Release date:16-09-2008 (originally released in 1993)

2008 US limited edition 4-track 2-LP pressed on 180gram VIRGIN VINYL [plated & pressed at RTI, mastering by Kevin Gray], originally released in 1993, a superb collaboration between Cooder & Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, combining Eastern and Western ideas based around slide guitar work [Bhatt played an instrument of his own design known as the 'Mohan Vina'] with rhythmic accompaniment on tabla and dumbek, presented in deluxe picture sleeve housed in perforated tear strip bag.

Tracks:
  01. A Meeting By The River 
  02. Longing 
  03. Ganges Delta Blues 
  04. Isa Lei 

Back in 1993, Kavi Alexander’s Water Lily label recorded and released Meeting By The River, a captivating “East-Meets-West� pairing of exquisite musical geniuses. Picture this: Ry Cooder and North Indian musician Vishwa Mohan Bhatt sitting barefoot on the a Persian rug inside the King Chapel in Santa Barbara with Alexander setting up his all-tube Blumlein microphones, capturing this remarkable meeting of like minds from opposite sides of the Earth. Two Geniuses – A Pair of All-Tube Mics – and an Analog Tape Recorder! What more can music lovers and audiophile ask for?

Ry Cooder received much attention for this album, but he told many stories about this album explaining how Bhatt is a true virtuoso with a mastery of a wide range of traditions as well as a phenomenal improvising skill. Cooder said he was finding it impossible to keep his head above water in the recording sessions (the two men had never met before and had very limited time in the studio). It was only in the very final session that he felt the musicians and the music began to meld, and that session is what makes up this album.

To steal another quote from Corey Greenberg’s original review seems quite appropriate: “A Meeting by the River is the first genuine Audiophile-Approved recording whose spirit matches its sonics; it takes me on a trip every time I listen to it, and recommendations just don't come any higher than that from me. Think about it: Ry Cooder! Improvising slide guitar with an Indian master! On a 3-D Blumlein-miked triode-tubed analog recording!� Not much more needs to be said… except… BUY THIS ALBUM!

Reviews:

Fifteen years later, thanks to [Analog Productions], the wait is finally over. Not only do we finally have the vinyl edition, we have it as a double 45rpm 180g set!
CD playback has improved greatly since 1993 so before listening to the vinyl I refreshed my memory with the CD, which still sounds great. Great, yes, but not even close to the serenity and transparency of the vinyl. Now the scrim is lifted, air fills the space around the instruments and you are in the church. String transients and drum skin textures only hinted at on CD come to life. A late-night listen with the lights out must! An essential record in any 21st century vinyl collection!"
- Michael Fremer, Stereophile & The Tracking Angle, Feb. 2008

“What sets this disc above virtually all similar recordings is that the entire session was totally improvised; the sounds on this record are two musicians meeting, delivering graceful introductions, complimenting and complementing each other while laying out vast landscapes of sound without a trace of inhibition or awkwardness. A Meeting by the River is the essence of that most powerful of music's ingredients—communication—and while the music itself is often tranquil, the message will carry you away, heart pounding and monkey-bone throbbing.�
- Corey Greenberg, Stereophile, Original Review

“Astonishingly, the four conversational yet adventurous tracks captured on A Meeting by the River were unrehearsed jams between the two masters, who had met only minutes before the session. The lesson is that Cooder and Bhatt not only knew how to play, but how to listen."
– Daniel Durchholz, Stereophile, February 2007

"The quintessential 2 mic Blumlein recording, a musical extravaganza – on 45-RPM it destroys the early '90s CD!"
– Danny Kaey, Positive-Feedback