This is the third page of African Music compilation album reviews... Here are a few recommendations that may stir and excite you... I hope to add to this list as time permits and welcome your suggestions for records to review or include.
Various Artists "MONEY NO BE SAND: 1960s AFRO-LYPSO, PIDGIN HIGHLIFE, AFRO-SOUL & AFRO-ROCK" (Afrodisia/Original Music, 1995)
Some real oddities and rarities, mainly drawn from the Nigerian and Ghanaian pop scenes of the 1960s and early '70s. There are some delightful rock'n'roll "twist" tunes, as well as a lot of calypso- and ska-flavored novelty songs and a few funk tunes as well (notably "Ewele Aya" and "One Early Morning," from Professor Y.S. & His BB Band, from Nigeria). Most of these songs were sung either in English or in pidgin English, which provides a novelty appeal (although I prefer the non-English numbers, such as the lively "Eje Ka Jo.") Other highlights include Charlotte Dada's kooky, clanky-percussion cover of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down," and the politically charged "Lumamba Calypso," from 1961. This isn't the smoothest African pop collection you'll ever hear, but it does have some interesting historical nuggets!
Various Artists "THE MUSIC IN MY HEAD" (Stern's Africa, 1998)
Designed to accompany a book by the same name, this disc has a discernable Sub-Saharan/Arabic musical tilt. Plenty of big-name artists on here, including Salif Keita and Youssou N'Dour early in their careers... What's most notable, though, are the distinctive styles of music -- this has a lot of music with an experimental pop orientation, and is a favorite among devotees of African pop. Recommended!
Various Artists "THE MUSIC IN MY HEAD v.2" (Stern's Africa, 2002)
The second volume in this series is of similarly high calibre... If you're already heavily into African pop, many of these names may already be familiar to you, but this would be great for anyone looking for a strong introduction to the style, or just for a pleasantly structured collection to put on and groove out on... Recommended!
Various Artists "MUSIC OF THE NILE: THE ORIGINAL AFRICAN SANCTUS JOURNEY -- FIELD RECORDINGS BY DAVID FANSHAWE" (Arc Music, 2003)
Decidedly noncommercial, richly authentic tribal and traditional music gathered from along the length of the Nile River, in Egypt, Uganda, Kenya and the Sudan. Islamic prayers, cattle herding songs, children's tunes and various ritual chants intermingle on this multi-textured, fascinating collection. Not the glossy, pop-tinged world music we've come to know and love, but certainly a fascinating glimpse into several other, very different cultures. Nice.
Various Artists "NGOMA - THE EARLY YEARS: 1948-1960" (Popular African Music, 1996)
An enthralling compilation of super-rare 78s and 45s made following the independence of the Republic of Congo in 1948. There's a bewildering stylistic variety here, from blues-y acoustic numbers and Big Band pop, to more traditional sounding material. This is one of those rare discs that's packed full of songs that leap out at you... well worth checking out!
Various Artists "NGOMA: SOUVENIR DE LA INDEPENDENCE" (Popular African Music, 1997)
The acoustic sound of the first Ngoma collection (reviewed above) is superceded here by a lively, enthralling electric guitar style -- the classic West African pop sound. Great stuff from start to finish!
Various Artists "NONESUCH EXPLORER SERIES: AFRICAN MUSIC SAMPLER" (Nonesuch, 2002)
A single-disc sampling of the CD-era reissue of Nonesuch's groundbreaking "Explorer" series, which brought world music to an American audience during the hippie years. Although the original albums were a bit "folkloric" and dry, compared to the wealth of world styles we can hear today, this CD wisely plucks out some of the best sonic oddities from the original, august albums, songs that have such distinctive, alluring aural properties, that they will instantly grab the attention of even the most jaded modern listener. Includes several eerily ambient songs that are similar in feel to Francis Bebey's best work. A nice chance to check out the best this multi-album series has to offer. Be sure to also check out the many volumes of Asian music when they become available!
Various Artists "PARANDA: AFRICA IN CENTRAL AMERICA" (Detour, 2000)
One of the most striking world music releases of recent years! This collection highlights musicians from the Garifuna, an African enclave that once populated the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, but later spread into coastal Honduras, Guatemala and Belize. These songs are intensely African, musically as well as linguistically -- the Latin American heritage is represented by a gypsy/flamenco twist to the catchy guitar work. Apparently this particular style is dying out, but one hopeful sign about this project is that younger musicians from the newer popular style -- called Punta Rock -- also take part in these acoustic recordings. Really interesting stuff -- well worth checking out!
Various Artists "THE PULSE OF AFRICA" (Arc Music, 2004)
This set of drumming and percussive instrumentals is surprisingly compelling; I hadn't expected to be that into it, and then became transfixed as the waves of rhythm overtook me and carried me along. Five different groups perform on this well-paced collection: The El Hadj Ensemble specializes in Ghanaian and Senegalese drumming; Ipelegeng, Matodzi and the Soweto Ensemble represent South Africa and a group called African Works adds a "bush" beat to many tracks. Often these groups perform collaboratively, and the cumulative effect is quite nice. After decades of brisk, somewhat jarring drumming albums, it's nice to hear the recording methods and the presentation softening up a bit, so that the melodic and textural depths come out more clearly... There's no pop fusion going on here; the drumming is fairly pure, but it's also kind of laid back and pleasant to space out on, with plenty of stylistic variety. Very nice.
Various Artists "PUTUMAYO PRESENTS ACOUSTIC AFRICA" (Putumayo, 2006)
A sweet, mellow set of acoustic-based ballads from contemporary artists across the African continent... This is a pretty-sounding album, not terribly challenging but also not icky or sacharrine in any way... Best of all is the high proportion of new faces and relatively unknown artists on here... I only recognized a few names -- Habib Koite, Angelique Kidjo -- and was pleaantly surprised by several of the newcomers, particularly
Various Artists "PUTUMAYO PRESENTS MALI" (Putumayo, 2005)
Generally speaking, I am not a Malian music true believer... Too much Ali Farka Toure too early on, I guess. But this is a first-rate set with a delightful variety of artists and styles, from mellow acoustic to more modern, techno-laced pop. All of the tracks on here are both substantive and easy on the ears -- this is a consistently enjoyable, listenable album, a nice cross-section of this venerated, fertile musical culture. Featured artists include Moussou Dianllo, Habib Koite, Tinariawen, Boubacar Traore and others... The set flows well from track to track, and makes for one lovely, listenable album. Recommended!
Various Artists "PUTUMAYO PRESENTS: WOMEN OF AFRICA" (Putumayo, 2004)
One of the better entries in the Putumayo catalog -- a very listenable overview of contemporary female African pop singers, ranging across the continent from the Southern horn to the Saharan expanse, from Madagasgar to the Cape Verde islands. Some of the choices include well-known artists such as Dorothy Masuka, Angelique Kidjo and Tarika; others are welcome adventures off the beaten path, introducing lesser known singers such as Dobet Gnahore of Ivory Coast, Maria De Barros, and Kaissa, from Cameroon. A well-programmed, soulful selection. Recommended!
Various Artists "RED HOT AND RIOT" (MCA, 2002)
A skillfully produced homage to the classic Afro-Beat sound of Nigerian bandleader Fela Anikulapo Kuti, with a lineup of high-power musicians like you wouldn't believe... Everyone from hip-hop's Common, Mixmaster Mike and Talib Kweli to neo-soulsters such as D'Angelo, Macy Gray, M'Shell Ndegocello to African pop stars such as Ray Lema, Cheikh Lo and Baaba Maal and even a few Brazilians and avant-jazz cats in the mix, for good measure (folks like Jorge Ben Jor, Lenine, Ron Blake and Archie Shepp...) Plus, Fela's old drummer Tony Allen and son Femi Kuti are on board as well... For and album with such a far-flung cast of characters, this is remarkably cohesive; producers John Carlin, Paul Heck and Andre Levin did an amazing job threading the performances together and giving this project an organic feel that flows from track to track. Plus, it's a for a charitable cause...! What more could you want? This is a very skillful and noteworthy extension of the classic Afro-Beat style... Worth checking out!
Various Artists "ROUGH GUIDE TO SOUTH AFRICAN GOSPEL" (Rough Guide, 2003)
I'm not, personally, a huge fan of the South African gospel/group vocal style... (Living in Berkeley in the 1980s, I kind of got overexposed to the secular version, exemplified by groups such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, et al...) Still, I can recognize a class act when I see one, and this collection of harmonically rich, dense, soulful religious songs, sung primarily in Zulu and Sotho, is an excellent introduction to the genre. Drawing on the archives of several record labels, this concentrates mainly on recordings made in the 1980s and '90s, but also dips lightly into the '60s and '70s, when the music was going through a period of intense development and modernization. If you like the style, or you're just curious what it's all about, this is a fine disc to try out.
Various Artists "ROUGH GUIDE TO THE MUSIC OF ETHIOPIA" (Rough Guide, 2004)
While this does have some cool stuff on it, mostly they play it pretty safe in the song selection, leaning heavily on smoother, more modern sounding material. If you'd hoped for a single disc selection that would double for a "best-of" of the ETHIOPIQUES series, this one ain't it. It ain't bad, though...
Various Artists "SALSA AFRICA" (Tinder Records, 2000)
A fascinating mix of African and Cuban music... For centuries, Afro-Cuban rhythms has wafted back and forth over the Atlantic, inspiring the growth of Cuba's various musical styles, and in turn, the West African "rumba" music of the 1950s and '60s. This disc is fairly unique in that it collects hits by African artists who plays specifically "salsa" style music, sometimes singing in French or their local languages, sometimes mixing the style with lovely, lush African guitar work. This is a companion disc to an earlier collection of international salsa acts (from as far afield as Israel...) As interesting as that disc was, though, this one is superior -- the music is more powerful, and the pacing is more cohesive. Highly recommended!
Various Artists "THE SOUL OF CAPE VERDE" (Lusafrica/Tinder Production, 1996)
A gorgeous collection of deeply lush, romantic material from Cape Verde. This is, flat out, one of my favorite "world music" albums ever. If you don't have it already, you should correct that problem as soon as possible. The basic form here is the morna, a languid, florid ballad style which is closely related to the Portuguese fado. This album includes big name artists such as Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde's first verifiable international star), and her protege, Maria Alice. More precious still, though, is the older material from the mid-1960s, which I imagine is pretty hard to come by. (Note to music labels: an album of stuff by Luis Morais, or even just more music in this general vein, would be wonderful wonderful wonderful). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Various Artists "TOWNSHIP JAZZ'N'JIVE" (Music Club, 1997)
This is the single best collection of South African "jive" music that I've heard. A stellar set of South African pop music from the 1940s and '50s. American swing and pop vocal styles are gloriously transmuted into utterly delectable melodic forms -- the perfect thing to put on some day when you're down in the dumps and want to feel really, really warm and fuzzy. This disc features the best artists of the time, the recordings of many of whom are maddeningly impossible to find anywhere else. Especially cool are Miriam Makeba's original vocal ensemble, The Skylarks, and the beautiful pennywhistle music of groups such as the Solven Whistlers. This is a fun, fascinating album, and highly, highly recommended! (Note to Music Club: I eagerly await Volume Two!)
Various Artists "VIBRANT ZIMBABWE" (Vibrant/Zimbob, 1993)
A nice sampler of contemporary Zimbabwean pop bands of the early 1990s... The disc opens with an super-catchy dance tune by John Pound, where the thumping rhythm that drives South African mbaqanga is joined by jangly, hypnotic guitar riffs that sound more typical of the West African pop scene: the very epitome of modern Zimbabwean music. The beat continues for several songs (and even gets a bit monotonous at times), then is broken by a reggae riddim or two. If you want to check out some of the newer music from this impoverished nation, this collection is a nice place to start.
African Music Index
World Music Index
