Customer Reviews

Rhythmatist

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As Stewart Copeland himself has said in interviews in the past, the drummer's pilgrimmage to Africa to study rhythm is a rather cliched concept in this day and age. Still, Copeland--former drummer & founder of the groundbreaking rock trio the Police--manages to turn the cliche on its head with this marvelous album. More than pure rhythm and drumming, Copeland features and samples African singing and vocal chants, in particular those by the wonderful Ray Lema, who wrote or co-wrote several tracks on the disc.

Overall the sound is rich, inviting, intoxicating. Animal grunts, chirps, and whistles blend together with the music and voices, and of course Copeland's own phenomenal drumwork. About half of the tracks are instrumental, including the driving "Gong Rock" (with Copeland on guitar as well as drums) and the whimsical "Samburu Sunset". Two tracks feature Copeland's love-it-or-hate-it singing as well, including "Serengetti Long Walk" where his hilarious deadpan monologue is preceeded by some absolutely stellar drum fills. On the final cut, Stewart and Ray sing together of the "African Dream", leading the listener off into a mysterious, inviting dreamworld as well.

This is truly a lost gem of an album, woefully underappreciated (especially when compared to the adulation and attention Paul Simon received for "Graceland" -- not to knock that fine album as well, but he is far from the only pop/rock performer to attempt to share African music and musicians with the rest of the world.) This album is not just for Copeland fans or Police completists, but for anyone who is interested in exploring unusual, adventurous music. Highly recommended, if you can find it!

The sound of African rhythms experimented with by Peter Gabriel in 1980 with his single BIKO and the huge success of Paul Simon's GRACELAND seemed to have taken hold of the public conscience while the bridge between the 2 THE RHYTHMATIST went sadly unnoticed.

Stewart Copeland for 2 decades has been acknowledged as one of the best drummers in rock music, some of the percussion on this disc is breathtaking. One has to wonder if Paul Simon himself didn't draw heavily from this disc while he was composing Graceland.

The album is 70% instrumental but you don't miss the vocals at all. This is truly music that can stand on it's own. Stewart does lend his vocals on a handful of tracks however.

Some key tracks are 'KOTEJA', 'SERENGETTI LONG WALK', and 'COCO' the last of which features some of the best mind-blowing percussion you'll ever hear.

If you're a music fan, and by that I mean an open minded listener, this disc will not dissapoint, and I assure you it will stand apart from your music collection.

Time will forget this disc unfortunatley, as for when it was released in '85 it was groundbreaking and still touches musical nuances yet to be explored by major acts.

Albums like this distinguish bands from artist

This is a great album with a unique sound (no surprise with Stewart Copeland). I think it's his best and one of my all-time favorite albums. The tracks seem to tell a story in their original order, and they fit together well. The music is a very pleasing fusion of African music, singing, and sounds of the wild with Copeland's recognizable style of percussive rock music. This is an original work of art - as other reviewers have said, an underrated gem.

Enjoy!

Hard to describe this album. Selections of music from a rare film Stewart Copeland produced and started in. The music, some in collaboration with Ray Lema, features African rhythms and virtuosity that predated Paul Simon's work by several years. Less frantic and hard to relax to than Copeland's other work (EQUALIZER AND OTHER CLIFF HANGERS and RUMBLE FISH among other notable soundtracks of this period). Some of the songs, incl. "Koteja (Oh Bolilla)," "Liberté," and "African Dream" are memorable. Copeland's own monologue on "Serengeti Long Walk" is hilarious. Some of the instrumental pieces are amazing to listen to, featuring trademark Copeland percussion finesse. Bottom line: only for aficionados, but doesn't deserve to slip into obscurity. This album somehow transcends its 1980s context.

I have to echo everything already said here, except to correct the review that states that this disc contains no vocals. More than half of the album does, in fact, contain a variety of vocals, from tribal chants by indigenous African tribesmen to lead vocal arrangements (mostly performed by Ray Lema), as well as some pleasingly strange narrative by Stewart himself.

Following on the brilliance of his "Rumble Fish" score, this record finds Copeland exploring traditional African music with the same kind of experimental spirit that made his previous film score so unique. While not quite as abstract as "Rumble Fish", this album fuses tribal chants, traditional African vocal arrangements and lyricism, traditional African musical arrangement, natural (animal) noises, experimental/improvisational percussion and drumming, and a variety of other clever tricks into a cohesive whole that takes the listener on a journey through the villages and plains of Africa.

The first half of the record is full of lively chants and typically melodic African song, highlighted by beautifully performed vocal arrangements and harmonies, much of which is sung in native tongue. As the album progresses, however, it takes a turn into somewhat darker territory, as it ebbs and flows through Copeland's unique and rather eccentric aesthetic filter, resulting in several instrumental arrangements that carry an energy and sense of mystique as intriguing as the Dark Continent itself. Track by track, one gets the sense that each instrumental is telling a story, attempting to describe the subjective experiences of an explorer in a foreign land, experiences that cannot be related through words. By disc's end, Copeland brings the journey full-circle, encapsulating the experience with "African Dream", a "duet" (such that it is) performed by himself and Ray Lema, which serves as a sort of "final act" or conclusion to the journey.

"The Rhythmatist" marks an important point in Copeland's development as a composer, as it is his first work to incorporate a completely different genre of music into his own unique style of composition, which is also significant in that it is one of the first works by a mainstream artist that attempts to bridge musical cultures in an authentic way. Though artists such as David Byrne, Peter Gabriel, Johnny Clegg, and Paul Simon were pursuing similar ideas during the same time-frame, it can be argued that "The Rhythmatist" was a landmark work for its time for successfully crossing cultural and musical boundaries in a legitimate way. As bits and pieces of material used for the album can be found in Copeland's solo meanderings as far back as 1980 (Klark Kent), the album was obviously a culmination of long-held ideas that had previously developed over a span of years, potentially classifying Copeland as one of the very first contemporary artists to consider such a concept. In any case, the formula would prove to be no fluke, as Copeland would return to it a number of times with consummate artistry and skill (see "Rapa Nui", "Four Days In September"). His uncanny ability to adopt, incorporate, and transform various styles of music from around the world makes him one of the most versatile and compelling composers of the last 25 years.

For anyone looking to own one of the finest artistic accomplishments of the 80s, this disc is a must-have. Though probably not the kind of fare I would recommend to casual Police fans, serious Copeland fans and ethnic music aficionados will absolutely LOVE this record. A masterpiece in every sense of the word, and though I am not quite convinced about the remastering job on this one, it is well worth the price simply because it is finally available again. Simply SHAMEFUL that it has been out of print this long.

Now, if someone would just wise up and reissue "Rumble Fish"...

This is one of the most creative and beautiful hybrids of African and Western music I have heard.

In brief, this is one excellent album for those who like to listen to one of the best drummers on this planet! There are no vocals in this album but don't let it put you off since Stewart Copeland takes you on such an innovative rhythmic journey that you don't want it to end. Not necessarily for those Police fans who are more into Sting's vocals and lyrics and/or Andy's guitar playing, but if you have enjoyed The Police because of Copeland, this is highly recommendable!

I cannot describe Copeland with words. And this showcase of what he can do with ethnic rhythms and sounds. You have to listen (and see him) to believe it!

I've loved this since college days IN 80's. This would be on my 5 cd's to bring to a desert island. What more can I say?
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Brilliant album from Stewart Copeland, in my opinion, sounds very much like the Police meet Paul Simon Graceland.
The first 4 songs are very much Police-like songs, without Sting's vocals. I highly recommend this album for fans of the Police.