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The Rough Guide to the Music of Iran - Various Artists (2006) Genre: World Ethnic The traffic-choked streets of Tehran and the magnificent mosques of Esfahan, the underground DJs and the Sufi minstrels of Kurdistan, are all reflected in the vibrant musical scene in Iran. From contemporary rappers to folk legends, from great singing stars to contemporary bands, from regional traditionalists to the trance musicians of Baluchistan, this Rough Guide features a captivating cross-section of contemporary Iranian sounds.



Allmusic.com:

It's virtually impossible to consider the state of contemporary Iranian music without taking into account the country's contentious political relationship with the rest of the world. As compiler Simon Broughton acknowledges at the outset of his liner notes, the images of Iran received on the outside, particularly in the West, tend to give an impression that this complex country is populated entirely by religious zealots who would suppress any creative expression. Compounding that false notion is that not much indigenous Iranian music has been allowed to escape, to be heard and appreciated in the West. Not surprisingly though, Iran, both in its cosmopolitan city of Tehran and throughout the rest of the country, hosts a diverse range of traditional and modern artists, as well as many who fuse the two into a new whole.

As all of the other entries in the Rough Guide series so admirably do, this 15-track collection of album tracks and previously unreleased field recordings, ancient and modern sounds alike, serves as a fascinating introduction to the breadth of Iran's musical landscape. Never is that diversity clearer than in the transition from Chengis Mehdipour's "Misri Koroglu" to Barad's "Dar Har Rage Man (Within Each of My Veins)." The former is a mesmerizing traditional piece, featuring an instrument from the lute family called the korpuz. In a raga-like way, it lures and builds in intensity, before giving way to Barad's track, an all-out rocker that, while somewhat sloppier and less sophisticated than most contemporary rock coming out of Europe or America, could have found its way to American pop radio -- had its lyrics not been grafted from the work of Sufi poets.

The set's opener, the Arian Band's "Afsoongar (Glamorous)," is another pop track, but admittedly the collection's highlights are, in the end, the acoustic, traditional numbers featuring local instrumentation: Kayhan Kalhor and his kamancheh (spiked fiddle) collaborating with tanbur player Ali Akbar Moradi; Hossein Alizadeh, and Armenian duduk master Djivan Gasparyan's live contribution; Jahlé's lulling "Lullaby." Fittingly, the renowned Masters of Persian Music close out this intriguing, educational, and, most importantly, delightful set with the uplifting "Torkaman," from their critically acclaimed 2003 album Faryad -- a prime example of Iranian music that has managed to find its way, successfully, to Western ears before. The CD also includes a data track featuring an interview with the compiler. ~ Jeff Tamarkin



Amazon.com reviewer 'Zekeriyah' (Chicago, Illinois):

In recent years, the media has embarked on a campaign to villify Iran as little more than a fanatical Islamic theocracy seeking to "destroy our way of life". Yet there is another side of Iran that few westerners get to see. For thousands of years (before the Roman empire, even before Alexander!), Persia has been a great left of art, literature, poetry, learning, music and culture. Great works like the Shah-Nameh, Hazer Afsaneh (from which the 1001 Nights originated) and the poetry of Rumi, Hafez and Omar Khayyam all came from Iran. Since the Arab invasion of the 7th century, the Persians have worked to assert their own identity, and in the proccess wound up influencing much of the Middle East and South Asia. Many Iranians are quite proud of this heritage (rightly so I might add), and proudly call themselves Persian.

This CD is but a small sampling of the incredible musical diversity in modern day Iran. Such a survey is obviously going to leave out some major artists (such as the pop diva Googoosh, as the other reviewer pointed out), but this CD benefits from being very fresh and up to date. As such, it can serve as a cross-cultural window for more westerners to see the REAL Iran. The classical, improvisational music of Persia is well represented by Kayhan Kolhor & Ali Akbar Moradi, the Masters of Persian Music and Hossein Alizadeh & Djivan Gasparyan (their song, "Sari Gailin" mixes Persian, Armenian and even Azeri influences), standing in contrast to the modern pop/rock of groups like Arian Band (named for the ancient Aryans, after whom Iran was named), Barad and O-Hum (who's song "Darde Eshgh" features some awesome vocals and guitar). And yes, even women are represented. Parvin Javdan and Zohreh Bayat from the all-female Rozaneh ensemble perform a wonderful song, quoting from the beloved Sufi poet Hafez.

Folk and ethnic music is also represented, showing the traditions of rural Iran (which includes numerous minority groups like the Kurds, Armenians, Qashqai, Turkomen, Azeris, Baluchis, etc). The legendary Kamkar ensemble showcases the irregular metered percussion of Kurdistan on "Dekay Ambar, Dekay Auber". Haj Ghorban Soleimani, a bashkhi or bard from Khorasan, tells a story from Hazer Afsaneh accompanied by the dotar on "Zareni Hossain Yar". Chenghis Medhipour showcases the epic song traditions of the Azeris, and Din Mohammad Zangeshahi shows the folk art of Baluchistan, while another Shahram Nazeri (also Kurdish) leads the Dastan Ensemble in a performance of Sufi music. But one of the great high-lights of this CD comes from the Jahle band (descendant of freed black African slaves, now settled along Iran's coast), who perform a lullaby made popular by being played on BBC. Demmand for this song, which until now was unavailable, proved so great that World Music Network spend a great deal of time working with the BBC to release it. Exclusive to this CD, fans should be glad that we can now get our hands on it.

From the first notes of the Arian Band's pop song Afsoongar, to the haunting last echos of the (aptly named) Masters of Persian Music, this CD serves as a wonderful journey across the incredibly varied country of Iran. It is a window into a world few in the west get to see, and it's a tragedy that this CD is not sold in every book and music store across the nation. I STRONGLY recommend that anyone who is interested in seeing the TRUE face or Iran and/or the Middle East purchase this CD. It will greatly expand your mind, showing you the beauty, grandeur and majesty that is Persian culture. Even those who are already familar with Persian music will find this CD an incredibly worthwhile purchase, because of the inclusion of several unique or hard to find tracks (particularly "Lullaby" by the Jahle Band). So do yourself a favor and go out and buy this CD.

Tracks:

01. Afsoongar (Glamorous) - Arian Band

02. Dekay Ambar, Dekay Auber - The Kamkars

03. Sari Gailin - Hossein Alizadeh & Djivan Gasparyan

04. Yazdah - Trio Chemirani

05. Daramad Homayoun - Parvin Javdan

06. Dashti - Abdolnaghi Afsharnia

07. Saz Va Avaz - Dastan Ensemble & Shahram Nazeri

08. Showgh - Kayhan Kalhor & Ali Akbar Moradi

09. Lullaby - Jahle Listen Listen

10. Misri Koroglu - Chengis Mehdipour

11. Dar Har Rage Man (Within Each Of My Veins) - Barad

12. Haj Ghorban Soleimani - Zareni Hossain Yar

13. Ya Ghows - Din Mohammad Zangeshahi

14. Darde Eshgh - O-Hu

15. Torkaman - Masster Of Persian Music

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Rating:
2.5 out of 5 by Book123