Soul of Angola Anthology 1965-1975 [Import]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 1965
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Lusafrica France
• ASIN: B00005BIQA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #374,402 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > World Music > Africa > Angola

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars (Soul of Angola) Happy music, sad lyrics: unbeatable!, August 5, 2005

By 

jqr "Know what free advice is worth" (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soul of Angola Anthology 1965-1975 (Audio CD)

Soul of Angola is a record well suited for those rainy-day moments in everyone's life. Even though about a dozen different artists recorded its contents over a 10-year span, the two discs hold together seamlessly. I don't understand the lyrics, but they come across as inexpressibly sad. Yet the music is often fairly uptempo and features bright guitars playing minor-key licks. The musicianship is absolutely impeccable; these guys all were born knowing how to swing.

"Mama Divua Diame" by Avozinho is one of my favorites. The singer projects a husky alto, then while the guitar solos away he contributes a spoken obbligato. The entire time, the rhythm section is absolutely in the pocket. These are obviously all dance musicians; they could play these grooves all night but, all the songs on "Soul of Angola" cut off after three minutes or so.

Put this record on when you feel exhausted and weepy. Listen to the first disc, and slowly the hypnotic rhythms will pull you back to your senses, while the lyrics assure you, "It's OK to feel miserable." By the time the the Jovens do Prendo mini-set in the middle of disc 2 comes on, the double-time guitar sambas of "Coio" and "Africa Merengue" will have you back feeling your able, normal (cheerful?) self again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, March 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Soul of Angola Anthology 1965-1975 (Audio CD)

Wonderful music...if you like this, I suggest you look for music by Bonga (he's got a great live recording, Swinga Swinga), Paulo Flores, and Carlos Burity. Angola 90's is another great recording.

You might also like some Haitian konpa music-try live recordings by Michel Martelly (a.k.a. Sweet Micky) and Tabou Combo.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, January 7, 2009

By 

Tianne L. Pearson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soul of Angola Anthology 1965-1975 (Audio CD)

Certainly different than what is in the net of music I normally listen to --which I thought was as wide as they come. After listening to the album I was obsessed with finding similar works. It's a rare collection of music that speaks to your soul, and satisfies your taste for a light sound that is complex and rich. There is nothing artificial or canned about this masterpiece that seems as if it marinated for 4 decades on soul and spice. Arthur Nunez has a track that is full of contradictions; your mind is stimulated at the same time relaxed. You feel as if you are drifting with the beating of the drum but grounded by soulful sound of this African ballad. A story is told that transcends all languages with the use of a variety of instruments one can only guess are native to Angola such as the Saxi (katchakatcha) or the Ngoma.