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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
If the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" is one of the classic examples of raga rock (emphasis on rock), fusing the ancient Indian modal pattern of raga with western rock & roll, Susheela Raman's remarkable debut Salt Rain could well be described as raga blues, (emphasis on raga). Trained to sing classical Indian music from childhood, the Londoner by birth began experimenting with the vocal style of American blues in adolescence, finding in her early 20s a richly exotic multi-textured sound. African rhythms, Asian-chordal dissonance and a deep womanly voice make for an intoxicating listening experience. Rather than run together as an ineffective mishmash of multicultural styles, Raman and her crew of musicians with origins in Romania, Greece, Spain and Kenya offer a sound like a masala-Gypsy-klezmer band with one foot in the delta. Familiar as the soaring voice of Joi, Raman is an intensely exciting new voice not in just world music, but in music as a whole. Salt Rain is both bountiful and devastatingly beautiful. --Paige La Grone
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, timeless and relaxing,
By
This review is from: Salt Rain (Audio CD)
This beautiful debut album is hard to define. Raman was brought up on classical Indian music, but with a band comprised of Indian, European and African musicians, she leads us into some more modern twists on the traditional sounds.Her songs sound new and fresh, yet mellow and bluesy, with relaxed tunes like "Nagumomo" interspersed with more plaintive vocals. She has taken many traditional ethnic songs and cut them back or pepped them up to make them her own, as well writing the haunting songs "Woman" and "Salt Rain" about her own family experiences. Every song tells a tale and stands along as a gorgeous sound, while the lyrics slip between English, Hindi and Tamil. The high point of the album for me is the final track, "Song to the Siren". (She also covers "Trust in me" from the Jungle Book, making it twisted and alluring.) This Tim Buckley classic has been covered a number of times but none so movingly as by Raman - she has brought purpose to cover versions. A beautiful close to a stunning album.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As good as it gets,
This review is from: Salt Rain (Audio CD)
This is music to soothe the soul and make your spirit sing. 'Devastatingly beautiful' one of the other reviews said. That's about right. Susheela has a voice of breathtaking clarity and masterful range and control that she uses to wonderful effect on this CD. There's a huge range of musical styles here but not a dud track on it - every single track stands in its own right as a work of beauty. The other instrumentalists are unreservedly excellent - especially the bass - and they all play in such an understated way as to let the wonderful melodies speak rather than clutter them with too much embellishment. This is music as good as it gets. Truly sublime and magical.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Susheela - brilliant,
By A Customer
This review is from: Salt Rain (Audio CD)
This is a great album. I saw Susheela live in Glasgow and she was brilliant. Some people criticise her for covering the song Bolo Bolo, claiming that "Ms. Raman's version is exacrable, almost unrecognizable unless one knows the words." Yes, it is very different, but thats what makes it good. She is different, and a breath of fresh air. I would recommend this album to people who like to 'chill' - you know what i mean. Listen to this and enjoy its effect on your mind.
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