Sierra Leone music reviews

Putumayo is a great vehicle for touring the world -- you can do it from the comfort of your own home by way of some incredible music. This particular disc is an enchanting and rhythmic look at Africa and its many different musical styles. According to the accompanying and extremely informative booklet, Africa is home to over 50 countries, 1,000 different languages, and 3,000 different tribes. That would make this disc a brief glimpse of all Africa has to offer in the music world, even though it is a very comprehensive sampling - ten songs from seven different countries.

Many cultures have influenced the music of Africa over the years, adding to a rich diversity of both music and the instruments with which to play music. The music found here is as beautiful and untamable as the African landscape - showing the strong unbreakable spirit of a strong, enduring, and culturally rich people. As well as containing two previously unreleased tracks of known artists, this disc also contains music of people that have never been heard outside of their marketing areas before. A bona fide treasure to care for and enjoy.

Fundo Di Matu is sung in Crioulo, which is a blend of African languages local to the Guinea Bissau and Portuguese, which is the main language of Guinea Bissau. Manuel Leal Emidio Costa, or Manecas Costa, first released this song on his album of the same name in 1999. Fundo Di Matu means Deep in the Forest and the rhythms of this piece will have you swaying and moving to the music before you realize what has happened, as Manecas' emotion laden lyrics dance around the melody.

Les Go is local slang along the Ivory Coast for "The Girls." This group is fronted by not one, but three young women who are a part of something so much larger - the L'Ensemble Koteba d'Abidjan. The famed dance/ theatre/ music company which was established in the city of Abidjan in order to preserve the Mandingo culture. The director of this school brought the three girls together, and now they mix their cultural music with popular Western music to bring about their own unique and most definitely unique sound. The lyrics of this piece are in Bambara, the language of Mali. In this track can be heard the n'goni (a four stringed lute-like instrument), Malian flutes, drums, and even some modern studio effects. The end result is a stunning and flavourful almost pop sounding track.

Ke Cu Minino Na Tchora is another interesting piece with a definite Reggae influence. The lyrics are completely at odds with the upbeat, chipper melody. The electric guitar has a bit of a spotlight, dancing all about the drum beat and bringing a smile - until you read the lyrics, that is. The Criolu lyrics describe the pain and suffering which comes with war, and focuses on the children thus affected. Bidinte has a strong love for music, according to the liner notes he even changed his religion to Catholic so that he could play the priests guitar! Incredible spirit and drive are combined with some serious talent where this young man is concerned. I hope to hear more of his work in time.

Not only is this a great way to expose yourself to African music, it is a great dance disc. The rhythms are very strong and lend themselves well to such strenuous activity. All of the artists featured on this disc are talented and have something worthwhile to say - this is music with meaning and a deep regard for life.

Review Original Posted at LinearReflections.com

While people associate Africa with drumming,this album leans to the acoustic side.Putumayo excels in exploring world acoustic music,and this album is a shining example.Each song is perfect,haunting.

Manecas Costa sings of a long-lost love;Seydu sings of the plight of children during wartime.Les Go is a powerful trio of women from the Ivory Coast.Oliver Mtukudzi of Zimbabwe,who is on many Putumayo albums,has a beautiful song about the sustaining power of spirituality.Augusto Cego from Cape Verde sings of the melancholy of the sea.Aura Msimang sings powerfully of a mother's loss.Adama Yalomba sings about helping the less fortunate accompanied by an unobtrusive electronic beat;I wish I could find more of his music.Habib Koite sings about the problems caused by polygamy when wives fight;it's not the glossy version of polygamy presented on HBO's "Big Love",but the atrocious nature of it in Mali.Koite doesn't sugarcoat it.

This is a powerful album.Despite its heavy themes of hunger,war&polygamy,its music is relaxing&uplifting.

Putumayo does it again! Beautiful musical voyage of Africa with some haunting melodies. This is an enchanting album ...something you need to add to your I-Pod ASAP! My favorites are Raki by Oliver Mtukudzi and Sinama Denw by Habib Koite.

There are so many compilations out there, and this is one of the best. Regardless of how "important" or "representative" the songs chosen here are, they all sound great! A wonderful addition to any world or African music collection, and great for a beginner in African/world music!

This album is the sixth in a series of introductions to the world's great musical traditions. Each volume is built around a geographical theme and produced by an acknowledged expert in that area.

The African journey commences in Algeria and then heads South, stopping off in Cape Verde, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Gabon, Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar, before terminating in South Africa. The 14 tracks are representative but slightly atypical of their regions; most share a semi-acoustic yet modern and edgy esthetic. While a single CD cannot possibly showcase the music of an entire continent, these examples are a good way to get acquainted - or reacquainted - with Africa's stunning musical diversity. The set culminates in a moving rendition of the South African national hymn "Nkosi Sikilele I'Afrika," as performed by the Imilonji Kantu Choral Society, who sang it at former President Nelson Mandela's inauguration.

I was watching a video of Harry Bellafonte circa 1997 and on watching it I was amazed at how much the sound was similar to this great album by Abdul Tee Jay's Rokoto. Cross between a reggae and a fast jazz - having a hard time describing it but not a hard time recommending it!

Excellent! This CD is soothing yet percolates right along. It's perfect for late night driving when my husband's asleep in the passenger seat and also for get-togethers where conversation is the ongoing focus.

This record will break your heart as it fills it with joy.... every time. The smooth, soft, but never saccharine or cloying work is one which you will probably play over and over and over and over again; at least I couldn't stop listening to it....

I believe Mr. Rogie died soon after this album was made, which is too bad, because it's one of my favorites. If I found myself in a record store in Africa, maybe they could help me. Very mellow guitar music with incomprehensible patois lyrics. Very similar to Hawaiian slack key guitar music. Put on this CD, grab a beer and settle back in your hammock out in the yard. Enjoy!

The great Sierra Leonean musician Sooliman Ernest Rogie started his career in the early 1960s. He had a long string of hits of which the biggest was My Lovely Elizabeth. However, he only received a measure of success outside Africa in the late 1980s with this album.

Palm Wine music is a Ghanaian style first made famous by Kwame Asare; one of its most popular exponents was Kwaa Mensah. It derives its name from a tradition of being played in the villages during the afternoon siesta whilst the audience indulged in this beverage.

The sound is simple but elegant, consisting of gently flowing vocals backed by acoustic guitar and bubbling percussion. This lovely album opens with Joejoe Yalal Joe (I Lost My Wife), a gentle, poignant number with impressive guitar flourishes. Clua Koonde (It Knocked Me Out) is even more laid back, with long guitar passages between the verses, whilst Kekeh Kefarana (The Importance Of Children) is a moving ballad that sounds similar to traditional folk to these ears.

The tempo rises with Loe Loe Lalah (The Joy Of Love), which is one of my favorites with its lilting tune and lovely backing vocals. Ndomei Neneekpa (Oh Love) is slow soulful ballad with a more complex arrangement and Rogie talking as much as singing. There is delicate interplay between the parts with both voice and guitar and those with guitar only. This is definitely a highlight of the album.

The next song, Watigbe (Always) is mellow pop with a catchy tune, whilst Tourist Girl, sung partly in English, is a buoyant rhythmic number with a simple but effective hook. Another favorite of mine is Amoo Loe Lee (Let's Celebrate), a gently lilting folk-pop number with interesting vocal variation. Those who like the lovely sounds of Rogie might also wish to investigate South African singer Vusi Mahlasela, another musician in the folk tradition with a haunting voice. I highly recommend his albums When You Come Back and Wisdom Of Forgiveness.

Sure this song may have its basis around a Shirley Bassey song , however though it really is a great song. People are bashing this song because it samples, well if you haven't noticed half of the hip-hop and RnB music produced today has samples in it. Just get over that fact, the fact that a song has a sample doesn't make it bad. It just makes it bad in your opinion.

"Diamonds From Sierra Leone" is considered a relative flop based on the fact that the second single is doing so well in the charts at the moment. In my opinion this song is better than "GoldDigger". Even the mixes of other songs are great.

This song samples superbly and shows off Kanye as a producer (if we didn't know that already!!). It also shows off his talents as a rapper (again!!) and the music to this song just floats about in your head for a while. I purchased this song with Mariah Carey's single "We Belong Together" so it was hard to write reviews on both (go check my Mariah review!!). This song is musically deep an artistically as well, which is quite rare.

- "Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Main)" 10/10
- "Jesus Walks (Remix ft. Mase & Common)" 10/10
- "The New Workout Plan (Remix ft. Fonzworth Bentley, Luke & Twista)" 9/10

This song is one of the best hip-hop moments this year and shows that Kanye West is not slowing down anytime soon. The artwork on the CD is pretty amazing making the CD replicate a diamond.

This song is great, I don't know what you guys are talking about. So what he stole a beat? It sounds great, and every rapper steals beats. What's the beef with NaS? You can't say a rapper's "bad" just because you don't like his style. Anyways, this is a great song- if you actually listen to the lyrics it has meaning, also.

Hey stop dissing him. If you dont like his style, listen some boring NaS.(puke)Kanye is one of the best Roc-A-Fella artist/producer!!! And Diamonds is a great Kanye track. W/ crazy lyrics & hook!!!
Keep It Real Kanye!! WE GETS BUSY!!