Search - Various Artists :: Master Drummers of Dagbon, V. 2

The cd that started it all (for me)

Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 06/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was the very first African cd I ever bought. I don't remember what grade I was in but I know I was in highschool so it's probably been about 10 years ago that I bought it. This cd deserves to be reviewed.



The thing that continues to really get me about this album is that if you just give it a lazy listen you will miss what is actually going on with this music. Some of the songs have an overall contour that may seem like constant repetition if you aren't really paying attention. However, if you are actually listening to it (and not just playing it in the background as you do other things) there is a world of overlapping rhythmic complexity changing and turning inside all of these songs. These drums also have unique tones. A rubberyness. A really tight bounce I love. Also, it just struck me that all this time I forgot about Volume One! I don't have that one but I'll have to correct that situation soon.



This is really an incredible cd to listen to outside at night. I've listened to it while sitting around a campfire by a river at night before and it was a really beautiful experience. Sitting still would be quite a feat during this cd. This is really a great example of one of the communal dance musics for which West Africa is known. This cd may almost make you wish you knew all your neighbors and could all come together and dance together to some of the many rhythms of life. I really feel lucky that I decided to take a chance on this recording when I stumbled upon it way back when. It really jump-started an entire world of interest in Indigenous African musics for me, and even now that I am much more knowledgeable than I was then it still holds up as a classic recording."