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Critic's Review
Banning Eyre, All Music Guide
On this one-of-a-kind Nusrat release, nine artists and DJs from the so-called Asian Underground remix tracks from the qawwali star's two crossover recordings made with Michael Brook, Mustt Mustt (1990) and Star Rise (1995). The results are decidedly more muscular and dance oriented than the originals. Sometimes that sensational voice gets a little lost in the mix as on Joi's apocalyptic take on "Sweet Pain" or Aki Nawaz's heavy house version of "Longing," where Nusrat's vocal sound is altered almost beyond recognition. Elsewhere, the remixes pare down and pump up the original sound to create hip-hop ballads that feature Nusrat's vocal, as in Talvin Singh's spare reshaping of "My Heart, My Life." On State of Bengal's "Shadow" remix, a sizzling techno beat makes an appealing contrast with Nusrat's clear, relaxed singing. Nusrat's solfege scat fits the cadence of ragamuffin reggae on Black Star Liner's "My Comfort Remains." The closer, "Nothing Without You (Terry Bina)" by the Dhol Foundation and Fun^da^mental, delivers primal release. The clattering drums sound like a Brazilian Afro Bloco thundering in a walled-in town square. These sometimes radical adaptations of Nusrat's music were released the year he died from a heart attack.
