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songs that have been recorded countless times. The sort of album your mother would like. Entertaining, but not overly interesting and certainly not original. Brave though and if you are keen enough you can get a hard- backed song book to go with the disc.
www.suzybogguss.com John Atkins
ARNALDO ANTUNES, EDGARD SCANDURRA & TOUMANI DIABATÉ
A Curva Da Cintura Mais Um Discos MAIS07
Riding a revival in interest in Latin Ameri- can/ West African fusion, this album brings together a trio of musical heavyweights aiming, according to the blurb, to celebrate the spirit of collaboration connecting Mali and Brazil. Lining up are renaissance man Arnaldo Antunes, formerly of Titãs fame, now celebrated for his poetry and art instal- lations, rock guitarist Edgard Scandurra and Malian Kora legend Toumani Diabaté whose playing reverberates throughout this record like gentle rain.
The story goes that Scandurra and Antunes arrived in Mali with a handful of songs, hoping Diabaté might infuse them with the same kind of magic he has dished up for previous collaborateurs including Björk and the mighty AfroCubism. And he does. Diabaté has a great album and so do various members of his family. Virtuoso appearances by Safiatou Diabaté and Lassana Diabaté on stand out track Kaira – a reworking of an original Toumani Diabaté song – give life to A Curva Da Cintura. Throughout the album the Kora twinkles, chimes and riffs as well as it ever has, conforming Diabaté’s deserved rep- utation as the world’s finest exponent of this particular sound.
Diabaté’s input however can’t save this album from some of its weaker points. Throughout, the songwriting has a naïve, nursery rhyme quality which might have worked with more complex instrumentation but here sounds, well, naïve. Likewise the production is often sparse and clinical, depriving the sound of depth of feeling. Possibly the most disconcerting aspect of this record however, are Antunes’s lead vocals. The accompanying press release describes them as ‘sombre, almost mechani- cal’ and that pretty much hits the nail on the head. Antunes’s whole style is that of some- body with a big idea, indeed he is described as somebody who has embraced pop cul- ture’s myriad connections with the avant- garde. Ideas and concepts make notoriously bad tunes though and this album might have worked much better if he had stopped trying to prove a point and just let the music do the talking.
Occasionally there are glimpses of what this could have been. Zoumana Tereta of AfroCubism finds a great groove on Ir, Mão and Scandurra gets into some nice Santana style riffing on Se Voce but there always remains a prevailing sense that those involved are not quite letting go, and the album never gets into a stride.
There are some high points. Cara smacks of genuine Afro-Latin fusion with Diabaté’s kora sounding more Morocco than Mali and a street-life style chant from Antunes reminis- cent of Manu Chao, whose influence is stamped all over Antunes. Neblina De Areia also satisfies and, for once, the guitar is unplugged, assisting a more harmonious rela- tionship with the kora. The mistakes are too many however. Antunes’s vocal style sucks the joy out of the music, leaving even a light- hearted Serge Gainsbourg cover, Meu Cabelo, sounding heavy. Meanwhile Scandurra’s gui-
Antunes, Scandurra & Diabate
tar slips deeper and deeper into stadium rock reverie as the album progresses and delivers what can only be described as some cheesy solos, see Coração De Mãe for an especially vivid example.
The last track, Bamako’s Blues, is a case in point. Scandurra repeats a grade-1 style guitar lick over and over again in an instru- mental that just doesn’t progress and, just as you’re about to throw something at the stereo, Diabaté pops up for the briefest of stints, singing a beautiful blues refrain, his vocals stalked by a scratchy violin riff. And then it’s gone – the faintest glimmer of what this collaboration could have been. A Curva Da Cintura is a bold attempt at fusion, and one with all the right ingredi- ents. Ultimately however, it’s a record that just doesn’t quite come off.
www.maisumdiscos.com Liam Thompson
MAGGIE BOYLE
Won’t You Come Away WildGoose Studios WGS390CD
Maggie is rightly acknowledged as one of this country’s premier traditional singers, a song- carrier in the true sense who continues the tradition of music and storytelling passed down through her London-Irish heritage. Although Maggie’s been active on the scene for close on 40 years, and has contributed to many other artists’ CDs in addition to collabo- rations with Steve Tilston and John Renbourn (and of course the wonderful Grace Notes), Won’t You Come Away is only her third solo album (following 1987’s Reaching Out and 1998’s Gweebarra).
And yet, considering that Maggie’s is one of those voices that can reduce a room to silence with an unaccompanied song (as I’ve been privileged to witness at sessions hereabouts), it’s sad that there’s only one a cappella track on this disc – a spellbinding take on The Green Linnet. Having got that
one disappointment out of the way, though, I should stress that Maggie’s aptitude for engaging thoroughly intuitive supporting musicians is as noticeable as ever, and I wouldn’t for one moment underplay their contributions. The sensitive and highly responsive nature of the accompaniment is arguably nowhere better demonstrated than on The Trees They Do Grow High. Central to the texture is the unflinchingly expert guitar (/mandolin/mandocello) of Paul Downes, arrangements often further fleshed out by Maggie’s own flute, whistle or harmonium and Jon Boden’s fiddle, with (more occasion- ally) Dave Wood’s resonator guitar, Steve Tilston’s arpeggione and Dave McKeown’s clarinets, melodica or wind synth.
As far as repertoire’s concerned, there’s a certain degree of irony in that, for all Mag- gie’s reputation as an exceptional exponent of traditional song, several of the disc’s high- lights turn out to be her magical interpreta- tions of some very special contemporary com- positions. A crowning jewel is Frances Watt’s Dawning, a joyous, ingeniously polska-skippery test of Maggie’s proven vocal dexterity, whereas on Nick Burbridge’s Old Man’s Retreat, Maggie responds equally keenly to the song’s unique combination of serious intensity and lyrical beauty. Other successes include Steve Ashley’s Once In A While and the delightful Liza & Henry (penned by Joe Tilston, Maggie’s son) – for which she supplies her own gorgeous harmonies – and a fresh- minted, simple new take on Linden Lea (which Maggie first recorded, in a more fussy arrangement, on her 1996 duo album with Steve, All Under The Sun). There’s also a spir- ited take on On Yonder Hill (from the singing of Geordie Hanna), and I don’t think I’ve heard a more beguiling account of The Spin- ning Wheel – delicately lilting and authorita- tively considered, with the abundant expres- sive sincerity which distinguishes Maggie’s performances throughout this lovely disc.
www.maggieboyle.co.uk David Kidman
Photo: Malick Sidibe
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