Bollywood Flashback II

In the sleeve notes Bally Sagoo boldly states that since 1994 the entire world has asked for a new Bollywood Flashback. Speaking in second person and calling himself the Messiah, he goes on to point out that music history has just been made — again. Okay, some of it may be ironic, but there is nothing revolutionary in Bollywood Flashback, Pt. II. It is possible that the first record, six years earlier, cleared some new paths, but in 2001, laid-back club beats over Eastern instruments is not unique within India. For a Western audience some of the songs, like "Noorie," sound like pleasant lounge-house, and the last track, "Chura Liya," gives a sample of Indian rap, with the beautiful melody skillfully used in the remix. Bollywood Flashback, Pt. II could also serve as an exotic excursion into modern Indian club music, still pretty unknown to most people in the West even after the hype of bhangra. But while the combination of high-pitched female vocals and modern rhythms is interesting, the techno and dub beats that fill up much of the album feel somewhat primitive. All of the album's tracks are old Bollywood songs, rewritten, re-recorded, and with loops added, and it is possible to find some of the originals on other Bollywood compilations, or even on the original soundtracks. ~ Lars Lovén, Rovi