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. by Jeff Tamarkin
Tracklist:
1 – Arian Band - Afsoongar (Glamorous) 3:28
2 – The Kamkars - Dekay Ambar, Dekay Auber 4:12
3 – Hossein Alizadeh & Djivan Gasparyan - Sari Galin 7:40
4 – Trio Chemirani - Yädah 2:06
5 – Parvin Javdan - Daramad Homayoun 3:30
6 – Abdolnaghi Afsharnia - Dashti 2:04
7 – Dastan Ensemble & Shahram Nazeri - Saz Va Avaz 3:47
8 – Kayhan Kalhor & Ali Akbar Moradi - Showgh 5:55
9 – Jahlé - Lullaby 5:15
10 – Chengis Mehdipour - Misri Koroglu 4:18
11 – Barad - Dar Har Rage Man (Within Each Of My Veins) 3:18
12 – Haj Ghorban Soleimani - Zârenji Hossain Yâr 3:37
13 – Din Mohammad Zangeshâhi - Yâ Ghows 4:25
14 – O-Hum - Darde Eshgh 4:26
15 – Masters Of Persian Music - Torkaman 8:24
