Dance Raja Dance: Asia Classics, Vol. 1

The CD revolves around the music of Vijaya Anand, the "Musical Director" and composer of the music of the songs on this CD. There are a great variety of songs here, from a great variety of performers, all of them are amazing musical experiences. "Aatavu Chanda" (or "Dancing is Beautiful") is a beautiful song that will have you dancing (how about that?) with the first tones of its driving bass riff; "Naane Mabaraja" (or "I am the Emporer") includes sampled banjo, which gives the music an almost country feel that is infectious; "Nalleya Savimathe" (or "Lover You Speak Beautiful Words") is lavishly spread thick with gorgeous strings -the melody and harmonies are unforgettable.

As with most Indian Film Music, it may sound derivative to Western ears, but it really has evolved into its own musical style out of the rich mesh of style it borrows from (rock, country, Indian classical music, etc.). Also, these songs all had their genesis in a movie; all were musical numbers with accompanying dance routines and plot lines. So these songs are extracted from their original context which for most Westerners will be very difficult to reconstruct (or possibly comprehend). Still, the music stands up on its own and is enjoyable in its own right.

The CD booklet contains translations of the lyrics (though also a disclaimer that the original lyrics were translated from Kannada and Tamil into Tamil, and then presumably into English), and much information about the Indian Film scene. The back cover displays a surprising statistic: India produces at least four times the movies that Hollywood does per year (at the time of this CD the numbers were 789 to 151). Also included are amazing pictures from Indian Film posters. The context that is lost from extracting this music from the films is somewhat regained by all of the information the booklet provides.

This was one of the first CDs of Indian Film music that I came across (it was released over 10 years ago); for all I know it was the first major (or, at least, semi-major)label release of Indian Film music in the United States. For years I searched in vain for more (but this was before the internet completely removed the concept of scarcity from musical recordings). I'm happy to see that other compliations of this great music have sprung up in great numbers in this country (helped, no doubt, by the burgeoning Indian population here).

Even to this day, whenever I put this CD on, at a party or for a friend, it touches someone and they demand to know what it is so they can get a copy. People of the most diverse musical tastes seem to be drawn to this CD. So, that being the case, if it is out of print, that is doubly regrettable. I hope everyone who wanted copies found them. As for me, this CD has been in my collection since I first spotted it in 1992, and gets more than regular spins, and will likely continue to spin until it wears to dust.


THE BEST MUSIC EVER MADE   February 26, 2003
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I wholeheartedly agree with the people above. Dance Raja Dance is one of the best works of art I've ever heard. I'm serious. Granted, you probably won't realize how good it is the first time you hear it. But after, wait a little while, and you'll slowly hear the haunting melodies fade up in the back of your mind, and that's when you realize... it has become a part of you. I know. It happened to me. The beautiful, yet harsh, almost overdriven vocal recordings are easily reason enough to buy this album. It's unlike any music I've heard; it has absolutlely no form to it. It takes you EVERYWHERE. It's like... a shapeless, colorful, all-knowing mass, not held down by words like "genre", or "key signature", or "distortion". This album demonstrates a very strange musical phenomenon, where nothing sounds out of place, because EVERYTHING sounds out of place. The shrill, yet captivating female vocals are particularly mememorable, and the skillful guitar playing deserves an honorable mention. Especially the solo on track 4. Personal favorite tracks are 1,2,4, but it's golden throughout.
DANCE, RAJA, DANCE!!!


Vi Jaya Anand is a GENIUS!   November 8, 2001
 3 out of 5 found this review helpful

ok well.......maybe not. Back when I used to work at a record store, a co-worker and I would get bored and dig into the used cd section to see who could find the most horrible cd to annoy our customers. I found this one and since that day I have reigned as the king of bad cd fetching. This album is just full of awesome stuff! From the clippingly horrid production to Vi Jaya Anand wearing a miami vice t-shirt on the sleeve inside.


Amazing!   July 30, 2001
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

I bought this purely on impulse, while trying to find some typical Indian film music, the kind you hear in restaurants while munching on pappadoms. It's a riotously funny experience, and is also very clever. Anand mixes up all kinds of Western styles in an Eastern fashion, so you get spy movie ballads with Eddie van Halen-goes-Bombay guitar, 'Elvis movie' songs with wailing singing, and lots of other permutations that will have you hopping in your seat. It's light on Indian instrumentation, and quite hip-hop in places, but lacks the monotony of that kind of music.

The singing is incredible, with the two featured vocalists doing things that most opera singers can barely do. My favorite track is "Aase Hechchagideh" -- ... It really makes you want to see the movies these songs come from...