Customer Reviews

CAPE VERDE

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this to be a most enjoyable CD. Its very rich in flavor that good international music has. Far from the 'hollowness' of some of the manufactured pop that we often get in the U.S.

You'll find a wide variety of beats, good range of voices, and themes of course change with the songs. There certainly are some more well known artists here such as Evora, Bana, and Fantcha (who is newer).

If you like this a bit or are even curious then by all means explore further and pick up more of Evora's music or even dip into the past a bit and get into some Fado. Having an extensive collection of international music in spanish, portuguese (understanding the language helps too), and others I'd say this one is among the better ones.

If you enjoy the Putumayo collections in general, then you will surely lust for Cape Verde. The beautiful singing (mostly in Portugese) combined with the complex African rhythms keeps your interest, whether you want to dance or just listen. If you have the "Islands" collection, you can listen to the two from tracks from Cape Verde. If you like those, you'll really like this new collection. Keep up the good work, Putumayo.

EXCELLENT! 2 can dance to this music together. After hearing this Happy music, listener is left in a positve frame of mind.

This is the perfect CD for EVERY occasion: friends over, cleaning the house, relaxing with wine....I absolutely love it. It makes me feel like I'm back in Rio with a warm breeze and love all around . It never fails to put me in a good mood. My only complaint is that there aren't MORE songs so I could listen to the same type of music for hours on end without having to re-start the CD. It's definitely my most well-worn piece of music.

God I love this CD!I have TONS of world music and especially like French Caribbean and Cuban.
I only recently discovered the music of Cape Verde and find it's unique combination of African rhythms, guitar and primitive instruments to be especially stimulating, romantic and exotic. It is a true celebration of life as I find so much Island music to be. This and An Afro-Portuguese Odyssey are the two best Putumayo CDs as far as I'm concerned. I play them over and Over and OVER, and they get better each time! Where has this music been all my life!?! I've GOT to visit Cape Verde!

Lovely, lilting music that's also sophisticated and fun. If this is what Cape Verde sounds like, I want to live there! Of the Putumayo CDs I own, one of my definite favourites.

I thought it was another Brasilian style CD, but Cape Verde is simply unique. These songs are good not only for dancing, but for a relaxing evening. This is my first Cape Verdean music CD, but definitely not the last one. It opened to me a new world of music.

If a had recommend a capeverdean compilation, it would be "Cape Verde". I have the CD, and it's one of the few capeverdean CD's that I enjoy every single song. When I first bought the CD, I was wondering why they had a funana (#10. Tchon Di Massa Pe - Zeca Di Nha Reinalda/Joao Cirilio/Blick Tchutchy) among those nice mornas and coladeras... but to my enjoyment it was a nice coladera (TI JON POCA" by Ildo Lobo) instead of the fast paced funana.

The music of Cape Verde sounds somewhat similar to Jamaican music, but slower and more mellow. Most tracks have multiple guitars, with a guitar providing the rhythmic form similar to the guitars in roots reggae. Most tracks also include different percussive instruments, and/or brass.

Growing up in the Caribbean, this sounds sounds very similiar, but as if you slowed down our music to 3/4 tempo.

As usual with Putumayo compilations there is plenty of variety and it does not get monotonous or old. Listen to this one when you want to relax and take it easy.

The CD opens with what is possibly the best cut of this compilation, the hauntingly beautiful "Chico Malandro (Bad Boy)" by Ana Firmino and Tito Paris. Lyrically, he song deals with love, and musically it consists of a series of returning choruses that alternate with verses. This dual form is further reinforced within each of the verses, when Ana Firmino's calls in a higher octave are followed by her own response an octave lower. But it is that sense of bittersweet yearning that gives this song (indeed the whole Cape Verde album) its mysterious quality. This mood carries over to the next cuts, Boy Gé Mendes's "Cumba Iêtu," with a more percussive Latin feel, the Brazilian flavored "Pays Sol (Sun Country)" by Nana Matias, accordion-driven "Nha Fe (My Faith)" by Teofilo Chantre and "Cabo Verde Manda Mantenha (Cape Verde Sends its Greeting)" by Cesaria Evora, Cape Verde's first international star.

Bana's African "Cabinda a Cunene (Cabinda to Cunene)" and Maria Alice's "Sol Na Tchada (Sun on the Field)" (with a curious klezmer arrangement) maintain the feel until the compilation runs out of steam. The next five cuts must've been included for their messages and political significance and only "Tchon di Massa Pé (On Solid Ground)" stands up musically to the previous examples.

Still, Putumayo did an excellent job selecting, packaging and popularizing these songs. In our increasingly homogeneous global culture it is refreshing to know there are some unique cultural expressions left, although they are disappearing fast. Maybe that's one of the reasons that make 'sodade' such a universal emotion...