Search - Various Artists :: Rhythms & Songs for the Vodun

Incredible field recording

L. Wassermann | Miami, FL United States | 11/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an analog field recording made in Benin. Probably made with a Nagra, the overall recording quality is good for its era, notwithstanding some distortion in a few places. The different sounds of the drums can be distinguished fairly well. The drums are very close-mic'd, but unfortunately the voices are not always mic'd, and only picked up bleeding through the drum mics. So while the editing style (leaving in banter between songs) is designed to "put you there" the mic'ing techniques leave a lot of that experience out. The tradeoff is that the drums are very clear. But all that aside, the performaces captured on this CD are nothing short of amazing. If you have any interest in West African percussion and singing, I would think this CD would blow you away. Of the 20 or so CDs of this type I've listened to, this would have to be my favorite."