Ravi Shankar – Shankar Family & Friends LP Original Master Recording

Ravi Shankar – Shankar Family & Friends

Out of print as a standalone release for decades since its original 1974 release, and produced by George Harrison, Shankar Family & Friends is an almost-forgotten masterwork — an emotional pact on which two like-minded souls unite musical styles, cultures, and sounds in wondrous fashion. Memorable contributions from an A-list of American and English musicians — Ringo Starr (drums), David Bromberg (electric guitar), Billy Preston (organ), Nicky Hopkins (piano), Jim Keltner (drums), Klaus Voorman (bass), Robert Margouleff (Moog), Malcolm Cecil (Moog), Tom Scott (saxophone) included — add to the richness of a set that melds Eastern and Western traditions. They pair with Indian virtuosos who help turn Shankar Family & Friends into a journey laced with percussive, string, and vocal components that aren’t soon forgotten. Sourced from the original analog tapes and strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g LP presents the album in restored sound that illustrates the beauty of the playing, compositions, and chemistry. This reissue makes available on vinyl a Dark Horse Records title that hasn’t been on LP since 1975. Yet it does so much more in the transparent way it showcases the textures, spiritualism, and breadth of unique compositions and Shankar’s intoxicating side-long ballet suite. The inviting aura, generous spaciousness, and well-defined tonalities combine to take the music to transcendent heights — and place an exclamation point on a record that defined “world music” well before the term became co-opted as a catch-all genre.

Tracklist:
A1 I Am Missing You 3:45
A2 Kahān Gayelavā Shyām Saloné 2:55
A3 Supané Mé Āyé Preetam Sainyā 4:15
A4 I Am Missing You (Reprise) 4:03
A5 Jaya Jagadish Haré 4:54
Dream, Nightmare & Dawn
B1 Overture 2:33
Part One: Dream
B2 Festivity & Joy 3:57
B3 Love - Dance Ecstasy 3:13
Part Two: Nightmare
B4 Lust (Rāga Chandrakauns) 3:13
B5 Dispute & Violence 2:43
B6 Disillusionment & Frustration 2:51
B7 Despair & Sorrow (Rāga Marwā) 3:04
Part Three: Dawn
B8 Awakening 3:05
B9 Peace & Hope (Rāga Bhatiyār) 4:31

Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab 
Released: 1974/2024