Customer Reviews

Music From Madagascar

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

 

 

I should have reviewed this cd a long time ago, it deserves all the praise that has been bestowed upon it by previous reviewers.

I was recently at Allmusic.com and I decided to see if their reviews of this cd were similar to what mine would be if I wrote one. If I remember correctly they did praise it, but what I remember most is that they compared D'Gary to Ali Farka Toure. Aside from both men being brilliant, Black, and guitarists, there isn't much musical comparison. They play very different musics. I'd consider both men to be a book in their own right, not merely different chapters.

The only way I can begin to describe D'Gary's acoustic guitar playing is that it sounds and feels like a waterfall of love cascading over me. His playing ebbs and flows in waves of beauty. From both the songwriting and playing points of view, he really is a world treasure. He doesn't have the West African tribal-blues rhythms of Toure, and truth be told, D'Gary's music probably is more difficult for some Westerners to grasp than Toure's is, but if you are willing to let go of conventional ways of hearing and thinking about music then Malagasy Guitar will reward you endlessly.

If you're a guitar player and into playing technique, add a fourth star. This guy is for real, and it's staggering to learn that until after this album was made, he had never owned a guitar of his own. When Henry Kaiser and David Lindley went to Madagascar with a digital recorder and recorded the "World Out of Time" albums, someone played them a tape of a guitarist who had adapted the styles used for traditional Madagascar instruments to the guitar, and played like a virtuoso despite only picking with his thumb and index finger. Dubbed "the monster guitarist from hell", D'Gary was coaxed to the capital city, Antananarivo, where during the two-week "World Out of Time" sessions, he recorded this entire album. It is all acoustic guitar and vocals, with some occasional percussion. His playing has a dream-like quality. My favorite track is "Anary Tany". This is a pretty good album, but unless you're REALLY into acoustic guitar, it's hard to call it compelling. It makes first-rate background music and would be a nice choice for relaxing late at night or using the computer headphones at work. If you're not a guitar player, I recommend you first see if you can get a hold of the "Horombe" album, which is more accessible, has better production and better songs, and provides D'Gary with a backing band and great harmonies.

I had to take it out of the CD player in my car for fear it would put me in a trance while driving. I encountered this CD in the Amazon.com interview with Bonnie Raitt who found it deep and profound. It results from a field trip to Madagascar taken by among others, David Lindley, who, I think, used to be a side man for Jackson Browne and others.

D'Gary uses 11 different guitar tunings and the liner notes state that even those musicians who watched him as he played could not replicate his music. The music is extraordinarily fascinating. I particularly recommend the 4th track.

D'Gary lives in a small village that's a good 11-hour walk from the closest highway, and prior to this recording, he didn't even has a guitar of his own, achieving his technical brilliancy and astounding compositional chops by borrowing scrappy guitars from friends (that is, when he could find one). He did a impressive job transposing the vast musical heritage of Madagascar to the acoustic guitar, with results that can't be rated in words. It's heavenly stuff. I must say that he is the most amazing acoustic guitar player that I've heard in many years. Kudos for Shanachie and Henry Kayser for this release!! MORE D'GARY, PLEASE!!

I heard D'Gary on a radio show and immediately found the CD on Amazon. He plays a very unique open tuned finger picked style that is very complex and rhythmic but calm and beautiful . It reminds me of African Kora playing or other traditional folk instruments - but he is harmonically deep and deceptively even sounding on the surface - as a guitarist myself I feel that his technique is pretty much peerless - a bit like the African guitarist Koite but to my ears much purer and more fierce. He never seems to show off on this and I in fact want to purchase other CD's in hopes of finding some of what I heard on the radio where he totally cuts loose. BELIEVE me - this guy will blow any guitarists mind and blow them out of the water!