Customer Reviews

The Rough Guide to Franco: Africa's Legendary Guitar Maestro

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While it is possible to obtain many various CDs of the music of Franco and the OK Jazz (also called the TPOK Jazz) in larger stores, there are two very good reasons to recommend this compilation. First, it contains very good liner notes, which provide a wealth of information about Franco, the recordings, the musicians, and the development of Congolese pop music. The notes were written by Graeme Ewens (author of "Congo Colossus: The Life and Legacy of Franco & OK Jazz") who helped select the recordings. [It should be pointed out that informative liner notes are generally not a feature of the African music CDs that have been issued up until now; the Rough Guide series has raised the bar in this regard.] Second, this is a great overview of Franco's career, with recordings from the 1950s through the 1980s. Some of his most popular, as well as most important, songs are showcased here. The recordings are arranged chronologically, guiding the listener through the growth of the OK Jazz from what was basically a band doing Caribbean rumba-style songs into an institution in African music with a distinctive Central African style.

Highly recommended. Good as it is, this should not be your only Franco CD, but it's by far the best selection for a first Franco CD.

The country that is best known within Africa for its music is Congo, and the musician who is best loved within Congo is Franco. And here is Franco at his best--highlights from early on in his career (starting with "Merengue," clearly showing the Latin influence in what became soukous, Africa's dance music) to late (ending with "Attention na SIDA"--watch out for AIDS--the artist's plea for others to avoid his own fate). My favorite sample of the harmonious vocals and soaring guitar solos (a soukous trademark) is track 7: "Où Est le Sérieux." Great music from a monumental African singer and guitarist.

This album helps you capture the spirit of a master of african music (franco).From early recordings until the end of a triumphant career, you feel the vibration of the soul of africa at its best.Franco's guitar and voice brings a flashback of history when that continent was a land of strong men and happy go lucky people.This album is really the sound of being genuine...

The songs are good and cover a good stretch of his career. I also appreciated the very useful liner notes, giving a background on all of the songs, which are mostly sung in Lingala or French. However, I also have a number of his other recordings, and some great songs were left off of this collection--how about a Vol. II and Vol. III and Vol. IV from the Rough Guide?

Altho I like some of Franco's music, I was diasappointed. Maybe I would have liked him live. I bet he had a lot of charisma. I just did not enjoy this CD. The songs were too long and somewhat repetitive for my taste. I love the Mali sound and Salif and Babaa Maal and Rough guide to Mali and Guinea and Tuku but this one for me did not ring any bells for very long.