Search - Various Artists :: African Pearls 5: Congo 70 - Rumba Rock

A perfect collection.

Bryan Newbury | 12/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pretty wild that this disc hasn't received reviews yet. For anyone into Congolese music... or African music in general... this is a no brainer of a buy. Beyond the mandatory cuts by Franco and Tabu Ley Rochereau, there is a Docteur Nico cut worth the price of admission (Dr. Nico's stuff is scarce, and any time you can pick up just one tune of his lap steel work it is completely worth it) but it proceeds to blow the mind with track after track. Hard to avoid hyperbole when piling on the superlatives: this collection has it all. The fluent cadence of Lingala singing, the super crisp guitar tones, the horns and a ton of surprises in case that wasn't enough.



For those who aren't into African/Congolese music, this would be about as appropriate an entry album as there is, excepting Roots of Rumba. The fact that this is a fully electric post-independence ensemble set should appeal almost universally. Congo 70 would almost certainly appeal to other types of music fan beyond the Afrophile. If you love Radiohead or Talking Heads, there is no way you won't get a lot out of it. Especially TH. David Byrne & co. must've been rotating gems like this heavily leading up to the Naked sessions.



Condensed review: buy this. If you like anything with electric guitars, you will eventually love this. Musical heaven."