Search - Chicago Afrobeat Project :: (A) Move to Silent Unrest

Talented group of musicians (drop the ball on the last two s

C. Rocklein | 12/15/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a fine cd, with the exception of the last two songs which go from bad to worse - and that's not a good way to end an album. As for the previous 5 songs or so, they are well in the 4 - 5 star catagory. The 1-star review below is a joke (don't reviewers know there are 3 stars between 1 and 5?). If you want another Fela album, buy one. Meanwhile, what you get here is a very talented group of musicians that certainly have the afro-beat thing going on and yet they do in fact experiment and tweak the perimeters a little. Gosh! Can they do that? I'd go see these guys any day. This is upbeat and groovy music that'll get your bones for the most part and certainly for the larger part of the cd. The final song sounds more like they're fooling around at band practice, and shouldn't have been included on the album as the last song (if at all), as the old maxim 'all's well that ends well' still holds true."

Very disappointed

Helen Calvert Carter | Guadalajara, Mexico. | 01/06/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I am a huge afrobeat fan and have a large and eclectic collection, and after having listened to the samples from this cd I was really enthusiastic about receiving it. As it turned out however I was so disappointed by it that it will not even be staying in my collection - I'm giving it away to a jazz-loving friend who might like it better. What I had expected from the samples was a collection of interesting tunes with catchy hooks and that unmistakeable afrobeat drive. There are a few catchy sections in this cd, but they are only sections in a few of the tracks. I really hated the Carlos-Santana-like 'soft' rock' guitar sections, and I felt as a whole that this cd was a very 'soft', only vaguely afrobeat-ish sound. I think anyone who likes Fela, Antibalas, Segun Bucknor. etc would be unhappy about purchasing this album. Anyone who likes soft jazz on the other hand would possibly like it very much. If you're a die-hard Afrobeat fan I would very much not recommend this. I had also intended to purchase the other cd by this band, but will not be doing so now. It's not that they're bad musicians or anything, but if you like the other artists I've mentioned I'm pretty certain you won't like this. As Afrobeat, for me, it does not have the drive or direction I've come to expect from this style of music. Antibalas just do it a million times better."