Wow, this is a fantastic record. I voted for it, not really knowing what to expect, and I'm astonished with it. The combination of guitar (and the addition of a dobro, I think?) and the mohan veena (I'll be honest and say that I had to look up what instrument he was playing and then had to look up what the instrument was period
) on the compositions are surprisingly complimentary. I like the idea of the whole East and West fusion with the traditional Indian music and the Southern blues clashing in such a beautiful way. Also, the progression of the songs are great, where they generally start off with a slower bit, sometimes synchronized between the two instruments, sometimes laced with harmonies and chord progressions. After this fades, Bhatt and Douglas speed up and let their fingers fly on scale variations. This interesting idea for fusion has gone horribly right, it gets my vote for excellent.
Highlights of the album are the bookends, "Bourbon & Rosewater" and "Mississippi Mud". They seem to be the more polarized songs on the album, with the former being more Indian based and the latter more blues based. That's not to say that these songs don't have both elements, it's just that they're the most focused on their specified genres. The only song that I dislike on the album is "Overtones & Stained Glass," it just falls flat in comparison to the album as a whole, and it just seems bland to me. The rest of the album is great, though.
I'll definitely check out the Meeting by the River album with Ry Cooder, I haven't heard much of his work, just Safe as Milk and Taj Mahal. If it's anywhere near to how good this album is, then I'm sure I'll be set with a solid piece of work. Thanks for the submission, stp! I'm really glad that I found this album.