Breath of the Heart
Perhaps not as pretty as previous studio releases, Krishna Das'sBreath of the Heartnevertheless captures the ecstasy, devotion, and life-affirming qualities of chant. Ably abetted by rap and rock producer Rick Rubin, Das joins with a choir dubbed the Kosmic Kirtan Posse, featuring the East and West Coast Posses, a group of some 50 members including Mike D of theBeastie Boys, while instruments as diverse as harmonium, Hammond B3 organ, violin, guitar, cymbals, and drums play backdrop.Das and friends, through their gorgeously imperfect music, manage at once to exalt the divine and spotlight the inevitable suffering of the human condition. The core ofBreath of the Heart--the lengthy "Kainchi Hare Krishna" and "Ma Durga"--successfully marry the sacred and profane, the temporal and the fixed.--Paige La Grone