Bhagavan Das – Swaha
Private press hippie commune stuff by guru dude Bhagavan Das. Unfortunately, three fourths of this double lp is the clan “getting their Om on” which I find somewhat less than compelling. I believe it is an honest and respectful attempt at traditional Indian music but it really does not work very well as far as I’m concerned. Call me a purist but I’d much rather hear badly recorded sacred chants by a 104 year old man in a grass hut. There is also about a side worth of songs firmly in a more westernized Folk/Psych vein. These few tracks make the album worthwhile in my opinion, but they also really make you wish for more. Overall it’s an interesting lp that I would tentatively recommend. Check out the much better & more positive Lama review @ Lysergia for a better idea though.
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9 Comments
Why do you care whether the sound engineer is 104 and in an ethnic housing unit?
hahaha! I just read that back… raises an interesting point though, huh?
i like this guy…i just thrifted a ’78 pressing on Pacific Arts of “AH” (it says on the label “first pressing”) of what appears to be sides 2 & 3 of his ’72 double LP “AH”…but what makes it awesome is that the front cover reuses the same picture of him as a dreadlocked hippy singing on the beach, but the back cover says “Kermit Michael Riggs” instead of Bhagavan Das and has a picture of him with short blonde hair, a Gregg Allman mustache, Malcom X glasses and a 3-piece tan suit standing in a parking lot full of vans. WTF??
wow! awesome!
If you’d like to read the whole story, check out Bhagavan Das’ (ne Kermit Michael Riggs) autobiography, _It’s Still Here (Are You)?_ It’s a real page-turner about a life lived WAY out of bounds!
This wonderfull Swaha is available on Baba’s European website, 2 cd set with very nice art-work!
You can also find good pictures of Baba, first European tour and also other Eropean events and some rare pictures.
Any question about my spiritual master are very welcome!
http://www.bhagavandas.org
Jai Kali Ma, Ganapathi Das
By the Way, this second AH album wich was released in 1978, was actually released with a different front cover. But when nobody bought a copy the front was renewed with this AH sticker!
It is a real sought after record now and it is getting more expensive every year!
Jai Kali Ma, Ganapathi Das
Cool, bluesy tune.
Sounds like Tim Buckley.