A World Out of Time: Henry Kaiser & David Lindley in Madagascar

Henry Kaiser/David Lindley, David Lindley, Henry Kaiser

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 1, 1992)
• Original Release Date: May 1, 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Shanachie
• ASIN: B000000E2Z
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #113,047 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #3 in	Music > World Music > Africa > Madagascar
  #95 in	Music > Indie Music > World Music > Africa

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
In 1991 eclectic guitarists Henry Kaiser and David Lindley traveled to Madagascar, where they recorded five CDs' worth of material with dozens of musicians in two weeks. The world's fourth largest island, Madagascar contains some 20,000 species of plants and animals, 80 percent of which are indigenous to the island. Much the same goes for the many old, new, and diverse species of Malagasy music. The Americans' digital butterfly net caught master musicians such as Rakoto Frah, the John Coltrane of the sodina flute; modern salegy musician Roger Georges and his electric "tikita-tikita" rhythms; Voninavoko's prettily harmonized old-timey string music; virtuosos of the many-stringed valiha; the amazing D'Gary, whose career has been spent translating the music of Madagascar's various stringed instruments to guitar; and many more. The Americans' occasional tasteful accompaniments are highlighted by Kaiser's electric reproduction of a lemur's cry. --Richard Gehr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate introduction to the music of Madagascar, May 29, 2002

By	woburnmusicfan (Woburn, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This is the album that started it all, that brought dozens of Madagascar musicians to Western attention. Guitarists Kaiser and Lindley brought a digital recording deck to Madagascar and spent two weeks recording as many top musicians as possible, sometimes joining in with them. They recorded five full CDs, including the first two "World Out of Time" compilations. This one is easily the best of the three CDs in the series (it got way more of the 'A' material than Volume 2.) Almost every track is a gem, ranging from true revelations to the merely very good. My favorites are Tarika Sammy's "Hana", a Malagasy translation of an Okinawan pop song (probably Kaiser's idea) with phenomenal singing and great kabosy playing, and Rossy's rocking "Ambilanao Zaho". There is dance music from Roger Georges, folk from Dama Mahaleo (perhaps the most famous Malagasy musician), valiha music (a native instrument, a tubular zither) from Sylvestre Randafison, Tovo, and Voninavoko, blues from the 70-year-old flute player Rakoto Frah, virtuoso guitar playing from D'Gary, and a closing cover of "I Fought the Law" from Rossy. The only track that's hard to take is by Mama Sana, an elderly woman who sings in the Malagasy equivalent of a very raw blues style. Following the success of this album, many of these artists got the chance to release their own albums in the U.S. Sadly, everyone seems to have now moved on to the next big world music thing, and no Malagasy band except Tarika (a Tarika Sammy spinoff) gets their albums released here anymore. If you like this album (and you will), check out anything you can find by Rossy, Tarika Sammy, or Mahaleo.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars what field recordings ought to be, July 11, 2003

By	a superintelligent shade of the color blue (minneapolis) - See all my reviews

Ethnomusicology suffers from one of the diseases of Western science... the idea that you can, and *should*, observe without contact. They go out with the best intentions, do their field recordings of genuine peasants, and go home, with no more emotional contact than a hooker and a john.

This album (and others from the World out of Time and Sweet Sunny North series) is different. Henry Kaiser and David Lindley aren't scientists - they're musicians, adventurous ones with profoundly personal styles and great ears. They don't just record the proceedings, they participate as well. But they don't just use ethnic musicians as spices for their own recipes, a la Paul Simon or David Byrne. Instead, they adapt themselves to the local music - or stay out of it altogether, when appropriate. I have never heard a field recording with so much *respect* for the musicians being recorded, much less such excellent taste.

When i got this album a few years ago, i called it the best album i bought that entire year. It might just be the best album i've bought since then.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't get it outta my head, March 15, 2000

By A Customer

Heard it once and looked for it for 3 years and I've just recently found it again.It is a magnificent collection of intricate and rhythmic music. The emotion displayed in the singer's voices is just gorgeous. The album sleeve translates lots of the songs so non-malagasy speaking people can understand what the songs are all about. Some great stuff here.