Latest Reviews: V-Z

Various Artists: Putumayo Presents Mali

Putumayo

Think of this as accessible Mali, easy on the ear, but with real beauty. Tinariwen stand out for their spikiness, but the true joys come from Ramatou Diakité and Tom Diakité, both of whom have absolutely compelling tracks. The rest may not penetrate to the deep roots of other Malian compilations, but this makes for a good way in to the music.

Various Artists: Cold Blow these Winter Winds

Green Linnet

Christmas albums are dubious beasts at best, but this concert, recorded 2003 in Edinburgh, is an exception. With some wonderful talent drawn from North of the border, they rip into an assortment of pieces, from trad. to Shane MacGowan to John Prine, all with a grave, joyful beauty. It's that rare Christmas disc that can be pulled out year after year without palling - a recommendation by itself.

Various Artists: East Virginia Blues: The Secret History of Rock & Roll

Bluebird

Looking back to the '20s and '30s, this collection offers a glimpse at the roots, not so much of rock'n'roll, as of country music, with artists like the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and Bill Monroe. But its a time when definitions were thankfully blurred. Included is the first country million-seller, "The Prisoner's Song," some wonderful fraternal harmonies, and material that's been familiar to several generations.

Värttinä: Iki

Northside

It's seems that Värttinä's ended an era with last year's live album. This time around they're less frantic, with a more considered sound that might come from having lost longtime fiddle player Kari Reiman. The three singers work beautifully, both solo and together, and the band has a more acoustic, rooted sound than they've managed for many years, all tempered with experience. Hard to say the best album from this lot, but by opening up another facet they're seizing another way forward.

Väsen: Keyed Up

Northside

Recorded largely off the cuff, with little rehearsal or arrangement time, this is a stunning piece of work, testimony to the empathy the musicians feel. For all its rough and ready preparation, there's a smoothness and intricacy to the sound as the instruments move back and forth from center stage and support each other. They remain a benchmark for Swedish instrumental music, and keep setting the bar higher with each release.

Warsaw Village Band: Uprooting

World Village

The past very definitely meets the future on WVB's second international release. From medieval fiddles, archival field recordings and traditional material to the inclusion of DJ scratching, this is a record with real vision and a strong, vital sense of the music's Polish history. They've progressed rapidly from People's Spring and become even more hard core in their approach. Excellent stuff indeed.

Wendo Kolosoy: Amba

World Village

Second album of the renaissance for one of the original masters of Congolese rumba. He might be in his late '70s, but he's still a powerhouse of a voice, and his band - a mixture of veterans and young guns, is subtle but muscular. A couple of old songs sprinkle through the new material, and "Essengo Ya Ngai Wendo Na Moundanda" teams Wendo with his old partner Antoine Moundanda, on thumb piano. An a capella track ("Makanisi Na Wendo") is a joy, while "Kinshasa" makes a glorious end, an autobiography of sorts. Back, and better than ever.

Wendy Weatherby: A Breath on the Cold Glass

Lochshore

The cello might not be a common lead instrument in Scots music, but Weatherby makes it seem perfectly natural, with some relatively mininal backing - the opening song is just her voice and cello, and it works wonderfully well (she's also an excellent singer). An interesting choice of material, both original and traditional, with a fondness for Burns, and the type of playing that recalls a ceilidh in a distillery. A particularly excellent arrangement on "The Great Silkie Of Sule Skerry" completes an excellent disc.

Wimme Saari: Instinct

Northside

In a complete change to his previous discs, this is Wimme completely solo, using only his voice to create the atmospheric Sami joiks. Even to foreign ears, it works, perhaps because Wimme is so grounded and involved in what he does that he can nimbly transmit the feeling. Curiously, the pieces that work best are wordless imaginings, sometimes of weather. Add on some hyms - although not in the sense most people know them - and you have a record that's as stripped-down as possible, but also rich in culture and sound.

Wu Man: From A Distance

Naxos World

The world's best player of the Chinese lute, the pipa, shows several different facets on this exemplary release. In addition to playing solo, she uses other musicians, including sambles, beats, and turntables, to create some electrifying music. And when she electrifies the pipa, this has more in common with Sonic Youth than rural China's silk and bamboo style. She's terrifying good, both as a player and composer, and this accessible release is brilliant in every moment.

Yanju: Iwa

Self-released

From Nigeria (he won an Africa Kora award as best newcomer), now in the U.K, Yanju mixes up West African, electronic and dance music in a splended fashion. From the wonderful opening cut, with real tribal rhythm and vocals working over and around techno to slower cuts that are eerily reminsicent of Peter Gabriel (in the best way) this is a stunner of a disc. Yanju is splendidly inventive, a talent fully developed. Great disc.

Youssou N'Dour: Egypt

Nonesuch

Quite possibly the best album that N'Dour has ever released in the West, this stunning mix of Arab melody and strings with Senegalese percussion is a record of faith, of N'Dour exploring his version of Islam. Complex, and unlike anything he's released before, it's like diving into a web and following the lines to a conclusion. He uses his voice subtly, and with wonderfully controlled restraint over arrangements that dance with a beautiful complexity. Wonderfully melodic, it's a record that never fails to satisfy the ear, heart, mind - and above all, the spirit.

Zade Dirani: Zade

Windham Hill

Well, this is a first, a Jordanian New Age pianist. More surprising, perhaps, is the fact that it works so well. The piano isn't an instrument that normally works well with Arab music, and it's true that this veers to the West. But the arrangements have a strong Middle Eastern flavor, and the maqams do inform the keyboard playing. It never stretches to make its point, and the result is never less than interesting, a new direction for Arab music.

Zemog El Gallo Bueno: Cama De La Conga

Aagoo

Not exactly salsa per se, this is the slightly twisted Latin rock dream of Abraham Gomez-Delgado, who oversees everything carefully and completely. It can be mad at times, but there's no denying the power of it all, rhythmic, at times overwhelming. He's not afraid of being iconoclastic, and that's fine, he has a very strong, focused vision. This is an album that pushes at the edges, and that makes it very satisfying indeed.