[.ca] Night Song (Pakistan)

Amazon.com essential recording:
Canadian experimental guitarist Brook and the late, "shining star of Qawwal" come together for a second time to bring the music of Pakistan into a creative new realm. If you are a traditionalist who wants nothing but Pakistani music, stay away. This album is soaked in ambient electronic guitar noises and some of Khan's most out-of-the-tradition singing. These experiments are not to be confused with lots of the electro-noodling, however. Both artists were devoted to their gods and their music, and it shows in the potency of these tracks. Brook seems to have been a natural match for Nusrat and has drawn out an unusual performance that probably fulfills the ideas that were only hinted at in their first collaboration, Musst Musst. --Louis Gibson

the words seem to make english sense,no babbling brooke:
On Night Song, the words are not english, (clearly), yet there is a transcendence of words, especially in the most sublime first song, which i recommend a person put into an infinite re-play loop. it seems to say to me : 'there is only love, it is very much....' gorgeous the way Brooke blends so cunningly and with such soul craft the western sounds. no one's done it this well since Shankar met Menuhin in "East Meets West". buy it and listen often and you will grow....

multiple epiphanies:
this is by far one of the best fusion albums i have heard. to make world fusion work, it is not enough to just fuse two styles, the result must be several magnitudes better than the sum of its parts. otherwise, whats the point? well, "night song" is very much that. a unique collaboration, between two very different idioms, that works because not a single tune lies squarely in one or the other tradition. each tune is a perfect amalgam of the two styles, and much more. sufi/qawwali music is very emotive, and like all eastern devotional music, aspires to reach out to something outside our immediate sphere of sensory perceptions. michael brook's arrangements preserve this ambition and sense of personality. his guitar work (for instance on "my comfort remains") is nothing short of amazing. i first heard this album almost 8 years ago, and i still am amazed when i return to it.

Good but not great:
Nusrat's qawwalis are always playing in my Pakistani family's household, and I'm a fan of so-called "fusion" music, so naturally I bought this CD upon its release many years ago. There are definitely some great tracks on this CD, such as "My Comfort Remains", but a lot of the album is on the verge of studio overproduction. I think the other collaboration with Michael Brook, "Mustt Mustt", is more subtle and palatable. Regardless, I'd still recommend this album if for anything Nusrat's voice being incredible as always.

AMAZING..:
This CD is simply put.....AMAZING...I have never heard any vocalists voice carry such a range of emotions and feelings...sounds like Nusrat is drawing out feelings from your gut...His voice is like a spell that you will not want to escape from.. yet it has such a trippy feel that you cant help float away with the dreamy and haunting production... Michael Brooks is musical genius who has tapped into the soul of Nusrats voice effortlessley.... This CD will definitely take you to a whole new place... If you dont have it..you JUST dont know what you'r missing!! Nusrat..May you always rest in peace...

A Language That Needs No Translation:
Michael Brook is a very talented and underrated composer and producer whose love and appreciation for world music and great voices, was responsible for putting the Qawali of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the popular world music map, and made its sometimes rough edges and repetitiveness(to the untrained ear) far more accessible and enjoyable. His first collaboration with Khan, was a record (with its 'single' Mustt Mustt') that largely contributed to the huge global boom and interest in World Music. His second collaboration takes a smiliar route and blends his trademark ambient guitars and atmosphere with Pakistani's most famous music export and one the best voices in any language. The songs of 'Night Song' are so serene and almost spiritual. Brook has worked with other world artists from India, Armenia and Tanzania,always adding his original touch, but somehow you can feel that the work he has done with Khan was his most successful and personal: Two men coming from different parts of the globe, united by their passionate love of music: world or western, with Brook and Khan this label becomes redundant,as music becomes one language for all that requires no translation. A Must Buy!!

• My Heart, My Life
• Intoxicated
• Lament
• My Comfort Remains
• Longing
• Sweet Pain
• Night Song
• Crest