int'l + reggae = TLA
Remember 4th grade? Good times. Where was I? Oh yes....COMRADES! A handful of international releases, including a double-disc compilation of Irish tunes called WHISKEY IN THE JAR, as well as two new ROUGH GUIDE sets....look for a best-of set from THE CHIEFTAINS as well here shortly...hopely before the 17th! Also, on the reggae front, the latest from MATISYAHU as well as a live set from THE SKATALITES....Proceed!
Date: 12 March 2006 Label: Sony
Artist: v / a
Title: Whiskey in the Jar: Essential Irish Drinking Songs
& Sing Alongs
Genre: int’l / St Paddy’s Day blowout
Grade: A-
The title, despite being based on the eponymous Dubliners lead cut, is of course unfortunate. Ditto the little shamrocks and beer steins that lovingly frame the cover photo of a gorgeous (and empty!) pub. This two-disc set is more an overview of Sony’s Ireland-related catalogue than anything else, with heavy emphasis on older, established acts—The Dubliners appear no less than 14 times, and the Clancy Brothers 10! Newer Celtic rock of the Shite’N’Onions variety can be found from folks like Dropkick Murphys and The Pogues, who have two live cuts here. Nothing left to do but wait for the Six Degrees Frank Patterson remix project….
Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
Artist: v / a
Title: The Rough Guide to Flamenco Nuevo
Label: WMN
Genre: int’l
Grade: A
Over the last decade, flamenco's undergone a revolution and reinvention, as this CD excellently illustrates. These days it's a brilliant, multi-faceted gem, where the jazz flute of Jorge Pardo (08) can sit comfortably next to the electronica of Digitano (05) and the Ladino singing of Yasmin Levy (14). A few of the names have becomes internationally known, like Levy, Ojos de Brujo (03) and Javier Ruibal (11), and justifiably so, as they each push away at frontiers. But the revelation of this disc is that there are plenty of others equally inventive waiting to find a global forum. Singer Elena Andujar (01) is especially impressive, while the duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela [04] (who live in that flamenco hotbed, Ireland) are adroit, imaginative guitarists, while Solar Sides (12) fuse modern dance music and flamenco in a very subtle fashion. The disc is worthy playing for Diego Carrasco's take on the global smash "Asereje" [09] alone. This is a most welcome disc, a way in to what's happening in flamenco, and how it's reaching out to the world. ( 4 stars )
Reviewer: Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
Artist: v / a
Title: The Rough Guide to the Music of Tanzania
Label: WMN
Genre: int’l
Grade: A-
On the East African coast, Tanzania has recently emerged from State control of its music to much greater independence. There days, instead of one main stream -- muziki wa dansi -- there are three, including the Arabic-sounding taarab and the younger bongo flava that includes singers like Saida Karoli [03], performing in a spare, acoustic setting, the R&B (with local influence) of Dataz [09] and the hip-hop of X Plastaz [02]. What sticks in the mind for than anything else, however, are the bands like Ottu Jazz Band [11] or the late Ndala Kasheba [08], whose 12-string guitar powered his band on music influenced by Congoloese soukous. The taarab really stands alone, a style utterly apart, and quite beautiful in its ornamentation. Compiler Werner Graebner has included a pair of more traditional tracks, one from the Master Musicians of Tanzania [06], founded by the late, great Hukwe Zawose. ( 3 ½ stars )
Reviewer: Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
Artist: The Skatalites
Title: In Orbit Vol. 1
Label: Xaymaca
Genre: reggae / ska
Grade: A-
September 2005 concert direct to you from…Buenos Aires? Erm…yes. Well! On the heels of the Studio One reissue barrage, here’s a live set from perhaps the 1960s ska band. Perhaps in a vault somewhere there’s a disc worth of live Skatalites in their prime, but in lieu of that this is solid, feel-good stuff. (Of course, their label is threatening a rash of similar releases, so the fizz might soon go flat…) Fun to hear the crowd react to (and sing along with) cuts like “Guns of Navarone” (06). Remember to fade to accommodate the live recordings!
Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
Artist: Matisyahu
Title: Youth
Label: Sony
Genre: reggae
Grade: B+
The Matisyahu backlash has begun in earnest—and this less than fizzy follow-up to Live at Stubbs isn’t helping matters. The immediacy and shock-of-the-new-ness of last year’s live disc are in short supply. Earnest, yet not entirely fulfilling.
Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
posted by Anonymous @ 11:08:00 AM
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