Garaj Mahal: Live, Vols. 1-3
The first four tracks on Volume 1 feature tabla legend Zakir Hussain, collaborator in the Dig a Rhythm Band, Planet Drum, and Shakti, in whose company Haque's 12-string fretless guitar dances like a jubilant sitar. "Semos" more fully spotlights Hussain, while "Gulam Sabri" showcases Levy, who explodes through a Chick Corea-style electric fusion workout as if shot from a cannon, followed in kind by Haque on electric guitar. Hertz's "Celtic Indian," where the sitar and tabla tones twine a jig, delivers a nice pan-global fusion touch.
Volume 2 lets its Frank Zappa freak flag fly with mercurial, constantly shifting song structures and naughty if not wicked content: Sexual innuendos ("Ride the shaft," for example, in "Cosmic Elevator"), odes to dog meat ("Poodle Vamp"), and a
scrambled cover of Pee Wee Ellis' "The Chicken," all crowned by a contemplative solo guitar rendition of the US "National Anthem."
Newly victorious 2002 -03 US National Hammered Dulcimer Champion Jamie Janover guests on 'Stoked on Razaki' on Volume 3, which also prances through Levy's Prince-like "Thursday," the jazz-rocking "Never Give Up," and closes with an eighteen-minute instrumental spacewalk through "Material Girl." Yes, THAT "Material Girl"!
See From The Inside Out for related reviews.
Personnel
Eric Levy (keyboards), Alan Hertz (drums), Kai Eckhardt (bass), Fareed Haque (guitar) with Zakir Hussain (tablas), Jamie Janover (hammer dulcimer).
Album information
Title: Live, Vols. 1-3 | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Harmonized Records