Kronos Quartet -- You've Stolen My Heart

KRONOS QUARTET and Asha Bhosle
You've Stolen My Heart
Songs from R.D. Burman's Bollywood

Sometimes, the buzz builds from very disparate sources, which was the case with this CD for me. I heard one song from this collection (Mehbooba, Mehbooba) in the same transatlantic flight in which I also heard Patchai Kiligal for the first time. (I've posted about that song before.) At the time, I didn't know of the existence of the Kronos Quartet.

Then, in one podcast episode of NPR's All Songs Considered I heard an interview with the Quartet in which playack singer Asha Bhosle was referred to as the "India's Elvis," and the Kronos Quartet person (perhaps David Harrington) responded to the NPR interviewer by saying "imagine if you had the opportunity to introduce Elvis to the American public."

Finally, in my friend Jaideep's 2005 list (which you can find here) he'd also listed Churaliyaa as one of the best CDs of the year. So I got hold of the CD and have been enjoying these "old" songs anew. I am not a big fan of remixes, but am slowly changing my stance on that. (If a "re-interpretation" can lead to more enjoyment of a known song, I guess why not?)

I especially love the way the Kronos folks have churned out Mehbooba -- the playfulness of the instrumentation never fails to leave me pleasurably giddy. Lovers of classic Hindi hit numbers like Dum Maro Dum, Piya Tu Ab Tho Aaja and Chura Liya Hai will love this collection.

I know I did.

Kronos Quartet, Hindi film songs, R D Burman, Asha Bhosle