111. Ravi Shankar — The Sounds of India (1968)

1. Here Ravi Shankar — friend and informal teacher to the Beatles, influencing George Harrison in particular (we’ve heard the sitar use grow tremendously in this list already) — introduces classical Indian music to a western audience.
2. When I say he introduces it — I mean that literally. The first track is a spoken word breakdown of rhythms, instruments, and themes; each of the four subsequent tracks opens with a description of what constitutes that style (Maru-Bihag, for example, is noted by a 2–3–2–3 rhythm). As such the album takes on the tenor of a textbook more than anything. The music itself is interesting, but as the goal is to run through and introduce different styles moreso than form a cohesive statement, it kept me at arms length.
3. I’d call this album a fascinating historical document and musical curiosity moreso than one of the all time greats, but that still makes it worthy of a listen and inclusion in the 1001. Still, if you’re interested in listening to some great classical Indian music, I would steer you in the direction of Call of the Valley instead of this.

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