2.0 out of 5 stars
strained performance, and loses the vibrancy, August 15, 2008
This review is from: Joujouka Black Eyes (Audio CD)
this group is totally ecstatic, but in making this studio album unfortunately lose all of the qualities that make them so vibrant. to translate their music for recordings, the Master Musicians have had to craft a new way of performing their songs.
one change they;ve made is in the length of songs. originally it seems they made crazy long, hour long trance inducing bacchanlia tunes. this didnt translate well to listeners of the early Brian Jones recordings. at some point they created shorter tunes that capture all of the main elements, ringing in at about 10 minutes each... for Black Eyes, they've truncated down to about 2 min per song.
the shorter length seems it could still capture the magnificence of this group- however, they've also slowed everything down, and strangely seem very hesitant in playing. overall, this album plods along in a strained and timid way, without a single song outstanding song.
i highly recommend finding a copy of "Master Musicians of Jajouka with Bachir Attar Live Vol. 1"... captures the amazing live show of the group, with up to date recording technology. probably the next best thing to seeing the group live (don't miss the chance!)
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