Customer Reviews

In Search of the Lost Riddim

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

 

 

I don't know where to start on this...I have been a Baaba Maal fan for years, and recently turned on to Ernest with Below the Bassline. When I heard they were working together, I suspected the results would be exceptional, but this!!! Any true music lover should buy this CD, whether you are a teenage death-metal fanatic, or a 65 year old classical musician. The interplay of Ranglins' guitar with the lilting Kora throughout this collection is a musical achievement that boggles the mind. The Kora is (technically) a more "primitive" instrument than the guitar...Ranglin works around the limitations of the older technology deftly, never exposing them, only supporting and enhancing with a virtuoso's skill. The conversational interplay throughout these tracks is a testament to musicians who listen first, play second. To any teacher of music out there: give this to your students after studying it yourself, then go over it note by note...it's like a manual on how to make great music. The first time I listened to this, it sent shivers down my back and literally made me cry.

I have only recently found out about Ernest Ranglin which is surprising as I am a Ska fan of long standing and he was the first artist signed to Island Records! As with other areas of music (Afro-Cuban All Stars) there has been a recent upsurge of interest in musicians from an earlier generation. So with Ranglin he is no spring chicken, however he is a very accomplished musician who you should hear. If you are nervous I suggest that you start with his "Below the Bassline" CD and then move onto this one. If you all ready know Ranglin then proceed with confidence -it is different but real nice, kind of reminiscent of the Ry Cooder/Ali Farka Toure CD (look it up check that out -superb stuff) but with that subtle Ska lilting undertone.

Ernest Ranglin at his best. His best collaboration also I find. This is a truly wonderful album, inventive and warm. Listen to "Anna", or "Ala Walee", those tunes will make you cry. Mind you the rest of the album is of the same quality : a Masterpiece !! Tunes are fantastic, open and imaginative, rythms roll beautifully, the music flows... Thanks to Ernest and the rest of the musicians for their wonderful work !

BUY THIS CD NOW... one of the best kept secrets on the music scene. Years ahead of his time, this will be an industry standard to compare others by when world music comes into it's own here in the U.S.

Ernest played WOMAD Auckland 28 February 1999, the last leg of the South Africa & Adelaide WOMAD circuit.

Prior to Baaba Maals show Ernest Ranglin did his instrumental set with a backbeat that was crisp and crystal clear. All the drops were in the right place on tracks like "Up on the downstroke" He laid it up so sweet & simple just like the master he is. Double bassman Byron White laid down some wicked wicked basslines that added a solid punch to a show that had everyone rapt. Baaba Maal called Ernest on for his show. It too was FANTASTIC.