genre adds: int'l (3), reggae (1)
here are four news discs, all to be found in the genre pix tower.....MIGHTY SPARROW is a calypso singer from the 50s, given a nice reconsideration by the folks at Smithsonian Folkways.....MARKUS JAMES offers up a bit of a stopgap after "Timbuktuobab" with a set of half-new cuts, half catalogue material.....LATAYE is a new incarnation for some Haitian worldbeat veterans....and JOSIE MEL offers up a conscious party, with a little help from his friends.....Enjoy, and even post comments! You know that feeling where you wonder whether or not anyone is reading what you post? Well......======================
Artist: Mighty Sparrow
Title: First Flight
Label: Smithsonian Folkways
Genre: int’l / ‘50s calypso
Grade: A-
True calypso masks hard, unflinching social commentary in bright melodies and rhythms--it has much in common with contemporary rap, right down to the "calypso wars" (02) that pitted performer against performer in sharp, improvised insult battles. Slinger Francisco, the Mighty Sparrow, is perhaps the best known of Trinidad's modern calypso masters, and this fascinating set collects some of his earliest commercial recordings from albums he made between 1956 and 1959 for Emory Cook's Cook Sounds label. A cursory listen and these tracks seem bright and harmless; underneath that sheen, however, Sparrow sang and rhymed away about taxes (01), ghetto gun dealers (06), personal revenge (09), international foolishness (16), and even, on occasion, the openly sentimental (14). (3 ½ stars)
Chart Nerd Fun Fact: First Flight was the top CMJ New World debut last week, entering at #11…with a bullet!
Choice Cuts: 02, 06, 16, 18, 01, 14
Reviewer: Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
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Artist: Markus James
Title: Calabash Blues
Label: Firenze
Genre: int’l / Cali-Mali blues
Grade: A- / B+
For more than a decade, this blues-steeped California songwriter has been frequenting hidden musical corners of Mali, guitar and recording gear in tow. Working with desert-dwelling musicians, including famed sidemen of Ali Farka Toure from the north and a Wassoulou harpist from the south, James has produced four albums and a film, and created an ever-deepening consort of African and American traditions. This set of 13 songs draws from all periods of James’s odyssey, with an emphasis on the roots/blues side of the equation. As the ubiquitous clopping grooves of calabash percussion merge with vibey guitars and the haunting strains of the njarka fiddle, far-flung traditions find easy common ground. James’s guitar work is always restrained, his vocals ranging from a deep whisper to a bluesy growl to an ambling rap. This is the payoff of having a good idea, and sticking with it. (3 stars)
Choice Cuts: 01, 13, 05, 06, 07, 04
Reviewer: Banning Eyre, Boston Phoenix
See Also: James’ Where You Wanna Be (2001)
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Artist: Lataye
Title: Tou Manbre
Label: (self-released)
Genre: int’l / Haiti
Grade: A-
Tou Manbre translates as “fully loaded,” and Lataye are ready to go as a successor to Haitian worldbeat stars Boukman Eksperyans. In fact, Lataye is something of a Haitian supergroup package: half of Lataye were founders of BE, and the other half were in locally noted groups as well. The way the songs unfold here on Tou Manbre is striking: often starting sparse, they gain layers of vocals, complexity of rhythms, and fullness of composition. Given FHB’s close ties with Haiti, how cool would it be to have Lataye in town for, say, a fund-raiser for the radio station we’re working with there? Really, it could happen….
Choice Cuts: 07, 02, 06, 13, 09, 05
Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
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Artist: Josie Mel
Title: Rasta Still de ‘Bout
Label: Groove Attack
Genre: reggae
Grade: B+
The blurred Rastafarian line between worshiping and partying seems to be the theme on Josie Mel's fine (if uneven) debut album. Mel opens powerfully with the rapturously hook-filled and defiantly devout "Rasta Still de 'Bout" (01), with fine toasting by Lutan Fyah, before jumping immediately into that partying/worshipping dichotomy (“Consecrate Yourself” [02] / “Let’s Party” [03]) and then delivering a sharp but gentle told-you-so to the woman who left him for a rich but neglectful rival (“All Over Your Face” [04]). Smokie Benz joins him for another good combination track on "And I Pray" (08), but by this point his pitch is slipping; by the album's penultimate track, "I Love You" (11), he's singing in a completely different key from the rhythm track. It's an inexcusably lame ending to a generally impressive album. (3 ½ stars)
Choice Cuts: 03, 06, 08, 02, 01, 04
Reviewer: Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
posted by Anonymous @ 11:20:00 AM
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