The second volume -- of a projected four -- in Sub Rosa's reissue of John Levy's historic 1971 field recordings from Bhutan centers around less religious -- though no less spiritually moving -- music. Tibetan and Bhutanese Instrumental and Folk Music includes fine examples of social music for instruments and voices. There are Bhutanese seven-string lutes (called dramnyen), whistle flutes, folk songs from the Chhokhor, Bumthang, Tongsa (songs by groups of men, and followed by a group of women), Paro, and eastern Tibet. There are songs by yak herdsmen, dance songs with cymbals and drum accompaniment, two-string fiddle tunes, and an oracle's dance for welcoming important guests with Tibetan lutes and drums. Lest anyone reading this think it would be boring to hear this music, think again. This is not only strange, it's utterly compelling. Impeccably recorded and painstakingly remastered from the Lyrichord masters, this music is haunting, majestic, full of integrity and goodwill. Bhutan is a consciously guarded county from the outside world, much in the same way Tibet was before World War II. Visitors are restricted in number. Levy was invited to Bhutan by its King to document the musical traditions of his nation. What he discovered there was a music out of time; otherworldly because it was. Bhutan's folk music and the sounds and rituals performed in the country's Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries had rarely, if ever, been visited by a Westerner, and it is presented here with care. Given how truly strange and frightening some of the Buddhist ritual music can be to the uninitiated, this would be a perfect place to begin for a listener interested in the ancient indigenous musical traditions of the Himalayan region. ~ Thom Jurek

Sam Cooke's death in 1964 left a huge void in the world of soul music not filled until Al Green's breakthrough in the early '70s. Although many great male soul singers came and went in the years following Cooke's death, none came close to the smooth and creamy style that translated to consistent cross-over success. While Otis Redding was gritty and James Brown relentless, in Green's hands, R&B was sophisticated and suave. GREATEST HITS basks in a style of sultry soul that Green inherited from Cooke. Yet, Green's style owed as much to producer Willie Mitchell's delicate production as it did to the singer's pure falsetto. While not inclined to use the vast numbers of musicians that Phil Spector did, Mitchell's use of James Mitchell (no relation) and Charles Chalmer's string arrangements, the Memphis Horns and the background vocals of Rhodes, Chalmers and Rhodes gave Green's songs a full sound that wrapped itself around Green's aching emotivity. "Here I Am (Come And Take Me)" features all these elements at play, along with the crack cadence of former MG drummer Al Jackson and brothers Teenie and Charles Hodges, whose respective guitar and organ juice up the rhythm. Thematically, listening to GREATEST HITS is like thumbing through a primer on the evolution of a relationship, and the ups and downs that come with it. The despair of "Tired Of Being Alone" gives way to a fleeting affair in "Call Me (Come Back Home)". The joy Green finds in "Love And Happiness" is temporary before the pleading begins anew with "Let's Stay Together", then gets tied up with a declaration ("L-O-V-E (Love)") and a proposal ("Let's Get Married").