Search - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Michael Brook :: Star Rise

Outstanding, even from a purist's point of view!

Jeevan | San Francisco, CA USA | 10/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I know this album catches a lot of flack from Nusrat devotees and purists. I have been listening to Nusrat for over a decade, well before he became "hip" over here in the west, and I stand by this album.First of all, contradictory to popular myth, this album was not a vain effort to cash in on the singer's recent demise. The album was made and almost fully completed when he was alive, the liner notes on the cd cover explain this.Secondly, Nusrat himself was experimenting with mixing and fusing different sounds. If you want proof of this, listen to "Swan Song" which is a 2-cd recording of his final concert prior to his demise. The concert was held in his homeland in Pakistan, and even then, the album is filled with various western instruments, guitars, horns, even an electronic piano.Some may dispute the blendings that have occured with Nusrat's works, but if the esteemed singer himself was experimenting with it then who are they to critique him. Nusrat understood that the Qawalli tradition had to be made as universal as possible and was willing to do the neccessary to make it so.Finally, these musicians who took and remixed Nurat's works are not some hippie-type John McLaughlin-loving (nothing wrong with John, just making a point) DJ's. These are South Asian musicians who grew up on Nusrat and to a great extend were inspired by him.It is fascinating to see what groups like Asian Dub Foundation (who are considered to be the "Rage Against the Machine" of South Asians) do with Nusrat's work, bringing the raw passion to surface with heavy beats. The heavy percussion accompaniments to "Nothing Without You" are so mesmerizing and beat-laden you'll want to dance.Nusrat purists remind me of the old-school radio-station DJ's with their mullet haircuts, shaded glasses and satin tour jackets who still go on about Credence Clearwater Revival and so on (nothing wrong with Credence, but come on...) They refuse to evolve, and to let music grow. They stagnate in their own pools of anachronistic music.This CD is outstanding, take that from a Nusrat purist who's not afraid of change!"

As good as music can get.

shardul shah | Birmingham, AL, USA | 12/18/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First i would like to start by mentioning that everyone who thinks this is an insult to Nusrat could not be more wrong. Nusrat..just before he died had started to expand his wings and had started work with many wetern prodeucers( one of them being Michale Brook)...why?...because he was trying to gain wider acceptance and listners from around the world. He even let the likes of bally sagoo remix his stuff. After his untimely death( may God bless his soul) who better to carry on his legacy than the mucisians who actually have proudly accepted their ethnicity in a foreign land and are making excillent music that is carrying sounds form their countries to new levels of international appeal. If Nusrat were alive today he would have done the same thing. So this CD..according to me is no insult but quiet the contrary...a fantastic tribute to one of the greatest musicians of our generation. Now...back to the CD...its a fantastic CD!...every track is carefuly and masterfully mixed with excillent samples from the lagend himself and the result is pure sonic electronic majic. Hands down my favourit track on the cd is the track by Nitin Swhaney. That track has it all...Gazal, Nustar chanting haunting notes and an excillent bassline with great samples. The track by earthtibe is another track worthy of special mention. Its the only track that is more trip hop and less jungel/D&B. The track by black star liner has superb tabla samples and a funkey toe tapping beat. And ofcourse asian dub foundation has mixed a masterpiece. This track is also on their community music CD. This track bring strong guitar work and elements of punk ot the CD and of course Talvin Singh, State of Bengal, JOI and Aki Nawaz keep the standerds of the CD extreamly high. The only track i dont care for much on the CD is the very last one. Its a good concept but lacks good production and is seems kinda out of place. Bottom line....the is a fantastic cd no asian undergound collection is complete without it. I am infact thankful that there are so many young artists that actually respect Nusrat's work and are so openly willin to take his music into the future thereby by preventin it form dying out as the tastes of every generation differ grately from the previous one. Nusrat, we love you and miss you where ever you may be and your music and memories will always remain in our hearts for a long time to come."

Upbeat, transcendental energy

richlatta | "The War Zone" ABQ, NM | 10/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I must confess, this is probably my favorite music of NFAK. Obviously, I'm not a purist. I love NFAK; his voice lifts my spirits and makes me happy. I love electronic/techno music (especially asian). So this is the perfect wedding. I also enjoy his more traditional stuff, but I get tired of that particular instrument they play all the time that sounds like an accordian. I'm not too fond of accordian playing.This is a great CD to put on and just groove to - in the car, at work, etc. It's all great but the Talvin Singh remix of "My Heart, My Life" is a highlight, and Asian Dub Foundation's "Taa Deem" can transport me to a state of exstacy."