John Ngereza039s Les Wanyika Band - Amigo (9 tracks) +Album Reviews

Kenyan Nostalgic Pop on CD

Matthew Watters | Kell's Restaurant & Bar, Mongouge | 07/07/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This excellent album is long overdue. LES WANYIKA are one of Kenya's great musical treasures, and at last we can enjoy a whole CD of their soulful songs. The bands new recording of the classic SINA MAKOSSA alone is enough to make the recording worth buying. Listen to the interweaving of guitar riffs, the trade off between the rhythm and lead guitarists, that forms the heart of so many great African sessions. This is music to remind the initiated of the soul of Kenya in the 70's/80's, or to introduce the uninitiated to this joyful period. (Also check the cd KENYA DANCE MANIA for an original recording of SINA MAKOSSA)"

Excellent

michael ireri | Raleigh, NC USA | 09/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This compostion of Les Wanyika is incredible.Anybody who's a solid fun of this group from it's humble beginnings until the release of this collection will agree with me that it reflects how talented they truly are.It's entertainment at it's level best.However,the only regret is leaving out the track "shida" out of this meaningful collection.
This is one cd any true and avid fun of this group wants to keep for it revives your spirits of the 70's and early 80's."

Amigo

david bett | michigan | 09/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"it is a good music but i have been struggling for weeks without success to make an order.How do i do it? This music is my best classic of wanyika."

Getting around unavailability

Kariobangi | jax n.c. | 12/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Listening to these music brings tears to my eyes.The nostalgic value of these songs is ten times more than you will ever pay for collections like this.I remember listening to these songs on midwave radio back in the day when VOK was the only media outlet.Oh how time flies!

However availabity of these golden music is a huge problem as any connoisseur of fine art will readily tell you.I was offered a vintage LP disc of Simba Wanyika's "Shilingi Yaua" for $500.I declined the offer only because I did not have the money.

The folks back home tell me that most of these music is still available in River Road Nairobi in cassettes or cds.As a matter of fact there is a production company based somewhere in Texas thats currently buying copyrights from some of the local artists in Kenya,Tanzania and the DRC so they can try and make these timeless tunes available to a wider audience.Hope they get it done.

But the best way though is to have someone buy direct from the street vendors back home and send them over.Otherwise you might wait forever before you can get the chance to kick back, pop open a cold one and let these "carols" take you back to another place in time where life was much simpler and "Sigalame" was a household name."

Anything Less than Five Stars - What the Heck You Listening

Play It By Ear | Sacramento, CA United States | 12/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I hate to have to review this piece of perfection. If you were around during the Napster ("free") days you probably got a taste of how amazing this CD is. I saw a copy come up from CD Connnection dot com a couple of years ago and someone snapped it right up. Keep pestering people in the business and maybe you'll find a copy of the the best Rumba record ever made from Kenyan artists in the USA. Apparently the USA record company which released it will not press any more copies (if they are still around). Me, I am waiting for the last Youlou Mabiala record ("Infraction"?) which I can't get obtain in any way, shape or form. Anybody got a copy of Youlou's last record on Veve Records. I also want to commment of the price of some of these Rumba records like Franco /TPOK Jazz. A Hundred dollars a disc?! Say what? Don't pay this. Find Robert from Worldtunes dot NET (go to his web site and email him) and maybe he is still ordering Sonodisc records from France. He is a super cool dude who recognizes enthusiasm in the fan base. Also there are a couple of USA based African musican dealers but you are gonna have to find these yourself. They exist but you gotta dig deep (maybe not so deep)."

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