Archived Reviews G-I

Garmarna: Hildegard von Bingen

Northside

No, not another New Age von Bingen tribute. Garmarna do it in their own special way, taking her words and adding their music, firing up the samplers and programming, and mixing it with the creaky old fiddles and hurdy gurdys for their dark, intoxicating mix. Once again singer Emma Härdelin sounds like someone from the spirit world, an unearthly presence, while the band create a vision that's more cinematic and sometimes lush than their previous records - "Paso," with its Portisheads licks, could even be from a '60s spy flick. Just wonderful, breaking new ground, and von Bingen must be smiling in her 900 year-old grave.

George Dalaras: The Running Roads

Mondo Melodia

This disc of all-new material is a vast improvement over 2000's Very Best Of, showing that George Dalaras (dubbed the Greek Bruce Springsteen) continues to grow even 30 years into his career. The leadoff, "Mad About You," might be one of Sting's best songs and he even guests here without causing nausea. Much of the rest of the album is rooted in the music of the North Mediterranean region (which many think will be the next hotbed of world music), although the Middle Eastern touches on "I'll Seek You Out" and the moody arrangement of "Brown Eyes" both add extra background texture to Dalaras's powerful, near operatic voice. There's a touch of schmaltz ("Flower"), but for the most part this is an exceptional outward-looking effort. This is the kind of disc that could transform Dalaras into an international star.

Gigi Gigi

Palm

A young Ethiopian songstress with a beguiling voice that manages not to be lost among the big-name contributors (Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders, Bill Laswell) - perhaps because this isn't her debut. There's a pop edge to the material (in the sense that it's memorable), with full use of backing vocals. And while the bests are a little canned and clubby at times, the melodies break through, and, above all, Gigi's personality comes through, even though she's singing in Amharic. Laswel''s production hits a high spot on "Sew Argen" but with the cast she has, it's impossible to fault the musicianship. Give her another 10 years and she'll be a world-beater on the lines og Susana Baca or Cesaria Evora.

Gillian Welch: Time (The Revelator)

Acony

Welch and David Rawlings - who might not receive equal billing, but who's definitely half the sound - have gone from strength to strength, and become acknowledged as a driving force in modern American roots music. Certainly this won't do anything to ruin that. In "Elvis Presley Blues" they've created one of the most credible blues songs of the last 20 years, while "Everything Is Free" is destined to become a classic, and the live "I Want To Sing That Rock And Roll" is equally wonderful. The long (14:40) "I Dream A Highway" is adventurous, a departure into new territory that shows they aren't about to rest on their laurels. Exquisite writing, singing, and playing - they deserve every plaudit they receive.

Greg Brown: Milk of the Moon

Red House

Brown continues to move onward and upward as a great American songwriter. In his past work he's told stories; now, lyrically, he seems to simply suggest them through a series of images. whether on the strak "Lull It By" or the exquisite title track. His band is close to perfect, sympathetic, never overplaying, letting Brown with that deep, scarred voice take center stage and evoke the Midwest - not pickets fences and small towns, but some deeper sensibility. Over the years he's developed his own territory - now he haunts and stalks it.

Habib Koité & Bamada: Baro

Putumayo

Welcome to the sound of an artist who's fully grown into his voice, as an instrumentalist, singer, and writer. He can make his guitar ripple like a kora, and his band effortlessly evokes the roots on Malina music, while the harmonies in the playing and singing are Western enough to seem familiar. In other words, it's the perfect recipe for crossover succees, especially with the quality of writing. Even at the tail end of the disc, when it becomes harsher, taking on the influence of the more Southern Wassoulou region, it's still incandescent. The question right now isn't whether Koite is a star, it's how long before the West realizes it. We have some phenomenal talent out of Mali, and people like this make you understand that the new generation is ready to stand up and be counted.

Hakim: Talakik

Mondo Melodia

Back quickly after his burning live album, Hakim comes up with a mixed bag on his new studio outing. The Egyptian tracks are wonderful, sha'bi that shreds, along some with tentative steps into Egyptian classical music. But those produced by Narada Michael Walden have the kind of gloss that fits poorly, and do him no favors. This isn't the way to find a Western audience; better if the whole thing had been raw and roaring. When it works, it lights up the sky. When it doesn't, calling it a damp squib is an overstatement.

Harry Manx: Wise and Otherwise

Northern Blues

Another superb disc from a great slide guitarist and noha veena player, who adds deft Indian touches to his blues without it seeming forced. Not only does he have some strong original material, his covers are wonderfully performed - very few would be able to take B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone" and make it their own, or imbue Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" with electricity from an acoustic guitar. But his "Raga Nat Bhariav" shows the years of disciplined study he put in to learn Indian music, too. Another great talent for a label that seems to be releasing some of the best modern blues.

Hedningarna: Hedningarna

Northside

Before they added the samples and boom, Hedningarna were an acoustic trio - but they still had plenty of power, as this reissue of their first album illustrates. Of particular note is "Fulinghalling/Scamphalling" which veers between the spooky and downright evil in its moods, while others resonate with an ancient joy. Considering this was made in 1989, there's nothing dated about it, which serves both to confirm Hedningarna's status as leaders of the pack, and also assert the timelessness of the music. In some ways it bears a strong resemblance to their more recent, acoustic work - back to the roots, maybe? - and it's never less than satisfying.

Hunter Moore: Conversations

Hunter Moore Records

An intriguing idea, to take you lead from Robert Frost's North of Boston and use conversations - which is what Moore's done on a few tracks here. But the rest are people talking, their stories in song, like "The Road To Quang Tri" (Which wouldn't sound out of place on a Neil Young disc, or "Billy's Hill," written in the third person, but curiously powerful. Moore's a strong songwriter, and often stunningly original, while his three backing musicians offer excellent support, restrained but still filling out the canvas just enough. He's not the poet Frost was - nor would he claim to be - but he can still paint a three-dimensional picture with his words. A singer-songwriter who avoids the maudlin and goes for the gut.

Ismaila Oussou Njie-Señor: Best of Faateleku

Anonym

Once one of the major forces in Gambia's great Super Eagles, Njie decided to rework some of the old material over two volumes of Faateleku. The best tracks have been condensed onto this disc, and it's a reminder of a classic West African (although strongly Western-influenced) sound. He's still got a killer voice, and with the rise of African music, he no longer needs to dilute his sound to find an Occidental audience. Is it great? Not completely, it could have been rawer, but as a reminder of how things were, and how they can be tastefully updated, it's excellent.

Issa Bagayogo: Sya

Six Degrees

Belated release of Bagayogo's 1999 debut, to coincide with his summer U.S. tour - and it's worth the weight. More than his second release, there's a lightness and swing about it, with unusual rhythms and sounds, and a sense of Malian rootedness. He's a remarkable singer and player of the kamele n'goni, with an assured feel for melody. The programming and acoustic instruments mesh wonderfully, neither outshining the other, for a disc that's refreshing and remarkably satisfyin in its mix of the old and the new in a thoroughly Afrocentric fashion.