Customer Reviews

Olu Dara - Neighborhoods (DVD Audio)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Indeed Neighborhoods picks up right where Natchez left off but on first listen I was disappointed. It took three complete playings for me to be converted into a believer. Now, I'm asking "Who shot John-man" and looking for alabama cornbread to dip in my georgia buttermilk! This album lacks the raw trumpet power so beautiful in the first album in favor a more polished, production oriented, modern blues sound. But the extremely clever lyrics and african-caribbean-Natchez-New york eclecticism will literally send you reeling. Buy them both and by all means...see a live show.

This is a brilliant CD. I have had it for a while and just heard a cut on the local public radio station so I went on line to add his previous CD to my wish list for Fathers' Day. It's a shame he hasn't recorded more. He's and excellent, eclectic songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and trumpter fronting a slick but rootsy band that incorporates blues, funk, world beat and jazz. The lyrics are full of humor and evocative details. Yes, there are some similarities to Taj Mahal but it's not at all derivative.

This album is a rich and varied musical feast. The title track, Neighborhoods, especially, is simply magical. Dara's masterful eclecticism of blues, funk, soul, and so on, is quality to core. Don't hesitate. ...but that's Como!

Neighborhoods picks up right where Natchez to New York left off. Olu Dara continutes with his soulful themes and bluesy gituar. This album is a perfect compliment to his previous works and will hold your attention from the first song to the last. At times the album can get a little slow and tedious but Olu Dara's soulful voice keeps you caught up in this excellent album.

I first heard olu on the radio show world cafe.org, i was blown away. The different influences come shining thru...blues, world, funk...man this guy is incredible.......I have an extensive music collection covering all genres and olu has occupied a spot in my 5 disc changer for months. I have let friends listen to this and they are all blown away......My words can not truly express how awesome this album is from song 1 all the way thru.......I jsut ordered the natchez album and can't wait to hear it......Thanks OLU and thanks to david dye at world cafe for introducing me to this musical genius.........If you don't buy this album you are passing up a truly incerdible disc!!

I cannot say enough great things about this CD. It is a rare thing these days to run into an entire CD that is worth the money. Each song is special and unique. Each song is filled with heart and proves to engage the listener into a world that one only dreams about. My favorite song on this CD is, "Tree Blues." It is the perfect closing song.

As the other reviewers have pointed out, this album really is a continuation of Dara's debut album "In The World." Now, this is both positive and negative.

The positive aspect is that the album is just as wonderfully musical as the first, and even more delightfully eccentric. The light-hearted "Herbman" is obviously parallel with "Okra" from the first album, and the folk song "On the Rolling Sea" has a lot in common with "Natchez Shopping Blues." In fact, the only notable difference in this album is the increased prominence of the Afro-Cuban sound, which can be heard in songs like "Massamba" and "I See The Light."

Ultimately, however, "Neighborhoods" is a little too much like "In The World." Dara really hasn't developed much as an artist since his last album. In fact, the artistic content of this album is rather diminished in favor of a more overtly appealing sound. But if you can appreciate Dara's simple creativity, or are merely looking for an enjoyable experience, you needn't worry.

At any rate, "Neighborhoods" is a fine album, even if it is sometimes bland. Dara's voice is still incredible, and his cornet and guitar playing is lovely. This album is just as good an introduction to Dara as "In The World," and is a must for any established Dara fan who enjoys his laid-back blues.

Original song writer and musician Olu Dara, reminds us that a deep, abiding reverence for Mother Nature, natural healing and earth-based spirituality is still alive and well, even in the heart of urban culture within his CD "Neighborhoods."

Daru lives in Harlem, yet his lyrics are so lush and green that they transport us to countryside. The ballads are saturated with the high perfume of spring flowers and the plethora of leaves that populate the forest. When one hears Olu Daru speak, his down-to-earth, straight forward manner bears a striking similarity to his lyrics. He credits lullaby's his grandmother sang to him as a child as the primary inspiration for his songs.

If you've grown weary from sexist lyrics Olu Dara's "Neighborhoods" will be a pleasant surprise, many of the songs pay homage to women. This CD contains a bouquet of styles; Blues, Afro-Cuban Jazz, American Roots Music, Soul and Rhythm and Blues. Dara's sultry voice exudes sex appeal heightened by the prominence of congas, tenor sax, and the harmonica.

I am drawn to "Herbman," "Used to Be," "Tree Blues," "I See the Light and a traditional spiritual that he rearranged "Out on the Rolling Sea." Reflecting on your relationship to earth and the sea while listening to "Neighborhoods" is the perfect way to journey within.

It's so rare to hear artist making music like this today so pure and organic in a world with so much emphasis on the material things how an artist looks in the video how much money they have how many material objects they have and how much press and media attention they can grab and how many records they sell. In a here today gone tommorw atmosphere music is almost deemed as a fad like the music being pused out to todays youth is like a new trend then the next week it's move on to the next artist jump on the next band wagon and deminish the true artistry even more, while the "Fat Cat" behind the desk who know s nothing of the music or the culture and roots behind the music he is pushing out tells the artist to act more Gangster act more Street if it's a Hip Hop artist if it's an R&B artist to wear more provocative clothes be more sexy get a make over, basically sell sex to underage youths and corrupt there minds while my pockets get bigger, here is an artist that cut all his strings and wwent out on his own and did his own thing no flossing here just pure god given talent and beutiful song writing it's fun it's real and it's what he feels and it's always good to hear other people sopinons on different subject matters makes you more open minded.

My freinds laugh at most of the music I listen to because im only 23 there like you shoud'nt be listening to that but wheter it's hip hop or jazz or blues or funk or whatever it annoys me that I have to dig for it everytime like I cant just turn on the radio anymore or the Tv and hear some "real" music Music is still in a dyer state and we NEED TO SUPPORT Real artists like Olu Daru and keep real music alive because what will our children have to listen to what will they have to sample if the Soulja Boys and 50 Cents of this world are'nt stoped then our childrens music will be even worse more watereed down more untalented posers and real music may one day die you may laugh klnow but that could be the reality of it even if it's not in our lifetime.

p.s

KEEP VINYL ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!