Not since Ravi Shankar busted out ragas for North American audiences in the '60s has a Indo-Pakistani musician achieved as much success as the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Soundgarden's Kim Thayil doesn't count). Like Shankar, Khan's fame had more to do hanging out with famous self- loathing whiteys like Eddie Vedder and the equally late Jeff Buckley (whose hopelessly dippy and error- laden prose serves as liner notes for this compilation) than for mass appreciation of his immense talent.

This two-disc compilation will do sadly little to change that. The packaging tells you practically nothing about the man, the musicians who played on it, or the art form he practiced (that of singing the Qawwalis, the traditional devotional songs of Sufi Muslims). All you've got is future "Don't Swim in Currents" poster- boy Buckley waxing nostalgic for when his college buddy first played him one of Khan's discs with a few dates and names to tell you he did some research.

It's sad that the packaging leaves you little hint of the fantastic music that is contained within these two discs. While one may feel tempted to pick out the mystical elements in the mostly Qawwali- based music, it's the eerie earthiness of Khan's voice that makes this music so special. While backed up by tabla players, harmoniums, and a troupe of already impressive singers, Khan takes fragments of the Urdu lyrics and solos in perfect pitch and rhythm, but with the kind of spit and blood intensity that packs a soulful wallop. Listen to the album's standout track, the 18- minute epic "Likh Dya Dar Pe Kisi Ne," and feel your heart crumple when you realize you'll never have as much talent... or soul.

-Samir Khan