Lynn Larrow's African Music Reviews

As I looked at my music collection, most of the music that I have consistently liked over the years has an African influence or connection somewhere along the line. Acoustical Jazz, Blues, R&B, Raggae and Ska all seemed to me to have a timeless upbeat quality. I have always liked organic low tech music the best. Thanks to music available on the Internet (Napster and Spinner) I have been exposed to and enchanted by many groups and musical styles from Africa, e.g., Afrobeat, JuJu Music, Morna, and Soukous. To this end, I am calling this page the African Music Review. I will update it from time to time as I review exotic groups or find albums worth recommending. I hope that the record companies will discover that there is a audience for this simple happy music and make more CDs available in the USA.

My dream is to someday set up an Internet Radio Station based on the music from "African Music Reviews". If you are interested, here are a few artists sorted by country that I recommend as of 04/15/2002.

1/20/2002. If you got a high speed connection, check out Henri St. Germain's 24 hour Soukous Radio. I just heard him playing Yondo Sister!!! I love that Soukous Sound!

8/18/2001. I added a review of "The Very Best of Manu Dibango". I like it! I like it!

6/24/2001. If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, there is a great place to see live music and dance in Berkeley called Ashkenaz. I stopped in there last night to see the Nigerian Brothers, who were just great. Ashkenaz is an experience in and of itself. Before the Nigerian Brothers played, there was a dance lesson for the audience. I have seen so many people eager for dance lessons. This was one of the happiest and diverse (young, old, black, white, Asian, kids) crowds I have ever seen. All night long people were dancing all over the place. Ashkenaz is in this classic old wooden building that looks like a great barn in the inside. There is large dance floor that is always full when the music starts. If you like people watching, this place will keep your eyes surfing for quite a while. Check it out!

6/17/2001. I added reviews of Fela Kuti's great CD "Beasts of no Nation", Kanda Bongo Man's "Kwassa Kwassa", Loketo's "Soukous Trouble" and Tshala Muana's "Biduaya".

BTW, I still like other music too. Lately, I have been listening a little bit to Radiohead+ on Spinner Plus, not bad. The only channel that has Captain Beefheart, Charlie Mingus and Push That Button on the same play list.

Description	Recommended	Rating	Year
I happened to hear "Soul Makossa" on the Spinner Plus Internet radio station and was intrigued by this Funky African music which sounded a bit like Fela Kuti. So figured I would try this Manu Dibango dude out. Boy was I glad that I did. Great Stuff! This music should cure the worst case of the sweatshop blues. It's hard to sit still listening to this "Afro-Soul-Jazz" music. The sound quality is excellent. The following four tracks more than justify the purchase of this CD. (1) Soul Makossa has a timeless polished funky beat with backup singers (French) and a power saxophone rifting in an out. This has got to be one of the top ten Funky recordings of all time. (2) Sun Explosion has quicker funky bass beat like a disco song on amphetamines that can quickly put you into a trance. (3) Adele Dance has more of Industrial style sound sort of like Manu Dibango Meets Kraftwerk. This combination works real well and doesn't sound dated at all because the Afro-Funk Saxophones and rhythms hold everything together (Oolalala!). (4) Electric Africa returns to more of the Soul Mokassa style of pure Afro-Funk beat with a more restrained power saxophone with Herbie Hancock on piano no less (Wow!). On the down side, I wish there would have been more information on which albums these cuts came from and the dates these recordings were made.	Very Best of Manu Dibango		2000

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Cesaria Evora's voice is simply enchanting like a premier grand cru class of Bordeaux wine (one of the best living females singers in world). The accompanying musicians and the song writers are top rate and help create this wonderful acoustical "morna" style. Cesaria's popularity is world wide. Currently she is very popular on many college campuses. Miss Perfumado is my favorite album, and my favorite song from that album is Angola.	Miss Perfumado		1992
	Cesaria Evora		1994

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Franco and OK Jazz make great music for about 30 years from the mid- 50's to 1989 when Franco Luambo Makiadi died. I can't understand why it is so damn hard to find CDs in the U.S.A. from this great artist and icon of African music. I have tried to order several of Franco's albums and have come up empty handed. If it wasn't for Napster, I would never have heard of this guy.

Franco & OK Jazz 'Originalité' This album covers some of the original recordings of OK Jazz in 1956-57. The selections have been re-mastered from the old 78s records and really sound great considering (no crackles or hums). For anyone interested in the history of African Rumba music or the modern Congolese Soukous, this is a must have CD. Franco's hallmark electric guitar style establishes what will become the standard sound for the Rumba and later on Soukous. On Entre OK, On sort KO, (You enter OK and leave KOed) is the groups signature song. I especially like the songs Merenque and Ah Bolingo Pasi. These cuts are all very upbeat and make a great backdrop for just about any kind of activity. Nice music to cook by :).

Et Le Tout Pussant OK Jazz. This album is compilation of Franco's more modern Soukous sound. I like Mario (non stop), Les "On Dit" and La Bralima et sa Brasserie De L'an. Hopefully, I'm not swearing in French! ;-)

Originalite

1999

Et Le Tout Puissant Ok Jazz [IMPORT]

1999

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I really love African rumba music, and this is one of the best CDs that is still in print. The CD is contains two albums recorded in the 1970's: Maria Tebbo (1979) and Waka Waka (1978). Maria Tebbo is a precursor to the modern Soukous sound. Waka Waka is pure Rumba music with lots of horns. Sam Mangwana played with and became one of the masters of Rumba music with Franco and Tabu Ley. This is classic Congolese music, magically happy guitars, hopping horns and "let's dance sister" kind of music. Unless your heart is made of stone, you can't go wrong with this CD.	Maria Tebbo		1995
Sam Mangwana is a very talented singer and song writer. He has been a part of the African Rumba and Soukous scene from the start. I imagine if Sam was born in USA that quite easily he could have been super star. He is largely responsible for creating the Soukous sound in the Congo. His voice and style are very mellow and engaging, and his music should be very accessible to most people. Aladji. This short CD (30 minutes) has got to be on of Sam's best albums. It was recorded in 1987 and includes some of his biggest and classic Soukous hits. My favorite songs are Kabi Bi, Aladji and Trans-beros. The album Aladji is currently out of print. However, it is my understanding that it will be re-released this year. It sure should be.	Aladji		1987

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Kwassa Kwassa. This one on Kanda Bongo Man's best CD's. On this CD, there are two Ringos, Lokassa (Roger Milla from Lightning over the River) and the very talented Soukous guitarist Diblo Dibala. Sai is my favorite cut from this CD made up of the Bongo Man's French hits. Zing Zong. This CD by the Bongo Man is not of the same quality of Kwassa Kwassa with the exception of Yesu Christu (Jesus Christ), which is just great. Kando Bongo Man sings just like the great black Angel. I'm a Buddhist but this song touches the joy of what I think Christian music should be like. In other words, a sharp contrast to that annoying Christian Rock Music ;-).	Kwassa Kwassa		1989
	Zing Zong		1991

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I just love the cheerful Congolese Soukous (Rumba) beat, with those wonderful rhythm guitars that move as smooth and fast as the wings of a cicada in love.

I like just about every song on this album, which is really rare thing these days. The compilation starts out with the great song Roger Milla by the late Pepe Kalle, the Elephant of Zaire. It also includes a great song from the master of the rumba sound Franco his OK Jazz band Minzata. Another standout song that I like a lot is Yesu Christo (Jesus Christ) by Sweet singing Kanda Bongo Man. I'm not that religious, but if a church around here had music like that I'd show up every Sunday!

This really is a fun CD and much better for you than Prozac. ;-) It's a lot cheaper too!

Lightning Over The River

1999

Description	Recommended	Rating	Year
Biduaya. This CD sounds like it is trying too hard to be commercial. Benga Nga na Respect sounds a little bit like the Soukous version of Hang on Sloopy, which is why I subtracted one star. If they would have just used all of Tshala's material, it could have been a great CD. I liked Biduaya and Kapinga (both which were written by Tshala). Tshala's music has a very interesting beat based on the *Mutuashi* dances of the Baluba people, according to Africa Online Music. When I was at Ashkenaz, I noticed that the dancing instructor and bartender used a couple of Tshala's songs to teach African dancing (not from this CD).	Biduaya		1988

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Fela Kuti's music is an intoxicating organic mixture of African harmonies, bebop, social protest and James Brown. Fela was one of a kind in history of modern music. How many other musicians had 27 wives and ran for the presidency of a country? In addition to the great rhythms, the lyrics are truly remarkable in the context of when and how these cuts were recorded and the risks that Fela took in producing this songs. Fela spent as many as 20 months imprisoned in Nigeria. For a near complete discography, Toshiya Endo's Fela Kuti's Discography. The Best Best of Fela Kuti (2000) It's hard to sit and listen to Fela's music because the pace makes you want to just get up and dance! This truly is the best of Fela. I have listened to many of his albums, and this two CD set does indeed have his best cuts. His son Femi did a great job of selecting these songs. "Water no get enemy" and "Roforofo Fight" are two of my favorites on this two CD set. Fela is the undisputed king of the Afrobeat sound. If you only buy one of Fela's records, get this one! Beasts of No Nation (1989 Out of print). This is Fela at his political best with this two song album. The title cut "Beasts of no nation" is simply great. This classic Fela railing at the West for refusing to support end of apartheid in South Africa. I don't know of anyone else that wrote such funky protest music with the exception of Bob Marley. The cover features caricatures of Reagan, Thatcher and Botha as vampire bats. Original Sufferhead/ITT (1981/1980) is re-issue of two of Fela's Albums great albums. The title cut of Original Sufferhead is one of my favorite songs by Fela. This one would be great to roll out at a party to get people dancing. "International Thief Thief" is very socially funky too. Opposite People/Sorrow Tears and Blood (1977) is another re-issue of two of Fela's Albums. There is some very nice Funky and Earthy Jazz on this CD. Sorrow Tears and Blood has got to be one of his greatest cuts ever. Stalemate/Fear Not For Man (1977) is yet another re-issue of two of Fela's Albums. Stalemate sounds more polished than on many of his other albums. BTW, none of these tracks are on Best Best. The cut Fear not for Man is the real stand out, but the rest of album is very good too.	The Best Best of Fela Kuti		2000
	Beasts of No Nation		1989
	Original Sufferhead/ITT		1981/1980
	Opposite People/Sorrow Tears and Blood		1977
	Stalemate/Fear Not For Man		1977

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I imagine that if you went to heaven and entered a lounge called JuJu Music, King Sunny Ade would be playing there. I have never heard anything quite like JuJu music. It has so many unique rhythms and blends, it's like manna for the ears. JuJu Music is a sure cure for what ails you. JuJu Music, Seven Degrees North, Odu and Synchro System are my favorites in that order. Seven Degrees North is Sunny's most recent album that was very well produced and would be a good first choice for the first time listener. Aura is more of a commercial dance mix, which could make it a nice party album. Return of Juju King could have been a great CD, but the dope that produced this album truncated each song in a very amateurish and annoying way. I wish the record companies would re-master and release King Sunny's pre-Juju Music records.	Juju Music		1982
	Synchro System		1983
	Aura		1984
	Return Of the Juju King		1988?
	E Dide (Get Up)		1995
	Odu		1998
	Seven Degrees North		2000

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While downloading like crazy on Napster before the heavy hand of the law came down, I discovered this great Ska group Hepcat. I have now purchased three of their CDs. My requirements for music these days is that it must fun, low tech and upbeat. Ska songs are basic songs about life. There is also a lot of fun instrumentals. Hepcat is strongly influenced by the 60's Jamaican group Skatalites. The beats are true and consistent with the happy foot tapping head bopping low tech sound of Ska . Hepcat are all accomplished musicians. The standouts for me are Greg Lee and vocals and song writer, Scott Ables on drums and Alex Desert the piano and song writer/singer. Out of Nowhere was the first album by this group and one of my favorites. It is decided more low tech that Right on Time, but I love most of the songs Dance Wid Me, Earthquake and Fire. Right On Time is the groups most commercially successful album to date and is also the most polished sounding.	Out of Nowhere		1993
	Scientific		1995
	Right On Time		1997