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ASMARA ALL STARS Eritrea’s Got Soul Outhere Records OH016


Here’s a rarity - thanks to the Alliance Française and producer Bruno Blum, a new recording from poor beleaguered Eritrea. Inward-looking land of military pomp and pageant, economy in free fall, everybody emi- grated who could, a state guided entirely by fear and loathing of neighbouring Ethiopia – what a surprise that such a lively spread of music should emerge from it. Not such a sur- prise, however, that Eritrean music bears much similarity to that of its southern neigh- bour, given that many of the musicians fea- tured in the Ethiopiques series were in fact Eritreans. So – same slippery emotionalism to the vocals, same nervous pressure, same David Lynch spooky-organ, same truncated scales, same liking for weary-camel-plod beats and krar lutes, both amplified and raw.


And then there’s reggae. At its best, Eritrean reggae has a whole new voice, a dark and matured flavour, Caribbean roots learned and ancient Horn of Africa added. But even with Eritrean vocals, reggae doesn’t sit so well beside more traditional local music or the more florid outpourings of glittery crooners, or even Eritrean rap. It’s just too much itself; it takes over. Fling it out IMHO. Local is better: Temasgen Verad, for instance. What a good singer! Darawit Zeragbir! Soft and beautiful vocals over a marvellous floating gwaila riff. If you want music for the nitespot at the end of the world, look no further. Eritrea has indeed got soul. Time now for a more focused album, less of an overview sampler project.


www.outhere.de – distributed in the UK by Proper: www.properdistribution.com


Rick Sanders


BUDDY GUY Living Proof Silvertone/ Jive 88697-78107-2


CYNDI LAUPER


Memphis Blues Mercer Street Records / Downtown DWT70208


On the first track of his new CD, Buddy Guy proclaims that he’s “74 years young, but I feel like I’m 21” – and ain’t that the truth dear people! Buddy still retains all the vigour and vitality of his youth… and some. With his voice roaring like a lion and his guitar playing scorching everything in sight, he sets track after track ablaze, only slowing down on a couple of songs to accommodate the more lyrical guitar style of guest Carlos Santana and the senior Mr B.B. King who duets with Buddy on Stay Around A Little Longer (and we sure hope they both will). All songs on Living Proof have been co-authored by producer Tom Hambridge either with Buddy Guy, Richard Fleming or Gary Nicholson. The partnership with Hambridge has paid dividends as Living Proof not only sounds both fresh and vibrant, it’s also the most cohesive album Buddy has recorded in some time. A real cracker!


buddyguy.net jiverecords.com


You don’t just have to be a Chicago leg- end to sing the blues… even a pop diva can get ‘em too (and the occasional Welshman!). The real surprise is just how well Cyndi Lauper delivers them. She’s made exactly the right move by engaging some of the most sterling musicians she could find to raise the bar. Kick- ing off with Little Walter’s Just Your Fool with Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Ms. Lau- per sets out her stall – that this is gonna be a whole lot more than a vanity project. For the second track Allen Toussaint gets behind the piano and then stays to back up B.B. King and Cyndi duetting on Early In The Mornin’. After a swoon with Lil Green’s Romance In The Dark, Cyndi sings another duet, How Blue Can You Get?, this time with bluesman Jonny Lang


ing remastering job, an attractive new sleeve design and fresh and informative sleeve notes from Shirley herself add considerably to the sense of event that surrounds it.


www.thebeesknees.com – distributed by


Proper; www.shirleycollins.com Colin Irwin


HEIDI TALBOT The Last Star Navigator 043


Irish singer Heidi Talbot cut her teeth singing with Cherish The Ladies, but really came to notice with the release of her first ‘solo’ album In Love And Light. Now residing in Scotland with partner/ multi-instrumentalist/ producer John McCusker, her second album seems set to establish her star firmly in the ascendant.


Heidi Talbot


who later, playing some raw guitar, helps her really get down on Crossroads. There’s also fine (slide) guitar work by Mississippi’s Kenny Brown on Rollin’ And Tumblin’ which finds Cyndi fearlessly sparring vocal lines with the great Ann Peebles. If you can get past the cover photo of Cyndi upside down, pouting into a microphone, you’ll find some great music, played by some great musicians, and sung by a lady who sure knows how to put across those Memphis blues.


http://cyndilauper.com Dave Peabody


SHIRLEY COLLINS Sweet England Fledg’ling FLED3080


The “high priestess of psych folk” – as I enter- tainingly heard her described t’other day – seemingly has an army of young admirers who will hungrily devour this re-release of her first album. Good for them and good for Shirley Collins, who was 22 when she record- ed it (and sounding not a day over 17) in 1958. She’d been living and working with Alan Lomax for two years already so she was- n’t exactly a folk innocent, though simplicity, freshness and primitive banjo arrangements are its primary attractions.


A long, long way from the experimental duets with Davey Graham, the sophisticated arrangements with her sister Dolly and the folk-rock pioneering with the Albion Country Band that were to contribute so powerfully to her reputation as such an influential fig- ure, it nevertheless has the same dignity and elegance which has always been her hallmark and, despite – or perhaps because of the technical advances colouring the music all these decades along the path – its very naivety even works in its favour. There are irritations and frustrations, of course there are. For a singer so deeply embodying the heart of English folk song, the sometimes overbearing American influence – which even spreads to occasional transatlantic intona- tions in her singing – comes as something of a shock while you wonder what the hell ever persuaded her to visit The Lady & The Swine, which I have to fast-forward every time it pops up. Yet there’s still something classically regal about the way she sings the likes of The Bonny Labouring Boy, Barbara Allen and Blackbirds & Thrushes and her unaccompa- nied Pretty Saro is still spellbinding.


Guest musicians John Hasted, Guy Carawan and Ralph Rinzler supplement the primitive accompaniment, while an outstand-


Despite – or perhaps because of – a sup- porting cast that reads more like a ‘who’s who’ (Carr, Cutting, Cunningham, Drever, Hewer- dine, McGoldrick, Polwart, Reader, to name but a few), the arrangements are largely quiet and gentle, usually just starting with low-key guitar and fiddle accompaniment before any further adornment. The result is that Heidi’s wonderful voice consistently provides the focal point of the album; her singing –with a bittersweet edge – always staying just shy of the ‘little girl’ vocals affected by some others.


Opening with a version of Willie Taylor (with a slight Irish twist in the tale), Tell Me True follows – a traditional-sounding love song in strict waltz time, but actually written by Talbot & McCusker – and seems destined for much wider exposure. And so the album continues, mixing traditional songs with new ones from writers steeped in the tradition. The beautiful title track is another Talbot & McCusker collaboration (that man really does know how to write memorable waltz tunes – Start It All Over is another), and Heidi’s treat- ment of the latter Karine Polwart/ Battlefield Band favourite is just delightful.


Beautifully produced and put together,


The Last Star is one of those rare gems of acoustic music: understated, subtle and inti- mate, but brimming with quiet confidence. A real grower: nothing flash, no fireworks, but always with something new to offer. It’s scarce- ly been off the player since it arrived, and is without doubt one of my albums of the year.


www.navigatorrecords.co.uk – distributed by Proper: www.properdistribution.com


Bob Walton


HASSAN ERRAJI Awal MaraWorld Village 450007


As a live performer, Leeds-based Moroccan multi-instrumentalist Hassan Erraji has the ability to lift a crowd with an infectious com- bination of warmth, energy, musical prowess and sheer force of will. A tough one to trans- late to a recording, but this (his first for over a decade) gets somewhere close.


Erraji has always juggled various musi- cal traditions of his homeland with more contemporary influences from the West and here he’s really thrown himself into it. Awal Mara was recorded at the Kaiser Chiefs’ stu- dio, features a rock rhythm section (one of whom has since gone off to tour with Corinne Bailey Rae) and is produced by Dave Cressfield who’s previously worked with Embrace and the aforementioned Kaisers. Hell, he even called his last tour “The Moroccan Rollers Tour”, so he’s clearly no slave to tradition. And yet Erraji’s oud, qanun, North African violin, darbucka and nay, as well as his straightforward singing voice, conjure up the Atlas Mountains, the medinas of Marrakech and all Moroccan points between.


Photo: Philip Ryalls


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