Re-Opening By the River - Bandit Queen, Vol. 51 by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Re-Opening By the River - Bandit Queen, Vol. 51 works because it does not try to do too much — it finds one feeling and holds it perfectly. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Roger White's arrangement gives the track a layered quality that rewards repeated listening.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan inhabits this song completely, making every phrase feel like it was written specifically for this voice. a talented ensemble cast gave the film its soul, and Re-Opening By the River - Bandit Queen, Vol. 51 is the song that most directly channels that feeling into music.

Released in 1994, it arrived at a time when Hindi music needed exactly this kind of sincerity. There is a quality to Re-Opening By the River - Bandit Queen, Vol. 51 that makes it feel like company — the kind of song you put on when words feel insufficient.

Running to 1:52, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. It is, simply, one of the better songs to come from Hindi in recent memory — and the numbers agree.