Out of the Soukous CD I have heard - this is the best. I love the CD's of Tabu Ley, Franco, Kanda Bongo Man, Kofi Olumide and the rest - but this CD is the most varied and exciting.
This is great music for dancing - from the first funky notes of track 1 to the end. But there are slower pieces, such as the great Patiance Dambany song. The guitars are indeed the highlight, but that doesnt mean that the singers are not excellent.
This is THE CD that should be among every African music collection.
This album has many strong tracks each with a slightly different flavor of soukous...soaring ethereal guitars, vocals, bouncing beat...great listening music, great dance music...
All soukous is guitar music; what makes this compilation 'Super' is the eclectic mix of guitar talents assembled on one album. Check out the brilliant Nene Tshakou (lead) and Mimi Kazidonna (rhythm) on "Sana", who interweave their guitar lines in typical soukous style. The variety of music featured makes this selection of value to African music lovers who want to explore names and styles from different central and west African countries, though unfortunately it is difficult at present to find other CD recordings by some of the best artists introduced here...Hopefully time will change that.
This is NOT a soukous dance album, but a soulful blend of guitar and vocal mastery. Long live African guitar music.
