Listening Spot Check

[jackdaw version]

Do the "two Elvises" show up on YouTube? Legends should, one hopes.

There are a lot of times that I want to just enjoy music and am not really interested in the critical, judgmental assessment of the merits or not of a particular piece. Indeed, I get somewhat irritated by the quibbling over whether a song or an album is "good" enough to meet whatever criteria the commentator carries around in his or her head. Other times, of course, I am among the quickest to dismiss something that doesn't appeal to me for some reason — which I have come to realize over the years is often just because I am not in the right mood to appreciate that particular piece of music at that particular time.

Anyway, at this moment, I am listening to Bonga's Bairro, an album that didn't wow me at all when I first heard it despite Charlie's enthusiasm for it, and an artist who over the years I've blown hot and cold upon depending on whatever state of receptiveness I was in. Today, I'm enjoying it, although being wowed is not quite how I'd describe the state of that enjoyment. But it's very nice and Bonga is among the world's musical giants for longevity alone. Bairro seems to be perhaps the most appealing of his albums this decade, but it's a close-run thing. There's a smoothness and consistency to his work over the past ten years that makes it difficult to choose between Bairro, Mulemba Xangola, Maiorais, and Kaxexe. All are lovely when you're in the right mood.

[jackdaw version]

Nobody been listening to anything for almost the past two weeks?!

It's Orchestre National De Barbès smashing new platter, Rendez-Vous Barbès, over here in the heart of the ever fashionable Fire District 3 of Whidbey Island. Actually, it is not a platter 'cos you can't buy a physical version of the thing in the USA last time I looked so I'm streaming from Mog. But the music is nice. Seems a bit more reggae/dubby than the previous releases.

[kas]

I have, or rather, I am listening now: the new "Beginner's Guide to Africa" and "[...] India" box sets on Nascente. Terrific, both of them, and I got the pair for £10 at HMV in Chichester...
The only minus I found in them is the poor selection of anything from southern Africa (only one track from Zimbabwe as far as I can see).

Oh yes, Greetings from Suffolk and London. We just returned around midnight last night. No big record or book hunting operations, just a holiday. Will sum it up in the other section.

[kas]

"Empire And Love" by Imagined Village has apparently slipped under the radar here. A nice album though and an inhouse favourite at our household over the weekend.

I find it a considerable improvement on the first album: more sure of itself and less prone to pull in all directions at once. A smaller outfit at it too, with fewer guests. Could have done without "Scarborough Fair" though - or maybe with only one version of it.

Some very cool f**k IMO.

[Chris P]

Big Walter 'Mumbles' Horton - Mouth Harp Maestro (Ace) and Seckou Keita's albums are on rotation here.

Joe Hill Louis & Calvin Newborn lay down some wicked guitar on these very early fifties Horton sessions - where else can you hear them so good ?

[jackdaw version]

"Empire And Love" by Imagined Village has apparently slipped under the radar here. A nice album though and an inhouse favourite at our household over the weekend.

I find it a considerable improvement on the first album: more sure of itself and less prone to pull in all directions at once. A smaller outfit at it too, with fewer guests. Could have done without "Scarborough Fair" though - or maybe with only one version of it.

Some very cool f**k IMO.

I was listening to this on Sunday and thinking how great it is — including both versions of "Scarborough Fair"! It would be embarrassing to remember how many years I thought that was a Simon & Garfunkel song. I'm not familiar with the first Imagined Village album, but everything I've read indicates that Empire And Love is far superior and, in my estimation, it's a true classic.

I'm just listening to the sound of the world outside my window right now, birds, squirrels, some far off and infrequent traffic, maybe a small plane — a quiet, lovely morning.

[Ted]

Ambrose Campbell Melodisc 78s.

An amazing mixture. You can hear echoes of African guitar styles familiar from much later recordings along with calypso and jazz (a very young Harry Beckett on trumpet).
Some of it sounds like Hilife, some of it like a predecessor to Juju. It's the sound of Nigerians (and possibly Ghanaians?) bumping into people from the Caribbean in the cold, smoky, austere London of the early 50s.

It has apparently been collected on London Is The Place For Me Vol.3.

[Martin Owen]

Mowing the lawn with the iPod on shuffle - I have had happy happenstance that made me think that in the late 70's there were some amazing debut singles.... in 15 minutes the iPod gods chose: Sultans of Swing (off the Honky Tonk comp), Sex and Drugs and RocknRoll and Alison - and then another Honky Tonk memory - Ry Cooder singing "He'll have to go" from Chicken Skin Music - an album I certainly bought after hearing the Sunday morning conversation.

Now to get down dirty with my hoe.

[Des]

David Matthews Symphony No 6 - BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conductor Jac van Steen. Matthews is a fine contemporary British composer and his latest symphony is wonderful - it takes as its main theme the lovely Vaughan Williams hymn tune Down Ampney which emerges radiantly in the dying minutes of the final movement. Before that, though, you get lots of influences in addition to VW - there's Mahler and Stravinsky in the mix as well - while throughout the symphony Matthews' own talent for orchestral colour is ever-present. Beautiful.

[kas]

Aruna Sairam - Divine Inspiration (World Village)
Dj Cheb I Sabbah - Krishna Lila (Nation)

"Krishna Lila" has taken a good while to grow into me, but now it has been favourite over the past days. There are a few more club friendly elements I am not that enthused about, but generally speaking the album sounds more acoustic and organic than "Shri Durga", and all the better for it - not that "Shri Durga" is at all bad.

Aruna Sairam? Sublime, stupendous and stunning. I hear there are albums by her that are even better than this. Could I have them please?

[jackdaw version]

The Sound System Scratch album from Lord God Almighty Lee "Scratch" Perry. After reading Neil's words on it, and being just a bit short of cash (well, other recorded goody priorities), I decided not to buy either the CD or the vinyl — and for a few minutes I'd been tempted to buy both — and waited to see if it came up on eMusic. And it has and my monthly subscription has renewed so here I am getting all versioned out. Track 3, "Groove Dubber", is pretty powerful. Track 4, "Groove Rider", is a bit limp in comparison although there are all sorts of effects flying all over the place. When I think of all the time I've spent listing to LSP, it's amazing I've ever managed anything else in my life.

[Chris P]

These last 3 weeks have been good at work, the plasterer's a musician.
We have been mostly listening to:

Kal
Songs of Defiance from Chechnya & The North Caucusus
Solomon & Socalled - HipHopKhasene
Franco Le TPOK Jazz 82-85
Haitian disc on Earthworks label (anyone know who this band is ?)
Is it Rolling Bob ? - A Reggae tribute to Dylan
Bill Jones - Panchpuran
Golden Brass Summit at Guca
Kings & Queens - Fanfare Ciocarlia
Astrakan Cafe - Anouar Brahem & Barbaros Erkose
On the Shoulders of the Great Bear - Andrew Cronshaw
Between Heaven & Earth - Andy Statman
Madar - Garbarek
Arabic Beats
Shteyt Oyf - Rise Up - Klezmatics
Gillian Welch - Time the Revelator
Finnish compilation
Masked & Anonymous soundtrack
Hungarian compilation
Kelly Joe Phelps & Corinne West - Magnetic Skyline
Network Medien compilation
Selim Sesler - Anatolian Wedding
Martha Mavroidi - the Garden of Rila (album of 2010 !)
Burhan Ocal & the Trakya Allstars - Trakya Dance Party
Spiro - Lightbox

all brilliant sez I !

[Jonathan E.]

. . .
Haitian disc on Earthworks label (anyone know who this band is ?) . . .

Most likely Mini All Stars with Fanatiques Compas from 1997 or Coupé Cloué with Maximum Compas From Haiti from 1992, both produced by and licensed from Fred Paul and Mini Records. Somewhere, long ago in this Forum, there was discussion of Charlie not being able to license a Tabou Combo track from Fred Paul for the Honky Tonk comp. Some of the Mini Records releases are showing up on eMusic now.

[Martin Owen]

I know it is deeply uncool to listen to the folk tradition of your own music but iPod shuffle gave me a happy juxtaposition. I had just had a couple of girot praise songs on the run and then I had Parti Cwt Lloi (http://www.particutlloi.co.uk/ singing praise songs to a harp accompanyment.

Cerdd Dant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerdd_dant is a musical form unique to the Great Britain. Sadly competitive eisteddfodic tradition had meant that it has lacked the hwyl (spirit) - whereas Parti Cwt Lloi - boys from the back bar of the Cann Office Hotel - offer a more spirited edge.

<<Alas their only bit on Youtube was for a US audience providing predictable Welshness. indeed to goodness, look you boyo>>

[Adam Blake]

"It's Bad For You, But Buy It" by The Ace Of Cups. Highly recommended for all devotees of 60s periphery. Remarkable not only for being the first proper all-girl rock band (wrote their own songs, played their own instruments) but also for being really very good. At least as good as any of their contemporaries in the San Francisco pyschedelic scene and a darn sight better than the G****ful D**d'...