Trax
09/13/2007
COLOMBIAFRICA — THE MYSTIC ORCHESTRA, Voodoo Love Inna Champeta Land (Riverboat): Recorded in Bogota and Paris by open-eared musicians from Africa and Colombia, this ingratiating platter melds Colombian street champeta, Congolese soukous, South African mbaqanga and Afrobeat rhythms. The best-known guests are guitarist Sékou Diabaté and Kékélé Orchestra vocalist Nyboma, but star trips take back seat to the celebratory communal vibe as the Mystic Orchestra traces Afro-Colombo roots from Africa to South America and back again. Fans of cumbia and African highlife music are advised to seek this out.
www.myspace.com/colombiafricaorchestra
JIM LAUDERDALE, Bluegrass Diaries (Yep Roc): The ever-prolific Lauderdale, who released two albums in 2006 and has two more in the pipeline for release this coming year after “Diaries,” smartly showcases his craftsmanship and steps away from his customary honky-tonk. With astute dobroist Randy Kohrs thoughtfully helming the proceedings, Lauderdale struts his stuff with some heavyweight co-writers (J.D. Souther, Melba Montgomery, Shawn Camp, Odie Blackmon), but the most piercing melody, “I Wanted to Believe,” is one of his solo compositions. Like the rest of this rewarding album, it pairs his powerfully elastic tenor with a worthy harmony partner (here, Cia Cherryholmes; elsewhere, Dave Evans), and offers a sturdy, melodically true addition to the modern bluegrass canon. In stores Tuesday. www.jimlauderdale.com
VARIOUS ARTISTS, Cinematic: Classic Film Music Remixed (Six Degrees): This 14-track collection is indeed cinematic, and not just because the original compositions are among Hollywood's most classic scores, including “Birdman of Alcatraz,” “Some Like It Hot” and “The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3.” Remixers like Philly hip-hopper King Britt, Shawn Lee and Shrift bring a panoramic scope and grandeur to arrangements in which subtle themes from the originals are made dominant. The most effective examples are Bombay Dub Orchestra's elegantly Asian recasting of the “Love Theme from Ben-Hur” and King Britt's dramatically funky twist on the main title theme from “They Call Me Mr. Tibbs” (though vocal raps on an alternate track subtract from rather than add to the original). Kudos also to the Real Tuesday Weld's Ellington salute in “Paris Blues” and Gaudi's hallucinatory reworking of the theme from “Carrie.”
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