains a feeling of underlying deep unity. These pieces demonstrate how in raga, the importance of the composition always takes precedence over individual musical performance. This album is a fine introduction to two masters of the form.