Rock god! Is the Dalai Lama’s first album really a 'certified banger'?
Name: The Dalai Lama. Also known as Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. Age: He turned 85 on Monday. Occupation: Buddhist spiritual leader; figurehead of the Tibetan government-in-exile, based in Dharamshala, northern India; pop sensation.Pop sensation? That’s right. But let’s concentrate on his spiritual teaching and his political significance to the oppressed Tibetan people, shall we? Don’t be ridiculous, this is Pass notes. Tell me about his music career. Very well. He has made an album called Inner World in which he recites Buddhist mantras in an attractive gravelly voice over a new-agey backing track of flutes and strings.Any good? The critics have been a bit sniffy. The Times called it “an odourless gas of an album”, which “certainly makes a case for sticking to what you are best at, which, in the Dalai Lama’s case, is being a living god”. The Independent said there was “little to distinguish the shapeless instrumentation from any you’d find in a luxury spa”. The NME was more positive, describing it as “exactly the uncynical balm we all need right now”, and calling Compassion, one of the 11 tracks, a “certified banger”.Is it a pop anthem dealing with the pain of lost love? No, in NME’s words, it’s “another ethereal instrumental over which the Dalai Lama chants the Sanskrit mantra Om mani padme hum, one of the most famous Buddhist prayers”.Sounds like a corker. You may be dismissive, but I enjoyed it and found myself overcome by inner peace and deep feelings of fellowship towards small furry animals.Where can I hear the album? Well, you could buy it – all proceeds go to charity. You can also hear parts of it on a YouTube video put out to celebrate