Krishna Das Breath of the Heart





For the last couple of weeks I have been drawn back continually to this album of modernized chanting by American musician Krishna Das.

From the liner notes for the album Planet Chant:

...Called "The Chant Master of American Yoga" by The New York Times, Krishna Das' music is a marriage of ancient chants from the Hindu tradition and energized Western grooves. The resulting sound is eminently accessible to Western ears and hearts. He has has unparalleled success in bringing the tradition of chant or kirtan to yoga studios and practitioners across America. Over the years he has collaborated with the likes of mainstream music icons Sting and Madonna and has been instrumental in popularizing chant outside it's traditional boundaries...

So there you go. DESPITE the association with Sting and Madonna I have to say that listening to Breath of the Heart is indeed an intense experience. There's something about Das' voice that is ancient and able to express a wellspring of emotion (even to someone like me who does not understand the language he's singing in). It's a very exotic album though it is grounded in familiar beats and chord structures.



And now for something completely different:

Steve Vai Sex and Religion





Recently I borrowed several Steve Vai CDs from my brother and burned them with the intention of investigating his music at a later date. I've heard lots of good things about Vai from musicians whose opinions I somewhat trusted, so my mind and ears were open to what he had to offer.

I dunno...maybe I shouldn't have started with this particular recording (Sex and Religion), because I couldn't even get past the first seven songs before feeling compelled to turn it off. Oh sure, some of the effects were pretty cool, especially through headphones, but the vocals of Devin Townshend were laughably histrionic. Furthermore I found some of the lyrics to be genuinely offensive (and this coming from someone who has a high tolerance for such things)...but I guess I should have known that an album called Sex and Religion would probably NOT mix it's two subjects in a manner that I would find palatable.

Vai is without a doubt a gifted guitarist and his compositional style is not without it's strengths. But what I heard on this album just sounded plain DUMB.

Oh well, I've got six or seven other Vai releases yet to check out so maybe they'll redeem him from this turkey. Too bad that the bad taste left over from what I heard of Sex and Religion has assured that it will probably be some while before I get around to listening to 'em.