Greatest Hits

When this revered Pakistani qawwal (a singer of qawwali, an improvised Sufi devotional music) died in 1997, one of the world's most beautiful voices was stilled forever. Supported by his "party," a group of skilled and highly intuitive musicians and backup singers, Nusrat's fleet, soaring tenor took his devotees far away from daily realties into a state of helpless, trusting bliss with no past or future; his audiences existed entirely in the moment. As his reputation reached the West, he attracted a coterie of admiring pop stars and graced such film soundtracks as The Last Temptation of Christ and Dead Man Walking. So many of his recordings are still in print that a curious beginner might well wonder where to start, but these four tracks (qawwali is often sung for a half-hour without stopping) are a perfect introduction to the works of an incomparable, much-missed musical genius. --Christina Roden