Search - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan :: "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Greatest Hits, Vol. 2."

Great Songs, but bad recording quality

allahwho | California | 01/03/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Hello, the songs choosen for this compliation are truely some of nusrat's greatest hits. The melodies of the songs here are some of nusrat's catchiest. The performance on the cd is pretty good too. This cd focuses on the more "lyrical" side of the songs: all the poetic verses are sung throughougly and unrushed, flowing together very well. Upon hearing this cd, if you ever hear other live performances of these songs, you will notice that Nusrat has a tendancy to sort of cut things short and speed through these verses and melodic segments. Here, you get them drawn out spledindly. However, what you don't get as much here as you do in the live performances is the magnificent "sa re ga" scat style soloing. There isn't much on these recordings, although the splendid traditional vocal drone soloing makes up for it mostly (especially since the melodies of the songs are so nice). However, the only real problem is the recording quality. These recordings were made in pakistan, and have the same low quality of the recordings there (ie, 22 khz (tape, not cd quality), tabla is basically in the left channel and the background singers in right channel with nusrat in the middle).
Im personally trying to find well recorded live versions of these songs, as they are some of the catchiest, and I want to have a good recording. But if you find a deal on this cd, pick it up! The best of the pakistani recorded nusrat albums."

Divine Nusrat

Jerry | Berkeley, CA | 06/24/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album contains Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Party in the group's original early form from the early 1980's. The group's members changed somewhat in the mid 1980's just when they were becoming a world-wide phenomenon. Though both groups are pure Nusrat at his best, they have different dynamics. The early group contains more soloists, including Nusrat's elder Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan whom I believe is his uncle. Though a young Nusrat is clearly the leader of this group, the group contains a frontline of equally stunning soloists. In the later group, the frontline is reduced a bit, and Nusrat's nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan joins in. In this group, much of the soloing is by Nusrat and Rahat.
This CD, Greatest Hits v.2 contains the original group. The energy is intensely devotional, and can inspire any faith. Sanson Ki Mala is actually a song about a devotee of the Hindu God Krishna. One can hear the longing in Nusrat's voice for the Lord. The song is divinely sad, whereas 'Ni Main Jana Jogi De Nal' is ecstatic. It is a mere hint of this group's explosive qawwali.
If one wants to get a full experience of Nusrat and Party, there are videos available from these early years. Here, he caters to no Western audience. Many of the songs from these concerts last an hour or more, and reach unbelievable heights. In Nusrat's later western concerts, his tracks were much shorter, and did not have the uninhibited energy of these early concerts. So, 'Ni Main Jana Jogi De Nal' as well as the other tracks on this CD are only samples of what this early group was all about."

Go for it!

Zahra Jamshed | NJ, US | 07/04/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD has a nice blend of music and poetry. Personally I prefer to listen to Nusrat's Punjabi Qawwalis as he does far more justice to them with his vocal chords and the accompanying music. Therefore I will strongly recommend (2) and (3)whereas 1 and 4 are nice ones as well. The first one has a very lively and lyrical chorus that accompanies him in the flow of verses. Overall a higly recommended one! . Sanson Ki Mala 2. Gali De Wichon Kaun 3. Ni Main Jogi De Naal 4. Mera Yeh Charka 5. Pyar Akhyan De Boohe"