Baba
Ram Dass (born
Richard Alpert) is best known as
Timothy Leary's sidekick during the lysergic era, but where
Leary had a pranksterish quality that made him more of a media-friendly hippie icon,
Ram Dass was a much more earnest spiritual seeker who went early into a devoted study of Indian religions and cultures and stayed there. This made for much less interesting copy, so he was largely forgotten by the time Altamont rolled around. 1994's
The Chord of Love, however, proves that
Ram Dass stuck to his beliefs long after they were no longer fashionable: an album of traditional chants led by noted singers
Krishna Das and
Jai Uttal -- "Govinda Jai Jai" and "Om Namah Shivaya" are two that might be familiar to those who have explored Indian music and religion -- and readings from the Bhagavad Gita by
Ram Dass in his familiar sonorous baritone, all set to simple, completely traditional Indian instrumentation,
The Chord of Love is beautifully, deeply spiritual. ~ Stewart Mason