The Rough Guide to the Music of Iran

In recent years, the media has embarked on a campaign to villify Iran as little more than a fanatical Islamic theocracy seeking to "destroy our way of life". Yet there is another side of Iran that few westerners get to see. For thousands of years (before the Roman empire, even before Alexander!), Persia has been a great center of art, literature, poetry, learning, music and culture. Great works like the Shah-Nameh, Hazer Afsaneh (from which the 1001 Nights originated) and the poetry of Rumi, Hafez and Omar Khayyam all came from Iran. Since the Arab invasion of the 7th century, the Persians have worked to assert their own identity, and in the proccess wound up influencing much of the Middle East and South Asia. Many Iranians are quite proud of this heritage (rightly so I might add), and proudly call themselves Persian.

This CD is but a small sampling of the incredible musical diversity in modern day Iran. Such a survey is obviously going to leave out some major artists (such as the pop diva Googoosh, as the other reviewer pointed out), but this CD benefits from being very fresh and up to date. As such, it can serve as a cross-cultural window for more westerners to see the REAL Iran. The classical, improvisational music of Persia is well represented by Kayhan Kolhor & Ali Akbar Moradi, the Masters of Persian Music and Hossein Alizadeh & Djivan Gasparyan (their song, "Sari Gailin" mixes Persian, Armenian and even Azeri influences), standing in contrast to the modern pop/rock of groups like Arian Band (named for the ancient Aryans, after whom Iran was named), Barad and O-Hum (who's song "Darde Eshgh" features some awesome vocals and guitar). And yes, even women are represented. Parvin Javdan and Zohreh Bayat from the all-female Rozaneh ensemble perform a wonderful song, quoting from the beloved Sufi poet Hafez.

Folk and ethnic music is also represented, showing the traditions of rural Iran (which includes numerous minority groups like the Kurds, Armenians, Qashqai, Turkomen, Azeris, Baluchis, etc). The legendary Kamkar ensemble showcases the irregular metered percussion of Kurdistan on "Dekay Ambar, Dekay Auber". Haj Ghorban Soleimani, a bashkhi or bard from Khorasan, tells a story from Hazer Afsaneh accompanied by the dotar on "Zareni Hossain Yar". Chenghis Medhipour showcases the epic song traditions of the Azeris, and Din Mohammad Zangeshahi shows the folk art of Baluchistan, while another Shahram Nazeri (also Kurdish) leads the Dastan Ensemble in a performance of Sufi music. But one of the great high-lights of this CD comes from the Jahle band (descendant of freed black African slaves, now settled along Iran's coast), who perform a lullaby made popular by being played on BBC. Demmand for this song, which until now was unavailable, proved so great that World Music Network spend a great deal of time working with the BBC to release it. Exclusive to this CD, fans should be glad that we can now get our hands on it.

From the first notes of the Arian Band's pop song Afsoongar, to the haunting last echos of the (aptly named) Masters of Persian Music, this CD serves as a wonderful journey across the incredibly varied country of Iran. It is a window into a world few in the west get to see, and it's a tragedy that this CD is not sold in every book and music store across the nation. I STRONGLY recommend that anyone who is interested in seeing the TRUE face or Iran and/or the Middle East purchase this CD. It will greatly expand your mind, showing you the beauty, grandeur and majesty that is Persian culture. Even those who are already familar with Persian music will find this CD an incredibly worthwhile purchase, because of the inclusion of several unique or hard to find tracks (particularly "Lullaby" by the Jahle Band). So do yourself a favor and go out and buy this CD.

Interesting assortment, including rock music from Iran (the Arian Band, licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Islamic Republic of Iran); however, there are some omissions.

Where is pop icon Googoosh? Where is folk singer Sima Bina? Both ladies are missing from this compilation. Without them, this CD is not a representative collection of music from Iran.

Like most Rough Guides, this is a splendid overview of the music of a country that is often misunderstood and little known. Iranian music is a well kept secret - but it should remain a secret no longer. I think that by listening to each other's music can we understand each other - something very important in today's age when Iran and the US constantly demonize eachother.

Iran has a staggering variety of music. This compilation covers it all, ranging from the pop of Arian Band, a melting pot of western and global influences powered by the Iranian style violin playing, to the underground rock of O Hum, with sufi lyrics by Hafez, to the storyteller bards, to the classical vocals of Shahram Nazeri and the powerful Mohamed Reza Shajarian. There are the Kurdish folk styles, the beautiful Armenian choral singing, and the haunting lullaby from the African-descended minority of the coast. There's plenty of classical music, including three dynamic instrumentals on tombak drum, ney flute and setar, showcasing Iran's unique and ancient instruments. There's also the fiery duet between Kayhan Kalhor the world-renowned spike fiddle player, and setar player Ali Akbar Moradi. Kayhan Kalhor shows up again as part of Masters of Persian Music, who truly are masters. They close the CD with a powerful song, filled with anger and passion: Torkaman.

I was thrilled with this CD, after a few listens, but I soon discovered that other people simply don't understand Iranian music. It is true that some of it requires patience to really appreciate, but as the compiler says on the great interview included on the enhanced portion of this disc, it's the songs that take a while to appreciate that really move you. Hopefully, Iranian music will move you, and you'll be encouraged to search for more of it. I strongly recommend the album Night Silence Desert - it's simply amazing. Anything by Kayhan Kalhor is great, as well.

So give Iranian music a try. This is an ideal introduction.