Rough Guide African Guitar Legends

Rough Guide to African Guitar Legends
Reviewed by Sadie O., 3/23/11
CD 1:
1. 5:48 ****pretty, elaborate acoustic guitar, quite Spanish sounding (rather fitting, as he’s done Afrocuban projects.) From Mali. Both male and female vocals.
2. 7:31 *very subdued solo acoustic guitar, sad solo vocals, largely in English. From Zimbabwe. SOOOO melancholy.
3. 5:25 ****desert blues from Mali, swingy and cool. Some great mouth organ and other instruments, too.
4. 7:44 ***pretty, clear and high guitar, groovy Highlife dance tune from Ghana. Relaxed but upbeat.
5. 6:28 ***long intro, then relaxed loping groove, trance-y. Tuareg, from Mali/Algeria.
6. 3:15 *folky, relaxed finger picking, gruff male vocals. A bit like old folk blues.
7. 2:58 **upbeat rumba from the Congo, Caribbean sounding.
8. 5:01 ***pretty swingy soukous from the Congo, a tribute to the artist of the previous track. Teeny bits of funk and Latin elements.
9. 4:32 ****lovely Zulu blues from KwaZulu-Natal. Great vocal call and response/harmonies.
10. 3:52 **pretty and upbeat solo acoustic guitar and vocals – some fuzz sound on the guitar which makes it (or whatever he’s using for an amp) sound homemade. Or maybe VERY VERY roots version of Congotronics.
11. 4:17 **gorgeous, quite complex, acoustic guitar, lots of flourishes (but relaxing!), from Guinea/Ivory Coast. Instrumental. LONG fade.
12. 7:08 ****electric guitar! Juju funk band from Nigeria; one of the most widely-known artists in the collection. Takes a long time to build up steam – and promptly turns into dub. Nice bit of slide.
CD 2:
Congolese rumba (etc) big band. Fine vocals, good range of styles.
1. 5:53 **pretty, swingy, relaxed. Caribbean vibe, but 100% African.
2. 6:06 ****upbeat dancey bounce, soukous groove.
3. 5:18 ***relaxed midtempo paper-parasol-in-your-drink vibe.
4. 5:11 ***accordion intro! Sounds Tex-Mex, almost. Midtempo, swingy.
5. 5:07 **midtempo with a hint of cha cha. Quite an extended jam.
6. 5:54 **midtempo, relaxed, complex vocal line. Switches up halfway through.
7. 5:16 **midtempo dreamy sashay, a bit Latin sounding. Switches up midway again.
8. 5:33 ***vocal intro, then midtempo bouncy, very dancey rumba. Where’s my margarita, dammit?
9. 4:52 ***jazzy bluesy loungey something. Very different.
10. 5:47 **odd start, then midtempo relaxed rumba.
11. 5:22 ***pretty, nice energy.
12. 4:59 ***more pretty, nice energy. Briefly goes all funky, then back. Unfortunately, 2 hours seems to be more than enough for today…