World music reviews and charts, June 27 presents:

Global A Go-GoWorld music reviews and charts, June 27

After a two week hiatus, WRIR's most-played world music recording once again is:

CMJ New World Top Ten
1 GOGOL BORDELLO | Trans-Continental Hustle | American
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS | African Pearls: Cote D'ivoire: West African Crossroads | Syllart
3 KOES BERSAUDARA | To The So-Called "The Guilties" | Sublime Frequencies
4 ELIKEH | Adje! Adje! | Azalea City
5 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Palenque Palenque: Champeta Criolla And Afro Roots In Colombia | Soundway
6 FOLIBA TRIO | Matopie Wa | Farafina Djigui
7 GOTAN PROJECT | Tango 3.0 | Naive
8 VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Afrosound Of Columbia Vol. 1 | Vampisoul
9 BALKAN BEAT BOX | Blue Eyed Black Boy | Nat Geo Music
10 BONGA | Best Of Bonga | Lusafrica

CMJ New World Adds
1 KONONO NO. 1 | Assume Crash Position | Crammed Discs
2 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Palenque Palenque: Champeta Criolla And Afro Roots In Colombia | Soundway
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS | Shangaan Electro | Honest Jon's
4 SMOD | SMOD | Because Music
5 VIEUX FARKA TOURE | Live | Six Degrees

Brand-New Reviews
ARTIST:  original Broadway cast recording
TITLE:  Fela!
LABEL:  Knitting Factory

REVIEW:  If you had told me 10 years ago that Fela Kuti would be the subject of a hit Broadway musical, I would have insisted that you pass me whatever you were smoking.  But here we are in 2010, and I’ll be damned …  Not only that, but they’ve done a fine job on Fela’s music too.  Much credit belongs to the pit orchestra with features several members of Brooklyn’s Antibalas, one of America’s finest Afrobeat revival bands (special credit to Stuart Bogie, who takes all of Fela’s saxophone solos).  Sahr Ngaujah, who plays Fela, gets his accent and inflections just right, and the lyrics are more decipherable than on the original recordings (thanks to Broadway elocution and some strategic translations from Nigerian patois into American English).  This is certainly not a substitute for Fela’s own recordings (the songs are way too short, for one thing), but it’s a faithful document of a very entertaining and worthwhile production.
REVIEWER:  Bill Lupoletti
RECOMMENDED TRACKS:   11   13   16   20

ARTIST:  Fat Freddys Drop
TITLE:  Dr. Boondigga & The Big BW
LABEL:  Electrofone

REVIEW:  Fay Freddys Drop is New Zealand’s most popular band; this is their second full-length album.  They call their sound “hi-tech soul” – bandleader DJ Fitchie’s primary instrument is the sampler, and singer Joe Dukie’s rich and mellow voice is truly one of the soul music’s great instruments.  The music mixes a wide variety of influences – reggae, dub, funk, electronica, jazz and even free improvisation play important roles.  The songs are long, spacious, jam-packed with great musical ideas, and supremely soulful.  There’s no category for this band; they’re simply one of the finest, most original bands in the world today.  Certainly one of the best records of the year.
REVIEWER:  Bill Lupoletti
RECOMMENDED TRACKS:   2   3   5   7

New & Recommended At WRIR
Absolute Belter | (various artists) | B-Music
African Pearls: Congo — Pont Sur Le Congo | (various artists) | Syllart/Discograph
African Pearls: Cote D'Ivoire — West African Crossroads | (various artists) | Syllart/Discograph
African Pearls: Senegal — Echo Musical | (various artists) | Syllart/Discograph
Allen, Tony | Secret Agent | Nonesuch
Behilia, Oswin Chin | Liber | Otrabanda
Egypt Noir: Nubian Soul Treasures | (various artists) | Piranha
Etoile De Dakar Featuring Youssou N'Dour | Once Upon A Time In Senegal: The Birth Of Mbalax 1979-1981 | Sterns
Fat Freddys Drop | Dr. Boondigga & The Big BW | Electrofone
Fela! | (original cast recording) | Knitting Factory
Gogol Bordello | Trans-Continental Hustle | American
Grupo Fantasma | El Existential | Nat Geo Music
Happy Lucky Combo | Carnival Of Sound | self-released
Koes Bersaudara | To The So-Called "The Guilties" | Sublime Frequencies
Le Pop 5 | (various artists) | Le Pop Muzik
Next Stop … Soweto, Volume 2 | (various artists) | Strut
Nigeria Special: Volume 2 | (various artists) | Soundway
Pomegranates: Persian Pop, Funk, Folk And Psych Of The 60s And 70's | (various artists) | B-Music
Santacruz, Rana | Chicavasco | self-released
Sierra Maestra | Sonando Ya | World Village

Bill Lupoletti

Playlist:

Playlist temporarily unavailable.

    June 29th, 2010

Posted In: Music Shows