At Big Pink

This is a historic recording first released on the American Buddha label in 1968 and it's great that Floating World have reissued it on CD. It's historic not only because it was one of the earliest recordings of Baul musicians released in the West – Deben Bhattacharya got there first – but because Bob Dylan and The Band became friendly with the musicians at the time. It was the poet Allen Ginsberg who first encountered the musicians in India and enthused about them to Dylan's manager Albert Grossman, who invited them over to the US to tour. Luxman and Purna Das Baul famously appeared on the cover of the Dylan album John Wesley Harding, although they don't actually feature on the recording. So how does the music stand the test of time? Is it more than a curiosity? There have certainly been much better recordings of Baul music made since – notably Crammed Discs’ album also featuring Purna Das Baul in 1994. But At Big Pink stands up well, particularly the lengthy final track ‘Say Hari, Mynah Bird’, featuring the vocals of Purna Das. His brother Luxman Das sings ‘With What Flower Shall I Worship Your Feet?’ which features superb khamak (tension-drum) playing. The original liner notes, complete with misprints, are fun, if a little mystifying, as they describe these seemingly outlandish guests: ‘Imagine this group of wind-afflicted Indians sliding down bannisters in a house that doesn't have any…’ Not the greatest Baul album ever, but well worth hearing.