Archived Reviews V-Z

Various Artists: Avalon Blues: A Tribute to the music of Mississippi John Hurt

Vanguard

There's hardly anyone more deserving of a tribute, and kudos to Peter Case for putting it together, and getting big names like Ben Harper, Taj Mahal, Geoff Muldaur, and Steve Earle to sign on. Beck contributes a good "Stagolee," but the revelation is Victoria Williams's take on "Since I've Laid My Burden Down," which gives the song an eerily African feel. In truth, the whole thing is good, although inevitably as ununified as every tribute - which is both a good and bad point. But anything that focuses attention on this music has to be very positive. It's timeless.

Various Artists: Darker than Blue: Soul from Jamdown 1973-80

Blood & Fire

Long ago Toots announced that reggae got soul, and this is the album to prove it - a series of covers of American soul music that's up there with anything out of Detroit or Memphis. A fair bit of Curtis Mayfield, who was always a Jamaican icon, but everything from War (Carl Bradney's relentlessly funky "Slipping Into Darkness") to Lloyd Charmer's take on the political title cut. Ken Boothe offer's pop-reggae on a weak "Ain't No Sunshine" but redeems himself with the powerful "Is It Because I'm Black?" Finally, Welton Irie's "Hotter Reggae Music" fuses toasting with the then-new form of rap. Fascinating, and fabulous.

Various Artists: Mondo India

Mondo Melodia

The 'Various Artists' is a bit misleading, since, except for one track, this focuses on the music of A. R. Rahman, whose film music is probably the best to ever emerge from the continet. None of the kitschy, filmi grab-bag of style, since Rahman forged a melodic identity that blends East and West in a way the Asian Underground still aspires to - and does it with more melodies than are legally allowed in most places. An excellent introduction to someone who definitely qualifies as the master.

Värttinä: Live in Helsinki

Northside

Think they can be intense in the studio? Then you need to catch them live, where the exquisite harmonies, banshee wails, and evil cackles, are given full rein. It's a tour de force, recorded in their homeland, with the whole band on top form. The musicians can stop on a dime, and frame the songs perfectly and intricately, while leaving the emphasis firmly on the vocals - which have always been the trademark, anyway. And they don't disappoint. Utterly wonderful, playful, and memorable.

Väsen: Live at the Nordic Roots Festival

Northside

Once again Väsen prove to be among the very best of the Nordic acoustic bands, delighting both in their virtuosity and sense of humor. Their neo-traditionalism is balanced by a very playful sense of adventure about their music, and a willingness to share the stage with people like Harv and Annbjorg Lien. A bit more of Olov's absurb between-song patter would have been nice, but really, this is music that speaks for itself, and musicians who are truly the cream of the crop.

Wolf Krakowski: Transmigrations:Gilgul

Tzadik

Originally released in '96, this reissue is an oddity - a Yiddish rock album. While bands like the Klezmatics have picked up on strands of the past and brought them up to date, Krakwoski, born in a displaced persons camp after World War II, takes songs - and this really is about the songs - of the Jewish diaspora and gives them modern settings. Yes, it can be mournful stuff, but there's a fiber of steely determination underneath it all, with "Shabes, Shabes" a blissful celebration, and "Yeder Ruft Mikh Zhamele" a song of the suffering that's typified the Jewish lot of the centuries, with a melody justifiably akin to blues. For all there's a modernity to this, it remains strongly rooted in tradition, and Krakowski wears his heart firmly, and proudly, on his sleeve.

Youssou N'Dour: Le Grand Bal à Bercy

Jololi

If you want to know how Youssou can kick it live, in a Senegal style, well this is the place. It's a veritable whirlwind of sound, and even on the few slower numbers, the passion is palpable. For the most part, it's non-stop mabalax, with the band playing like they're taking on an all-night sweat, and the man himself letting that high, keening - and utterly unmistakable - voice drift above it all. He's like a muezzin calling the faithful to prayer, and the believers in the audience let him know, long and loud, that they're with him. The sheer force of the music carries everyone along in its wake, the tamas echoing crisply, and riding across the beat, while guitar and bass offer both drive and punctutation to the music. This is how Youssou does it when he's at home - and it's a trip you really don't want to miss.