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Ravi Shankar Shankar Family & Friends - Original Master Recording - Sealed US vinyl LP album (LP record)
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| Tracklisting / Additional Info: |
Produced by George Harrison, Shankar Family & Friends is an almost-forgotten masterwork — an emotional and sonic pact on which two like-minded souls unite musical styles, cultures, and sounds in wondrous fashion. It’s also the second album Harrison’s Dark Horse Records released, setting the tone for the label and precedent for a friendship that lasted the remainder of Harrison’s life.
Sourced from the original analog tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g LP presents the album in restored sound that illustrates the beauty of the playing, compositions, and chemistry. Yet it does so much more in the transparent way it showcases the textures, spiritualism, and breadth of compositions primarily recorded by Harrison, Shankar, and an array of distinguished guests at A&M Studios. The inviting aura, generous spaciousness, and well-defined tonalities on this pressing combine to take the music to transcendent heights. Then there’s the brilliant playing itself.
Memorable contributions from an A-list of American and English musicians — Ringo Starr (drums), David Bromberg (electric guitar), Billy Preston (organ), Nicky Hopkins (piano), Jim Keltner (drums), Klaus Voorman (bass), Robert Margouleff (Moog), Malcolm Cecil (Moog), Tom Scott (saxophone) included — add to the richness of a set that melds Eastern and Western traditions. These “names” mesh with a host of Indian virtuosos — Alla Rakha, Ashish Khan, Kamala Chakravarty, Hariprasad Chaurasia included — who turn Shankar Family & Friends into a journey laced with percussive, string, and vocal components that aren’t soon forgotten.
Throughout, Shankar Family & Friends remains true to its title — a mesmerizing record named to reflect the group participation approach of its creators. The idea started when Shankar told Harrison about a ballet he wrote. The Beatle, who first met Shankar in June 1966 — roughly a year after Harrison became interested in Indian music after overhearing it in a restaurant while filming Help! — immediately was convinced they needed to record it. Harrison’s staunch admiration of Shankar and serious approach to Eastern styles are reflected throughout the album.
Indeed, for Harrison, Shankar Family & Friends marks the culmination of a years-long effort to master the sitar, study Hinduism, and incorporate elements such as drones, unusual chords, and expressive picking into his own songs. The seeds of this unique collaboration can be heard in Beatles works such as “Norwegian Wood,” “Love to You,” and “Within You Without You.” Both musicians were also fresh from performing at the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh shows. Yet Shankar Family & Friends remains entirely unique in each visionary artist’s history — and ultimately, led to a collaborative tour Harrison and Shankar staged across North America.
Encompassing jazz, funk, bhajan, Indian, and pop, Shankar Family & Friends is thematically split into halves. Side One reveals Shankar’s uncanny ear for melody — even when applied to Western forms. The lead-off “I Am Missing You,” the first single ever released by Dark Horse Records and reportedly the first pop composition Shankar completed, underscores his skills as a composer and global ambassador. Beautifully sung across three octaves by his sister-in-law, Lakshmi Shankar, the devotional song features multiple drummers and production that mirrors Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound approach. Harrison plays autoharp and guitar; Starr sits in on drums; Scott handles flute and soprano saxophone. It’s the inviting start of a musical adventure teeming with color, majesty, and mysticism.
A second version of the track — designated with a “(Reprise)” tag — appears minutes later. Unfolding in different ways, it follows a folk ballad structure stitched together with Indian instrumentation. Here, according to Shankar, the musicians “attempted to convey the sounds and atmosphere of Vrindavan, the ancient holy place where Krishna grew up.” Both renditions speak to the cross-continental fusion that came so naturally to Harrison and Shankar, whose oversight on the side’s other vocal tracks ensures listeners familiar with Western methods gain easy access to the hypnotic allure of his native country’s music.
Nowhere is this more evident than on Dream, Nightmare & Dawn (Music for a Ballet), the side-long piece that served as the genesis for Shankar Family & Friends. Launched with an airy overture and unfolding across three movements, the mostly wordless suite features everything from call-and-response interplay and classical lyricism to uptempo dance figures, stacked rhythms, and intoxicating grooves. Blurring the lines between contemporary and traditional, and Western and Eastern, the inspirational work is the exclamation point on a record that defined “world music” well before the term became co-opted as a catch-all genre.
Side One
1. I Am Missing You 3:40
2. Kahan Gayelava Shyam Saloné 3:15
3. Supané Mé Ayé Preetam Sainya 4:44
4. I Am Missing You (Reprise) 3:56
5. Jaya Jagadish Haré 4:50
Side Two
Dream, Nightmare & Dawn
1. Overture 2:28
Part One: Dream
2. Festivity & Joy 3:52
3. Love - Dance Ecstasy 3:10
Part Two: Nightmare
4. Lust (Raga Chandrakauns) 3:12
5. Dispute & Violence 3:05
6. Disillusionment & Frustration 2:51
7. Despair & Sorrow (Raga Marwa) 3:07
Part Three: Dawn
8. Awakening 3:07
9. Peace & Hope (Raga Bhatiyar) 4:21
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| Condition : |
Factory sealed from new. This item is unplayed. Click here for more info. |
| Availability: |
In Stock - Buy Now for shipping on Thursday 27th June
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| Year of Release: |
2024 |
| Artist: |
Ravi Shankar (click here for complete listing) |
| Title: |
Shankar Family & Friends (click here for more of the same title) |
| Price: |
£ 59.99, US$ 76.19
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| Postage/Shipping: |
Add item to your basket for a postage/shipping quote |
| Format: |
vinyl LP album (LP record) |
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| Record Label: |
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab |
| Catalogue No: |
MFSL1-522 |
| Country of Origin: |
USA
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| Language: |
Regardless of country of origin all tracks are sung in English, unless otherwise stated in our description. |
| Date of Release: |
Unconfirmed
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| EIL.COM Ref No |
RVKLPSH837653 (quote this reference in any e-mails, letters, faxes or phone calls to help identify this item) |
| Barcode : |
821797152211 |
| Genres: |
Apple label, Dark Horse Label
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| Related Artists: |
Aashish Khan, Ananda Shankar, Arthur Wilkinson, Astrid Kirchherr, Attitudes, Backbeat, Billy Preston, Bobby Keys, Brian Epstein, Brute Force, Café Crème, Carl Groszmann, Cavern Sound, Chris Hodge, Colonel, Cynthia Lennon, Dark Horse Records, David Hentschel, DBM, Denny Laine, Derek Taylor, Dhani Harrison, Easy Pieces, Elastic Oz Band, Elephant's Memory, George Harrison, George Martin, Goddess Of Fortune, Guthrie Thomas, Handmade Films, Henry McCullough, Hollyridge Strings, Jackie Lomax, James McCartney, Jimmy McCulloch & White Line, Jimmy Nicol, Jiva, Joey Molland, John Lennon, John Tavener, Johnny Warman, Julian Lennon, Julie Ege, Kamikaze One 85, Keni Burke, Klaus Voormann, Linda McCartney, Lon & Derrek Van Eaton, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Mary Hopkin, Musketeer Gripweed, NEMS (Record Label), New World Electronic Chambre Ensemble, Oasis (Mary Hopkin), Paul McCartney and Wings, Peace Choir, Percy Thrillington, Pete Best, Radha Krishna Temple, Ray Cathode, Ringo Or Robin, Ringo Starr, Roger Webb, Ronnie Spector, Rory Storm And The Hurricanes, Ross, Russ Sainty, Rusty Anderson, Sean Lennon, Smokin' Mojo Filters, Splinter, Stormer, Stuart Sutcliffe, Suzanne, Suzy And The Red Stripes, Sylvia Griffin, Tee-M, The Aerovons, The Alpha Band, The Beatles, The Bedrocks, The Black Dyke Mills Band, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Country Hams, The Fireman, The Fool, The London Jazz Four, The Marbles (60s), The Mirza Men, The Moonlandingz, The Quarrymen, The Remo Four, The Sundown Playboys, Thenewno2, Tommy Quickly, Tony Sheridan, Trash (70s), Traveling Wilburys, Yoko Ono |
| Complete Stock List: |
Ravi Shankar |
| email: |
sales@eil.com to contact our sales team. |
| Alternative Names: |
None |
| To order by phone: |
Call +44 1474 815010 quoting EIL.COM reference number RVKLPSH837653 |
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