by Various Artists
The latest in the ‘Rough Guide to’ series is an absolute cracker. The Bollywood compilation from this ongoing franchise was fun enough, but adding a serious does of Indian psychedelia to this record makes it almost impossible to sit still during the 15 tracks across this CD.
The dictionary tells us that the state of psychedelia is “of or noting a mental state characterized by a profound sense of intensified sensory perception, sometimes accompanied by severe perceptual distortion and hallucinations and by extreme feelings of either euphoria or despair.” The Rough Guide to Psychedelic Bollywood leaves despair for another time, instead pulling together a collection of tracks, mostly from the late 1960’s and early 1970’s that are energetic, indulgent and at times completely over the top. Whether or not you reach a state of true euphoria may well depend on the circumstances in which you find yourself listening to this album!
While it could be suggested that such a compilation renders much of this material as mere novelty, I suspect that the intention is not to create a musicological document but instead a record that will get played at parties, in bars and indeed on the radio. If you need more convincing head straight to track 14 for R.D. Burman’s ‘Freak Out Music’ – you’ll get the picture…
Owen McKern
Program Manager
PBS 106.7
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