The Rough Guide To The Music of Ethiopia

Various Artists (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 15, 2004)
• Original Release Date: February 24, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: World Music Network
• ASIN: B0001AV59O
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #100,426 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
While bleak television images of starving people mar the reputation of Ethiopia, the reality is that Ethiopian civilization reaches back 3000 years to King Solomon and Queen Sheba. In modern times, the country and its capitol, "swingin'" Addis Ababa, was a symbol of Westernized cultural enlightenment in Africa. It all came crashing down in 1974 when a Stalinist military dictatorship took control of the country. Compiled by Francis Falceto, who also put together the fantastic Ethiopiques series, these 15 tracks are culled from that collection and other single-artist releases to present a broad array of Ethiopian music, much of it recorded before 1974. Here, we go from the funky grooves of Wallias Band to the smooth jazz style of Mogès Habtè to the warm balladry of Girma Bèyenè to the Latin flavor of Fanayé Tesfayé to traditional Ethiopian music. A great place for the inquisitive to begin, this is an exceptional overview of a scene only recently remembered. -- Tad Hendrickson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent sampler for great ethiopian music, April 9, 2005

By	marcabru - See all my reviews

Samplers usually contain a couple of interesting cuts with lots of dogs but this overview of the ethiopian music scene from the 70s to early 90s is killer with no filler. The only drawback is the sound quality of a few of the cuts from the 70s, but this was the golden age of ethiopian music. This is much more intense music than the usual world muzak heard today or most other sub-Saharan music for that matter. The great singers of the 70s such as Ahmed, Gessessee or Eshete were also blessed with fantastic backup bands drawn from the famed Ethiopian army and police bands. These bands were European trained and extraordinarily tight. James Brown wouldn't have complained. Be advised that more recent Ethiopian music of the last 5- 10 years has gradually become more bland like other world music so recent work by artists such as Ahmed will not be as interesting as their work in the 60s-80s.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rough Guide To The Music of Ethiopia , June 14, 2006

By	Jane Doe "Jane" (Florida, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This is a great sampler. I've been looking for these golden collections for a while; Ethiopian artists have their own unique way of expressing love. I remember as a young girl listening to my father's collection which included many of Ethiopiques volumes. Our country musicians have a lot to offer, I hope for them to share their talents with the world. I believe one day it will be known for its wonderful variation of music instead of bad images that hang over the country.