Right now I am listening to ...

[Anil kumar]

Jean-Luc Ponty "The Gift Of Time" [1987] Jazz fusion
Electric Violin​

 

[afj]

dire straits - sultans of swing

 

[unleash_me]

Minnale - Harris Jayaraj

 

[moserw]

A must have collection of Def Leppard's hits. Even if you're not into Def Leppard still a great way to intro their music and a good collection of hits to have handy/lying around...

 

[moserw]

 

[Anil kumar]

 

[moserw]

Amazing voice, amazing ballads. Killing Me Softly With His Song is probably the most famous of the lot.

 

[smedhavi]

Thanks,
Sharad

 

[Anil kumar]

APP "Eye in the sky" ​

 

[unleash_me]

'Adagio for Strings' from Just Be by Tiesto.

One of the best trans numbers I have ever heard. Gets me involved every single time I listen to it. Awesome!

 

[dinyaar]

BEST OF MARIE BLACK - 1991 to 2001.

Good recording and good music.

 

[moserw]

One of THE albums when I was a kid. Great tracks and a good solid album all round. Tracks like Fading Like A Flower, Joyride, Spending My Time, etc. take me back to those days.

 

[moserw]

Does anybody still listen to him? You Rock My World still is groovy and gets me swinging at least...

 

[panditji]

Cerrone - Love in C Minor....My father had the censored version on tape and the tape got lost some 15 years back....Been searching ever since without knowing the artist or the song title ...Finally found it looking after searching hundreds of 70s disco tracks.....
Great tune

 

[unleash_me]

Does anybody still listen to him? You Rock My World still is groovy and gets me swinging at least...

Moserw, I used to be a big fan of MJ during my school days. From invincible, i remember a song titled "Speechless" but later the same song was heard in a hindi movie staring Salman Khan, dont remember the name though!

OK, go it. Here they are -

YouTube - Michael jackson speechless

and

YouTube - Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge

Cheers.

 

[moserw]

Moserw, I used to be a big fan of MJ during my school days. From invincible, i remember a song titled "Speechless" but later the same song was heard in a hindi movie staring Salman Khan, dont remember the name though!

I suppose all of us were fans of MJ during our teens and college. But now I listen to him quite less... Don't remember hearing the Hindi version of Speechless though.

 

[unleash_me]

Wicked Game by Chris Isaak.

 

[particleman]

Velvet Underground - Peel Slowly and See

 

[marsilians]

I suppose all of us were fans of MJ during our teens and college. But now I listen to him quite less... Don't remember hearing the Hindi version of Speechless though.

For whats its worth - I still like to listen to MJ. He created a genre and redefined pop in many ways. The fact there people are still trying to imitate him is a testament to that.

Yeah he is a freak no, but many others artistes are at the same time.

 

[venkatcr]

Susheela Raman - Salt Rain

I managed to get a copy of Salt Rain and have been repeatedly listening to the album over the last few days. I thought I will write a detailed viewpoint about the album and singer but came across this wonderful review by a guy called Cabir Davis.

One warning - if you are passionate about Carnatic music and cannot stand variations, do not listen to Susheela Raman. She takes Carnatic numbers and sings them the form of Jazz and Blues, and pronounces Indian words as a foreigner would. At first when I heard Vatapi Ganapathy, I was shocked that such a beautiful song could be murdered and the words mispronounced. Then I realised that Susheela is doing it on purpose, and not because she cannot sing it properly. She wanted all the songs to be soothing and has kept that consistent rhythm in all the songs whether she sings in Tamil. Hindi, Telugu, Sanskrit or, English. I believe she has taken a course in Carnatic Music, and speaks well in Tamil, and Hindi.

She has a strangely husky voice that borders on being manly at times. She uses that well singing at low tones all the time.

Here is the review by Cabir Davis:

This album, the debut of Joi's Susheela Raman, was recently nominated for the Mercury Award 2001, Britain's foremost reward to new artists with distinct creative ability. She was beaten by PJ Harvey's new set, but nevertheless, it brought to the attention of Europe the talents of a brilliant new songstress.

'Salt Rain' is by far one of the best fusion albums I have heard. I always thought that only Kila and Afro Celt Sound System knew how to make a good record, and when I first heard of Joi through Real World, I was a little skeptical. On those early records, Susheela stands out, but no one could predict that a solo career would bring so much promise to the world of new age music.

That said, Susheela's work here should be compared to Auroville's Nadaka, as well as M. S. Subbalakshmi, and Dead Can Dance. While she no doubt uses these influences in her vocal style and song structure, she is very much an independent and original artist. I thoroughly enjoyed this album. The first time I really listened to it was on headphones, which I thought was the proper method to appreciate a work of this sort.

Strangely enough, Susheela's more interesting moments come when she thoroughly bungles up the lyrical content of a song. You must remember that this album is a celebration of the singer as an Indian. The tracks are sung in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Sanskrit. The ones in Sanskrit work best, but the Tamil tracks are inexplicable. While her diction is less than flattering on these tracks, it does lend the songs a certain listenability - more so because all the words are phonetically reproduced in English in the liner notes.

I think Susheela lost out on the Mercury because the album is far too experimental for the common listener. PJ Harvey, who I think is the poor-man's Fiona Apple, had a great record last year, but its nothing as groundbreaking and revolutionary as 'Salt Rain'. There are a few songs here in English, but to be honest, they are the least compelling of the set. Susheela scores best when shes singing in Indian languages.

Of all the tracks, I personally connected with 'Mamavatu'. This song reminded me of attending a Hindu temple in Thanjavur, South India, when I was a child over ten years ago. I haven't heard a song so deeply capture the beauty and spirit of Southern India the way this song does. The last time I heard something like this was on 'Nama Shivaya' by Nadaka, but you can only get that one on the limited French Edition of 'Origines'.

Susheela's record label has done us a huge service by releasing this album with all the respect a record of this magnitude deserves. All the musicians are given a page with their picture, and Susheela herself appears very briefly on the painted page. The album booklet is thorough, informative, and a classy production. Lisa Gerrard would do well to learn from Raman's mastery of putting together a debut album package.

Unfortunately, this record is not being heard of in America. In France, its a consistent top seller, and its always near the top of the British new age charts. Pity, because the US always misses out on the best musicians (Vanessa Paradis, Axelle Red, The Sealand Poets, All Saints) in favor of lesser, more vapid talent (Spears, Aguilera, Timberlake). Also, with the new success of Afro Celt Sound System in America, one would think that Raman would leap up the charts as well. Well, she deserves to. If theres one new age or classical album you intend purchasing this year, let it be this one.

Cheers