|
|
 |
CD Review
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Santa Fe New Mexican, CD Review >>
I picked up this album without knowing what country Waldemar Bastos was from, and I made it a game to guess. However, it seems Bastos anticipated this and threw me one curveball after another until he eventually won. Sure, there are African-sounding guitars all over the place, but they often play Spanish-sounding solos. The rhythms slip from African to Brazilian to Western to Caribbean, sometimes in one song. There are elegant string sections, whistles, funk guitars, Beatles-like melodies, and mariachi-like horn passages. In the end, the only thing I was sure of was that I had a huge crush on the drumming style here, which seems to involve staying on beat without actually playing the same beat twice. The centerpiece to this package, of course, is Bastos' voice. He could have become a great crooner (as on "Twende Vossi") or the leader of a festive band (as on "Georgina") But he chooses to do both and to drape his vocals in rich, polyrhythmic arrangements without any of the schlocky production sheen that can permeate "world" albums. Turns out he's from Angola, a country that has seen decades of hard times and civil war. In fact, Bastos chose exile in 1982, returning in 2003. This record is a statement of the joy he felt upon returning and a testament to the many musical influences he soaked up in his travels.
-Robert Benziker 05/27/05
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
