|
|
 |
CD Review
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Perceptive Travel, CD Review >>
Take a British rocker who as spent time playing with Algerian Taureg blues bands and then put him together with a Gambian who plays the riti—a Gambian, one-string spike fiddle—and the kologo, a kind of banjo. The result is something that is not quite Tinawaren or Malouma, but an evolution of that Saharan sound. It's familiar on several levels, but exotic enough to feel completely fresh.
The rocker is Robert Plant's guitarist. No, not the famous one from the 70s, but current one Justin Adams. As the son of a diplomat who lived and traveled in the Middle East and North Africa, Adams grew up with exotic sounds and continues to seek them out today. The African is Juldeh Camera, whose father was a musician and healer. He handles most of the lead vocals, with African voices and percussionists joining in on many songs. Rock and blues guitar—with a Saharan flair—meet the more traditional call-and-response music of Gambia and the result is something both accessible and unique.
The results are seldom predictable or monotonous. A song like Fulaini Coochi Man" will start off like a typical guitar-based blues song, then the riti kicks in and transports us to a different continent. Madam Mariana" is a driving, riff-based crowd-pleaser in the spirit of Amadou and Miriam, but grittier. Some of the slower jams like Gainako could have stood to be edited down to a shorter length, but when the music sounds so heartfelt, it's easy to understand why they kept it rolling.
It is fitting that this releases coincides with the 20th anniversary of its label, Peter Gabriel's Real World Records. Two decades ago the public was just discovering the sounds of Africa. Now we have collaborations like Tell No Lies that go beyond the "nice" and "coffee table releases" Adams said he was trying to avoid. This album will likely win lots of awards and be playing in backpacker cafes of the world in a year or two. Get it now and groove on something that can appeal to the masses without sacrificing creativity or passion.
- Tim Leffel 06/01/09 >> go there
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
