Sabah Habas Comes Clean
Scott I Parks | Montgomery, Alabama | 02/12/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Colin Bass is not a name that many folks know, but if there's any justice in the world, this CD will be the one that gets him noticed. Those in the know are aware that Colin spent much of his musical career under the alias of Sabah Habas Mustapha, bass player and singer with the legendary World music band: 3 Mustphas 3. After releasing two outstanding solo CD's as Sabah Habas, Bass released his first CD by his real name in 1999: the wonderful AN OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS. Now Bass has released this double-CD live set, recorded in Poznan Poland for Polish radio. The live set focuses on recent tunes like As Far As I Can See and Goodbye To Albion. Bass, who of course plays bass, has a voice many have compared to a smoother, less-warbley Bryan Ferry. His singing certainly stands up well in the live format and the band, which includes Andrew Latimer and Dave Stewart of Camel (Bass splits his time between his solo work and Camel) and a contingent of Polish rockers is excellent. It's Bass's songwriting that shines the most here. Songs like the Reap What You Sew and Holding Out My Hand are melodic and hypnotic, with a progressive rock flavor akin to Dark Side Of The Moon era Pink Floyd. Although Bass' set fills two CD's, he offers only one cut from his tremendous first release, an acoustic version of Denpasar Moon. It's a small disappointment, but I'd have liked more of the Sabah era stuff included on this live set. Nevertheless, this live recording will be a great place to learn about a truely talented musician. I'm not a fan of most live recordings because they rarely capture performances as good as an artist's studio work. This recording is an exception. It's crisp and clear and well worth the price. If you want to hear more of Colin, you can also catch him doing his weekend gig each Saturday (as Sabah Habas again) on the internet hosting a weekly world music show on Berlin's MultiKulti radio. My advice is : remember his name(s)."
Colin bass a bass player who commands the respect of all
Scott I Parks | 05/10/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"i first saw Colin in Edinburgh when he was with Steve Hillage that was when mrH was doing live herald of course one dosent pay a lot of attention to back up guys when Steve gets going. Next time Colin was with Camel holding it all together and adding a certain lustre of his own to the overall sound of the band both vocally and by his noteworthyness In Camel the entire band work as a unit with no apparent front man no ego trippers just the band playing it all for real thankfully this is also true of Colins own work and i would recomend it any one looking for a really good and original set"
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1