Customer Reviews

Long Way Home

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These are the top two guitarists of Madagascar. Dama (Mahaleo) as great as he is with guitar as well as singing, realized the talent of another guitar player, D'Gary and decided to sponsor him by producing a CD together... D'Gary had the talent but needed a marketing push. The product is marvelous CD that will delight your ears. In this album are Dama's titles that you will probably not find in any other CD: they are all masterpieces: Hiakatra Sa Hidina, Miavonavana Tokoa, Voasary (Iny izy fa hitako eny antampon-kavoana), Namana, Tongava Re!, Aza Manadino,Mbola Great wisdom and wit, political criticism and encouragement are all embodied in this work. I also liked and appreciated D'Gary's work. He is a fine artist that merit recognition. What a find!

The Kaiser-Lindley "World Out of Time" series brought many Madagascar musicians some Western attention, including these two guitarists. Dama Mahaleo has been revered in his homeland for 30 years as a musician (the liner notes call him "Bob Dylan and John Lennon rolled into one") and part-time politician. He is known for flatpicking in a style similar to Merle Travis. D'Gary is a guitar prodigy who never owned a guitar of his own until Kaiser and Lindley sent him one. This album was recorded in Lousiana during an American tour. Each man plays several of his songs (different versions of some of these songs appear on Mahaleo's "En Concert" and d'Gary's "Horombe"). The music is VERY good, but there is one glaring problem--the two only play guitar together on ONE SONG! Otherwise, each only contributes backing vocals to the other's songs. With its spare instrumentation, this is largely a folk album.

My favorite cut is "The Fisherman's Return", a jam with Dama on kabosy (a small Malagasy guitar with unusual fretting) and Cajun fiddler Michael Doucet (of Beausoleil). Dama's "Aza Manadino" is put over the top by ghostly backing vocals. "Namana" and "Tongava Re!" (maybe my favorite Malagasy song) are among other Dama gems; strong d'Gary cuts include "Andeso Aroy" (called "Mbo Hahita Avao" on the "Horombe" album) and "Mpiarak' Aomby".

I first heard Dama and D'Gary on independant radio, with their track "Be Cool." After that night, I made it my mission to discover the writers of that amazing song. After much research, I came across "The Long Way Home."

This CD is everythin I expected it to be. Soft, melodic tunes, coupled with rich vocals, nicely arranged. Some songs were a little too chirpy for me, but without a doubt, this CD was a worthy buy. You won't hear anything like this.