Customer Reviews

Somnabulista

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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I found this by accident. Actually, make that "happy accident." It never ceases to amaze me how much of what I like has its roots in Barcelona, and this group is no exception. The whole time I was listening to it I was thinking "where have I heard this before..." Then I read the liner notes and realized "Barcelona." The CD captures the essence of what it is to walk through Barrio Gotico, down the Ramblas, or though barrio chino at night. A little edgy, a little out there. Perfectly comfortable on the street.

After a awesome debut album (2002), I wondered if they could keep up the same level of brilliance in their second CD. To my delight, they did! My record/CD collection is fast approaching 1,000 entires, and I would place anything Brazzaville easily into the top 100.

Perhaps best known to the public for their haunting ska-raggae piece "Old man Dub" currently being used by the Ford Motor Company for the 2002 Thunderbird commercial ("The race"), Brazzaville's music hits at many levels.
I was initially drawn to the piece used in the commercial, being a great fan of reggae that features a horn section and bought the CD expecting more of the same in the album. I actually was quite surprised at the breadth of the music. To call it jazz or ska or reggae doesn't quite capture the full richness of the music. "Air Mail" and "Foreign Disaster days" do have that jazzy feel to them - but a very hip modern jazzy feel - like it belongs in a South Beach Cafe on a Friday night. Precise guitar work that betrays a very Les Paul heritage. "Sandman" & "Casa Batllo" takes on a more samba or Cuban Jazz flow with crisp keyboard work. While "Boeing" & "4am Osaka" have heavier guitar work with a rock and roll edge. It is definately and interesting journey - song to song with enough variety to make the listener pay attention to the music.

"Old man Dub" has tight reggae riffs to make Burning Spear proud - now I that I have listened to it, I think an album that reproduced that genre from song to song would have been a tad monotonous. All in all a very entertaining album that takes you some very well sophisticatedly executed pieces that never leave you bored. Like a fine a wine and good cigar, this album leaves you a better person for the experience. Full marks.