So This Was 2007

Over the summer holidays, I always look forward to making up a couple of compilation CDs with music from my favourite albums of the last year. This is now will be the seventh year of doing this, so I guess it has become a tradition. Some years the albums are easy to pick and the most difficult task is selecting which tracks to include from those albums. 2007 is not one of those years. I seemed to have been swamped by a flood of cracking music last year. I guess I could have taken the easy route and made this year into a triple set but having to make some hard decisions on what is in or out is half the fun.

2007 Favourites (alphabetically by title , five star rating)

Recent Releases

Grinderman – Grinderman (Aust)
Icky Thump – White Stripes (USA)
Lagos Shaking – Tony Allen (Nigeria)
My Name is Buddy – Ry Cooder (USA)
Orientation – Thione Seck (Senegal/Egypt/India)
Segu Blue – Bassokou Kayete & Ngoni Ba (Mali)
The Dusty Foot Philosopher – K’Naan (Somalia/Canada)
Upfront & Down Low – Teddy Thompson (USA)
Watina – Andy Placido & TheGurifina Project (Belize)
You’ve Stolen My Heart - Tribute to R.D.Burman’s Bollywood - Kronos Quartet with Asha Bhosle (USA/India)


Recent Compilations/Reissues

Booker Beats Vintage Afro-Beat, Afro-Rock & Electric Highlife From Ghana – Various Artists (Ghana)
The Lost Album – Salif Keita & Kante Manifila (Mali) 1980
Tropicalia – Various Artists (Brazil)

Older Releases

At Last! – Etta James (USA) 1960
Best of U2 1990 to 2000 – U2 (Ireland)
Kedu America – Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe & His Nigerian Soundmakers (Nigeria) 1992
Live Vol 1 & Vol 2 - Huun Huur Tur (Tuvia) 1991
Mermaid Avenue – Billy Bragg & Wilco ( UK/USA) 2000
No 1 de No 1 – Star Band No 1 (Senegal) 1982
Sangonini – Les Quatre Etioles (Dem Rep of Congo) 1986

My MP3 player has become my major source of listening time. My current player is only 2Gb so I periodically have a purge and remove content and replace it with new music. A certain sign of a favourite album is how long it can survive on the player.



By this measure alone, “My Name is Buddy” by Ry Cooder would qualify as my favourite of the year. The album is based around the trials and tribulations in Dustbowl America of Hobo Red Cat Buddy and his fellow travellers Lefty Mouse and Rev Tom Toad. The music and content is based in the mid 20th century of America covering styles like folk, country, blues , gospel and tex-mex drawing on the spirit of the likes of Woody Guthrie, Joe Hill and Pete Seeger. Cooder definitely has a message here but has certainly not resorted to mere political dogma (paron the pun). There is enough humour from the likes of bad meatloaf, tiny suitcases and footsteps to counterbalance police harassment, prejudices and dust bowl poverty. Given Ry Cooder has such a rich and diversified body of work and although he started his career with this style of music, this latest addition is surely one of his best ever which is high praise indeed.






Speaking of the spirit of Woody Guthrie and albums with cats on the cover, I thoroughly enjoyed “Mermaid Avenue Vol 11” the second instalment from 2000 of Billy Bragg & Wilco’s interpretations of his unrecorded song book.












Teddy Thompson on "Upfront and Downlow " choose to interpret a set of country classics by the likes of Dolly Parton, Jack Jones and Ernest Tubb. His voice is perfect for these bittersweet songs and his performance and the well arranged strings and slide guitar here certainly puts the ache into heartache without ever being melodramatic. There is one original here from Teddy which is certainly as good as any of the other songs. A really fine album.


A defining event for me in 2007 was my first attendance at Womadelaide in March. Salif Keita’s performance goes up there into the “Great Gigs (In The Sky)” category for me. Prior to Womadelaide, I had been mesmerized by “The Lost Album” a collaboration of Keita’s and Kante Manifila recorded in 1980 in the Ivory Coast and previously un-released in the west. At that time, the trend for West African musicians who wanted to hit the big time was to go more towards fusion with European styles of rock, jazz and funk in an attempt to capture the hearts and wallets of a larger western audience.


Keita followed that path himself and produced the classic “Soro” in 1987 in Paris but eventually the further the artists diverted from their roots both physically and musically the quality of their music suffered. ( I’ll get on to the decline of Congolese music later where the same occurred.) After Soro, Keita meandered steadily downhill into an afro-jazz quagmire, until he returned to Mali in 2001 and went back to his roots using a lot of acoustic instruments and traditional song structures producing two modern classics “Moffou” and “M’Bemba”. Then last year “The Lost Album” was released and it shows he always had this in him and was recording it some 27 years ago. Now it probably was a commercial decision to not release this material back then and in it’s current form it is a little rough in places with a bit of a demo tape feel but at times this actually adds immensely to its appeal as you get the feel of musicians actually playing together rather than the high tech over produced dross that was coming out of Paris. Some great trumpet work and as always very expressive singing from Keita.

The other great thing to come out of Womadeaide, was Tuvian group Huun Huur Tu. I was looking forward to experiencing throat singing. All reports indicated it was something you had to witness. Stand back and be amazed. And they were right it is truly phenomenal what these people can do with their tonsils. What took me completely by surprise was how much I liked their music.
Their stringed instruments were played with equal effectiveness on uptempo jolly gallops ( a lot of songs about horses) and poignant tonal pieces . I caught them twice in Adelaide and how can you top an opening introduction for a song that went “This one is from the 12th Century”. So I bought the double CD “Huun Huur Tu Live 1 & 2” recorded in 2001 plus another studio album (yet to listen to that one) at the excellent music tent at the festival and they sound exactly the same on the CD. I can put the album on and return to those two dreamy performances. One of the last reasons for still going out an purchasing CDs rather than downloading music is the packaging and extra information that some record companies go to. If I hadn’t bought the CD how would I know that on Track 2 CD 2 that Alexei not only did vocals but accompanied on tuyug (boiled and dried horses hooves clacked together) and xapchyk (rattle made from sheep kneebones in bull’s testicles).





On the other hand Kronos Quartet (USA) and Asha Bhole (India) had less impact on me with their live performance at Womadelaide. Maybe if I had been more familiar with their “You’ve Stolen My Heart . Songs from R.D. Burman’s Bollywood” I might have not felt so inclined to watch from afar whilst having a feed. Three days man …. You have to eat sometime.


But I did purchase the CD at the excellent CD tent. (Have I mentioned this was an excellent outlet? I judge a music outlet by the number of items that they have that I would like to buy. When coupled with a major life lesson regarding music that says : if you see something that you would really like to have and you have never seen it before in a shop then chance are you of won’t ever see it again , so to avoid a lifetime of regret , buy buy buy. This is why for many years I never had a credit card because I kind of knew places like Amazon could get me into a lot of trouble. )

Anyway back to Kronos and Asha. This is a collaboration between the American string quartet and the legendary Indian singer Asha Bholse , playing songs written for film by R.D. Burman (who just happened to be married to Bholse). By the way, Asha has reportedly recorded more than 13,000 songs and has more sales than Elvis and The Beatles combined, so the excellent sleeve notes tell me. The real revelation here is the brilliant Burman compositions expertly reproduced by Kronos Quartet. The excellent CD notes opens with these words
Just be forewarned: the more you hear of Burman’s captivating music, the more likely it is that his songs will burrow their way into your ear and make your head their home.
Pinning down the addictiveness of his music is more complex. Few twentieth-century composers ever fashioned melodic devices or plot twists that could transport listeners into fantasy the way Burman’s songs do.

I can relate to the burrowing into your head. This is definitely what this record did over a period of months. Not instantly appealing but with each play opening up and inviting you back to listen again and again. I have found this to be a common characteristic of many of my favourite albums over the years.


The same qualities applied to by "Orientation" by Thione Seck (Senegal) 2005, “Segu Blue” by Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Blue (Mali) 2007 and “Watina” by Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective (Belize) 2007. All were bought on the back of universal critical acclaim. Segu Blue was album of the year in the recent BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards Critic’s Poll and Watina was second. They all failed to grab me initially, but then each worked its magic and burrowed away.




On ”Orientation” , vocalist Thione Seck uses musicians and singers from Senegal, Eygpt and India to produce a intriguing fusion of styles. With lots of beautifully arranged strings and its Indian influence, it at times matches the tone and melodic delights of Kronos Quartet and although both Bhole and Seck’s vocals can soar majestically they do so at quite different ends of the register. Rather than a tribute, this an adventurous pushing of the frontiers project resulting in a unique and powerful album.











Segu Blue is based around a ngoni quartet lead by virtuoso Bassekou Kouyate who added some great moments to Ali Farka Toure's album last year. The ngoni looks like a cricket bat with a few strings and is a precursor of the banjo. This is an album of traditional music played in a traditional manner with no need to diversify or embellish for the western market. The album has a wonderful sound and credit must go to producer Lucy Duran for capturing the fine instrument playing so well. There are also stunning vocal performances from Bassekou Kouyate’s wife Amo Sacko, and Mali legends Kasse Mady Diabete and Lobi Traore that gives the album a surprising variety and depth.



These are some videos on the group and the making the album.











The Garifuna culture of African slaves in the Caribbean and South America is as fascinating as it is sad and certainly gives Andy Palacio’s Watina album and interesting backdrop. But to dwell on the story does not do justice to this project and the music. I initially loaded this album on to my MP3 player and listened to it straight through a few times and found it a little bland. For some reason I went into shuffle mode which I don’t often do as I prefer to take in a whole album at once especially for new music. I guess I am not quite a product of the digital age yet . Not that I don’t enjoy shuffle mode but I don’t think it is a good way to get to know new music. Anyhow, I am on shuffle for a number of weeks and tracks from Watina keep popping up (as is the way with the shuffle) and I am always surprised and impressed by how good they sound. On return to normal transmission mode, I am really blown away by these songs. Patience grasshopper, pays off again. It doesn’t really sound like any other type of South American music but it certainly sounds good. Sadly Andy Placio suffered a stroke last week and died at age 47.





2006 was a vintage year for retrospective African compilations for me and compilations always lead to further investigation of artists that capture the ear. This has lead me in 2007 to “No 1 de No1” by the Star Band No 1 from Senegal. This is itself a compilation of tracks by them from the late 70s. This was an exciting time in Senegalese music with the birth of the new radical mbalax sound with its stabbing rhythm guitars, stuttering taba drums, shifting tempos and wailing guitar solos. These early examples from The Star Band capture this sound at its rawest, most inventive and thrilling. It is a mystery to me that the incredible electric guitar players from Senegal from this era are not more well known. They truly are some of the wildest and most inventive I have ever heard.

Congolese rhumba or soukous may not be as wild and quirky as mbalax but it certainly can be just as exciting. Sadly the sound has descended into synthesised dross over the last 20 years. But before the decline, Les Quartre Etioles (Democratic Republic of Congo) made some of the best of its kind in the early 80s as demonstrated on their compilation album “Sangonini”. The strident beat propels this music along even when the singing is sweet and especially when the guitarists chime in with their hypnotic riffs. Certainly one for the hips and great for running.



On the other hand Sir Stephen Ostisas and his Melody Makers (Nigeria) on “Kedu America” from 1995 are often not in a hurry to get anywhere and can be found slowly circling around before reaching a killer groove. There is a great feeling of intimacy about this album which was reportedly recorded in one day on a trip to America. Obviously they have honed a tightness as a group from countless hours playing together. There is some beautiful guitar work which interplays with a wicked trumpet and horn section and the economy and inventiveness of the drummer is a stand out.




One of the great African drummers is Nigerian Tony Allen who was the driving force behind Fela Kuti’s Afobeat. He continues to make great music and his latest solo effort “Lagos Shaking” is another fine example of modern African funk.




And it is always fun to discover something that doesn’t quite sound like anything that you have heard before. “Bokoor Beats Vintage Afro-Beat, Afro-Rock & Electric Highlife From Ghana” certainly fits that bill for me. This is a collection of songs recorded by John Collins in his studio in Ghana in the 70s and 80s. The majority are by the house band The Bokoor Beats. It certainly has elements of the local highlife style but all the harmonica and call and response vocals have a distinctive up tempo joyous blues/gospel feel. This is not the first Bokoor Studio compilation I have. I have “The Guitar and The Gun” on LP which I purchased in the mid 80s and it has always been a favourite but it is quite different from this. Makes you think that Collins must be a special character to be able to keep an independent studio going in West Africa through out that time and to produce such diverse and interesting product. Definitely one for further investigation.



The Dusty Foot Philospher (2005) from Knaan manages to bridge Rap and Afro rhythms. Descended from a line of Somalian poets but now living in Canada after having to flee his homeland, the quality of his rhymes and the positive outlook helps enormously in lifting this above the mire that is modern rap.

I don’t make much of an effort to keep up with mainstream popular music. So it is more by accident then design on what I get to listen to along these lines and is usually on the recommendation of friends or workmates. This year threw up a few gems. “Grinderman” by Grinderman who are Nick Cave and a few Bad Seeds is a rough and rowdy rollick of a record. The sound goes back to the era of The Birthday Party of the early 80s a time incidentally when I did paid far more attention to this sort of stuff.

“Icky Thump” by The White Stripes is in a similar vein although much more dependant on the big guitar riffs to move it along.

The big surprise was how much I enjoyed Best of U2 1990 – 2000. I don’t listen to the radio (who does? Sports?), so was not really aware of most of these songs. The songs are well written and crafted with enough cutting edge to escape MOR blandness.



You could never label theTroplicalia movement that had a brief moment in the sun in the late 60s in Brazil as bland. The compilation “Tropicalia A Brazilian Revolution in Sound ” captures the spirit of the movement perfectly and all its inventive glory. Psychedelic samba. Sgt Pepper meets Sergo Mendes.

And finally more music from the 60s. This times it is 1960 and a young Etta James with her first album “At Last”. For a long period on my MP3 player At Last came before “Back in Black” by Ami Winehouse. It was an interesting pairing and a good opportunity to compare soulful approaches from two different generations. Etta James won on a points decision in the end and I think it was just the quality of her vocals got her over the line.

Which puts Ami in the list of very unlucky albums that I rate highly but in a bumper year just couldn’t crack the top list.
Other unlucky albums are
Aman Iman – Tinawarin (Mali)
Burlesque – Bellowhead (UK)
Rough Guide to West African Gold – Various Artists
Freedom – Burning Spear (Jamaica)
Oceans Apart - The Go-Betweens (Australia)