Album Reviews
Ravi Iyer: Rocking Ragas
When VAYU’s Ravi Iyer starts playing the guitar, you tend to forget that it is an inanimate instrument. To say that the guitar truly comes alive in his arms wouldn’t be an overstatement — as his fingers weave through the fret board, you can’t help but be spellbound by his dexterity and the sheer feel with which he plays the instrument. The man can make a guitar scream; he can make it whisper; he can make it laugh; he can make it cry — hell, he can damn near make it bleed.
As lead guitarist of VAYU, Ravi is best known for performing his renditions of classics by Jimi Hendrix, Joe Satriani, Ritchie Blackmore and the like. But if flashy riffs and long, self-indulgent solos are what you’re expecting from his recently-released (solo) debut album, you’re in for quite a surprise. Essentially showcasing what could be termed as “fusion”, ‘Rocking Ragas’ contains nine instrumental tracks, eight of which are loosely based on Hindustani classical ragas.
Album-opener “Her Memory Remains”, with its memorable raga-riffs, subtle synthesizers, and tabla samples, sets the tone for the rest of the album perfectly. The first half of the album is quite impressive — “On the Wings” finds Ravi Iyer fingerdancing his way through a tight drum-tabla groove, only to be pleasantly interrupted by a beautiful keyboard sample; the soulful “Dance of Durga” (previously released as “Durganaad” on the ‘For Our Kids’ compilation) leads to “On a Cloud” — the perfect song for a grey, rainy day. Unfortunately, the album loses some of its edge over the next couple of songs — “Rain Song” and “Inward Eye” with their mechanical-sounding electronic beats didn’t really do anything for me, and seem quite out of place on this album. ‘Rocking Ragas’ does gain back some of its lost momentum with the graceful “Rhapsody” and delightfully understated “Ohm”, only to end with “Brain Dead” — a seemingly pointless bonus track, which sounds like it was composed in a hurry.
An album that grows on you a little more over each listen, ‘Rocking Ragas’ illustrates how being a good guitarist isn’t just about playing a million notes per second, or being able to bend that note halfway to the moon — just because you can, doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. All said and done, ‘Rocking Ragas’ is a more-than-worthwhile addition to your music collection, whether you’re an aspiring guitarist or just a fan of good music. [Raga to Rock; 2006]
Fun Fact #1: Ravi Iyer considers Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple to be his favourite guitarist and idol, only second to Brian May of Queen.
Fun Fact #2: All the instruments on this album (guitar, synthesizer, bass, tabla) have been played by Ravi. In fact, as a child, he started off with playing the tabla.
Fairly good guitar player. Very average album. Which translates to this player being average on the international scene. Very average. Too into the wrong side of 80s guitar playing. Too much technique- too many jams. No strength in song writing.
In short- brilliant cover/jam artist. Not definately in the same league as tinaikar or warren as a musician.
Its not easy to blend notes with ragas. Ravi shows an amazing grasp on guitar and hindustani/carnatic classical music. This album is a sheer joy to listen to. Especially, Dance of Durga track. Highly recommened.
the guy deserves much more
ON a cloud is a blatant ripoff from For the love of god.
Fuck you critics , Ravi owns !