The Great Indian Rock I

By Suman Sinha | Published: April 29, 2010


This is one blast from the past! Rock Street Journal was the first and, to my knowledge, only Indian magazine dedicated solely to Rock that was manna from heaven for music-starved fans of Rock in India. They started way back in January 1993 and I remember being the proud owner of each and every copy since the first issue till they went commercial and started featuring movies and fashion and what-not!

The highlight of their venture was an yearly compilation of tracks from Indian musicians that were released as an album titled ‘The Great Indian Rock’. A few months back I had the patience to transfer the tracks from their first few volumes to digital format from old worn-out cassette tapes. I even tried my rudimentary Audacity skills in trying to make them sound as best as I possibly could. The result is far from satisfactory but at least it’s something!

So without further ado, I feature the first of those compilations, The Great Indian Rock Vol. I…

[UPDATE: Other GIRs: Vol. II, Vol. III, Vol. IV, Vol. V]

Orange Street – Over n’ Under

Parikrama – Till I’m No One Again..

Gravy Train – Just A Mile Away

Blud – Different Kind Of Lovin’

Edwin Fernandes – Blue Turtle Dance

Olio – Surulurulu

Witch Hammer – Riots In Tihar

Stone Cold – Stone Cold

Chandrani Banerjee – The Minstrel

Chakra-View – Juice of Chrysanthemum

Fifth Dimension – Long Way To Go

Indian Ocean – Borroweevil

Viju George – In Your Arms

Lou Majaw Great Society – Sea Of Sorrow

To download the songs, right-click on the song name and select Save Target As (OR Save Link As). If you need more help, read the AI 101.
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  • Kraken

    Thanks dude ! Do upload if you have other ancient tapes … Thanks a ton !

    • Amabilis Insania

      Thanks Kraken! Vol. II coming soon, I promise! :)

      Oh ya, in case you're interested I've already posted Colourblind here…

  • Kraken

    I do have colorblind (downloaded it when it was on Sid achrekars site) .. any chance of 13AD albums?

    • Amabilis Insania

      Unfortunately no, except one track, Ground Zero… Will post it in a few weeks time…

  • Head

    Thanks…plse uopload all the compilations of 90s as well if possible. Especially that number by Phinyx band from Manipur. WOMAN!

    • Amabilis Insania

      That’s on GIR II… Coming soon…

  • Siddharth Pradhan

    Thanx a ton………
    could you please upload GIR III onwards……….
    that wold be a great help……….
    although great work……….keep it on………..
    Thanks…….

    • Amabilis Insania

      Thanks a bunch Sid for the encouraging words!! People like you keep me going… :)

      I do plan to upload all the GIRs I have, though I don’t have all of them. So please do keep checking in or subscribe via RSS/email or follow on Facebook/Twitter. You will find all the links on this page.

  • G

    http://indianrockmp3.com/2010/08/08/download-indi… Hey man ! It would be and honor if you could help us promote this album :)

  • andre

    awesome work..posted it to my facebook profile

    • Amabilis Insania

      Thanks! :) This kind of encouragement really keeps me going…

  • Freetrip

    Thank you so much…….have been looking for this for a very long time……..really really appreciate it……m/

    • Amabilis Insania

      You’re welcome Freetrip…

  • tanushree

    Great stuff!! Keep going!! More please…

    • Amabilis Insania

      Thanks Tanushree… GIR III coming up soon!

  • Anonymous

    This is absolutely amazing….had the tapes long back…surely does bring back a lot of memories….thanks a million for this…and keep up the good work !!!!

    • Amabilis Insania

      Thanks Anon…

  • SPope

    Thank you much. Good stuff, wish to come back and contribute to the cause. Kudos!

    • Amabilis Insania

      You are welcome SPope… Looking forward to your contributions! :)
      Take a look at the 'Submit' tab at the top of the page. You can send in your own music or something interesting that you've discovered (you will be credited of course) or you can do a full guest post even.

  • Bugs

    Thanx dude :) Datz a rare one… Awe-sum collection…Hatz off!!!

    • Amabilis Insania

      Cool dude! Glad you like it…

  • John Petrucci

    Any chance you can upload GIR VI ?
    I came across it a while ago when the guys and I were sitting around, trying to get inspiration from foreign bands for our album at the time.

    Thanks!

    JP.
    Long Island, NY USA

    • Amabilis Insania

      John Petrucci?!! You're kidding right?! Right?!!
      Ha ha… Neways, unfortunately GIR VI is missing from my collection… So sorry can't oblige… :(

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Raja-Rjb/100001296680864 Raja Rjb

    that was really nice.can u plz upload the album SMOKING GUNS.That’ll b really great.

    • http://amabilisinsania.com Amabilis Insania

      I think I do have that one! Someday soon…

  • Ruth Gates

    Thanks for posting this. I wish I can have all of these one of these days. The Great Indian Rock really rocks!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=570977605 Bhushan Ashok Marathe

    Dude……U’ve done a great job….RESPECT!!!! brought back a lot of memories…..I had all these tapes back then….. My band “HEADRUSH” did feature in Volume 8 (Rocktopus) with the song # 3.  Now I have formed a new band “BeachDog”…and released our debut album “Blood and Prayers”….this whole GIR thing got me an idea of having a gig with all these covers performed live as a tribute to Indian Rock Music/GIR and ofcourse Amit Saigal!!!!

    • http://amabilisinsania.com Amabilis Insania

      Thanks mate! :)

      That is a great idea. Let me know if you take it further…

  • http://www.facebook.com/mogaan Mohan Kannan

    I ‘ve been looking for this from God knows when ! thanks a ton brother ….you true rock ! 

    • http://amabilisinsania.com Amabilis Insania

      You are welcome Mohan! :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Basuki-Dutta/100000162481117 Basuki Dutta

    RSJ was the india first and only music magazine supporting and promoting indian rock when
    no other media was supporting it.Even after a decade the things are still the same for rock music
    in india.Some other magazines like rolling stones cover indian rock completely  and helping rock to remainalive in music culture..When rsj started grt indiam rock festival,no body knew that it would turn outto one of biggest rock concerts in the coming yrs comes few famous rock festivals in india.With founder and main force behind RSJ mr amit saigal passing ,it remains to be seen who will carry the legacy of RSJ.

    • http://amabilisinsania.com Amabilis Insania

      Let us just hope Amit created enough momentum for Indian Rock to keep rollin’… He definitely ignited the whole thing, along with Sam Lal and all the other greats at RSJ! :)