Remember Shakti
John McLaughlin & Remember Shakti
John McLaughlin: acoustic guitar
Zakir Hussain: tabla, percussion
Selvaganesh Vinayakram: ghatam, kanjira
Uppalapu Shrinivas: electric mandolin
Berklee Performance Center
Boston, Mass.
June 26, 1999
runtime: 114:12
setlist

disc I 56:55
1: stage introduction :57
2: 5 in the morning, 6 in the afternoon 25:57
3: Anna 19:24
4: John introduces the band 2:55
5: lotus feet 7:39

disc II 57:16
6: la danse du bonheur 11:47
7: finding the way 37:41
8: Maya (encore) 7:47

comments:
after not seeing a Shakti concert of any kind in about 33 years,
only hearing that the U.K. was hearing a new Shakti playing live
shows, this was apparently my first chance to see (and hear) what
they sound like, if anything like the 1970's Shakti did. The 1st
recording I heard of this group was their 1st official release.
(I think) just like the original Shakti's debut release was a
live concert. The 97 live Shakti release was in the U.K. It
sounded good, although I thought this and several 1999 concerts
sounded better (musically). This one sounded good enough for me
to wind up with 3 recordings of this (possibly 2 from the same
original source), including one I recorded. All of them had some
sort of problems in parts. Mine had the least presence (I was in the
balcony) and was the only analog recording of the 3, so it is not
represented in here at all. that is a good thing because the other 2
both sound better.
2 of the recordings were sourced from DAT's transferred to CD.
Source 1 had nice sound in most of it, except a few gaps which
were removed, and some glitches, which I was able to repair
with no sound loss by monoizing several very short sections,
many of them less than .001 of a second. the intro track sounded
flawed in source 1, so I used source 2 for the 1st track. the
editing was identical to that in the 1st source so that was not
a problem, and it was not flawed. It's all from what sounds
like a floor recording. the sound quality for an aud of acoustic
music is very enjoyable. I don't know who recorded either of these
or what kind of equipment was used, they did a nice job. there
isn't too much crowd (must have been pretty close to the stage)
and all the instruments come through clearly, even in the quiet
parts.
John refers to this band as "the next generation", particularly
Vinayakram. The new Shakti sounds alot like the old Shakti to my ears
(which is fine with me) although the music is almost all different.
(just Lotus Feet and La Danse... are carryovers from the 70's band).
Remember Shakti began playing concerts in 1997 but this was (I think)
their 1st U.S. tour and visit to Boston. John McLaughlin must like
playing at the Berklee P.C. He had played there several times before
and always to very good sound and audience reception. Berklee P.C.
may very well be the optimum location in Boston for a Shakti (or
Remember) concert. the sound was pretty good in the balcony, and
considerably better in this recording.
maybe nobody posts Shakti or Remember Shakti shows because,
what category do you call this?
it's not jazz, or even jazz fusion.
Acoustic world beat Indian raga fusion, maybe.
do not sell this recording.
Trade freely and losslessly.