Call of the Valley
Encyclopedia
Call of the Valley is a 1967 Hindustani classical music
album by Hariprasad Chaurasia
, Brij Bhushan Kabra
, and Shivkumar Sharma
. It was recorded for the label EMI
.
The instrumental album follows a day in the life of an Indian shepherd from Kashmir
. It is one of the most successful Indian albums and one that became popular with an international audience. It was very important in introducing Indian music to Western ears and internationally the best selling Indian music record. George Harrison
, David Crosby
, Paul McCartney
, Bob Dylan
and Roger McGuinn
are fans of the album.
The atmospheric music is traditional, but the innovative use of guitar and flute make the sound more acceptable for Western audiences. Kabra plays slide guitar
, Sharma santoor
and Chaurasia bansuri
. The artists became well known musicians and the instruments they used became acceptable in traditional Indian music. Today Call of the Valley is considered a classic and a milestone in world music
. Allmusic advises: "If the newcomer buys only one Indian classical recording, it should be "Call of the Valley"."
The remastered edition has three bonus tracks.
It is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
by Robert Dimery and Michael Lydon.
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
album by Hariprasad Chaurasia
Hariprasad Chaurasia
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia is an Indian classical instrumentalist. He is a player of the bansuri, the North Indian bamboo flute. Chaurasia is a classicist who has made a conscious effort to reach out and expand the audience for classical music.-Early life:Hariprasad Chaurasia was born in...
, Brij Bhushan Kabra
Brij Bhushan Kabra
Brij Bhushan Kabra is an Indian musician who popularized the guitar as an instrument in Indian classical music.Kabra was born 1937 to Goverdhanlal Kabra in Jodhpur where he spent his youth. He was interested in sports and listened to Indian classical music, but did not intend to become a musician...
, and Shivkumar Sharma
Shivkumar Sharma
Shivkumar Sharma is an Indian santoor player. The santoor is a folk instrument from Kashmir and Jammu. Sharma is often referred to by the title Pandit.-Early life:...
. It was recorded for the label EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
.
The instrumental album follows a day in the life of an Indian shepherd from Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. It is one of the most successful Indian albums and one that became popular with an international audience. It was very important in introducing Indian music to Western ears and internationally the best selling Indian music record. George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
are fans of the album.
The atmospheric music is traditional, but the innovative use of guitar and flute make the sound more acceptable for Western audiences. Kabra plays slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
, Sharma santoor
Santoor
The santoor is an ancient stringed musical instrument, native to Kashmir and Iran. It is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy two strings. The special-shaped mallets are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers...
and Chaurasia bansuri
Bansuri
The bansuri is a transverse alto flute of Bangladesh, India and Nepal made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with six or seven finger holes. An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha, and is...
. The artists became well known musicians and the instruments they used became acceptable in traditional Indian music. Today Call of the Valley is considered a classic and a milestone in world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
. Allmusic advises: "If the newcomer buys only one Indian classical recording, it should be "Call of the Valley"."
The remastered edition has three bonus tracks.
It is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...
by Robert Dimery and Michael Lydon.