Track Listing

1. Calling From Afar
2. Refuge in The Name
3. Rock in a Heart Space
4. Township Krishna

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87441 in Music
• Released on: 2005-08-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
"All One" is Krishna Das' first new studio recording in two years. Featuring Walter Becker and Def Leppard's Rick Allen, "All One" is a Mantric suite in four movements. "All One" covers musical ground from western classical music to South African township music.

Co-produced by Walter Becker, "All One" features a 20 instrument orchestra and 70 voices. Other musicians included on this recording are longtime Krishna Das sideman Ty Burhoe and guitarist/composer David Nichtern.

Amazon.com
A recording likely to delight enthusiasts and perplex the uninitiated, All One is a 54-minute, four-part suite rooted in devotional yoga and dedicated, as the liner notes explain, to the "Sacred Names...revealed to us by the Great Beings who manifest Truth." All One presents four essentially seamless tracks in which the Hare Krishna mantra is repeated over and over, yet with gradual fluctuations in musical context, ranging from a worshipful near-drone to a jangly, celebratory sort of pop. (Note: Absorbing so much lyrical repetition may require an especially enlightened state of mind.) Krishna Das, a native New Yorker born Jeffrey Kagel who embraced Indian spiritual pursuits in the late 1960s, is the production's unifying force, half-singing, half-groaning the names and eliciting joyful replies from a 70-voice choir in recurring call-and-response patterns. Among the recording's numerous participants are bassist and co-producer Walter Becker of Steely Dan, co-producer Jay Messina (who has worked with Aerosmith), and drummer Rick Allen of Def Leppard, though their contributions are transparent in the mix of many other musicians. Instead, the focus is on the repetitious chants of Das (who also plays harmonium) and the sense of connectedness and oneness they aspire to engender among all listeners. --Terry Wood

From the Artist
My guru always said, "All One"...Seeking refuge in the depth of our own hearts is the way to conquer this fear, this anxiety, this suffering that we have to live with. Refuge is within us. Nothing outside can give that love, that freedom, that peace. When we find it within, we have it everywhere.

Customer Reviews

Another Great Chant from One of the Best
A great addition to the KD collection, All One provides a unique and at times racy accompaniment to his other albums. The pitch and rhythm is rich and powerful, and the nuances are structured so that no two verses repeat the same flow. I greatly enjoyed the balance that the choir brings on singing the return chant, responding to the invitation to open the heart. Very difficult to concentrate on `head stuff' when listening to this.

Krishna Das is a master at creating conscious connections between 'sound' and the heart. The standout quality in All One is the way these connections are initially subtle, and then melodiously the tempo is increased until at times, I experience a complete change in my state of being. The technical description of the beats and styles of the four tracks are really superfluous; ultimately its the feeling of Oneness that is engendered by the whole package that counts.

If this is your first introduction to Krishna Das you might find the continual invocation slightly frustrating because of course, KD is capable of so much variety. If that is the case - go for it and purchase Door of Faith and his Greatest Hits - you can't lose either way. So be aware it is a full on hour of Hare Krishna Hare Rama chanting.

Kind Regards
Daniel John Hancock

Riding the River of Bliss
One mantra, one melody, one hour. . . Some may wonder how one could listen to Krishna Das' new album All One and not be bored, and listening with the mind's ear, it's possible that there may not be enough variety to provide entertainment. But the mind's ear is not the ear for which this music is created. For when one listens from the heart, the experience is none less than riding a river of blissful devotion, full of power and sincerity.

Like all rivers, All One begins clean and clear. The first track contains minimal instrumental accompaniment and some of the purest strains of KD's vocals. Like a small stream, its energy builds. Tabla, harmonium, and delicate percussion are woven together with the characteristic call and response of classical kirtan. In the second track violin and piano take a prominent place in the melody, filling it out and intensifying the mood as the river winds into a deep, unfathomable pool. Then, in the third track, we're riding the rapids and having a blast with electric guitar and a full drum set. KD is great fun here accompanied by the ambrosial harmonizing vocals of the "Pointless Sisters" who fully express the joy of life's play. Finally, the fourth track is the shower of bliss at the end of the ride, a bright and celebratory tribute to African sound.

I highly recommend this album to anyone who is ready to listen from the heart. Om Shanthi, and enjoy the ride.

a great addition for the krishna das fan
While my family laughs at the 'intricate lyrics', I find this cd the perfect background music for yoga. It goes from slow and repetitive to upbeat throughout the course of the chant. I love his voice and the uniqueness of this being one long track.