Reviews
Calypso Craze 1956-57 and Beyond
Forty-year-old Bear Family Records is a German label renowned for digging deeply into the country, blues and rock’n’roll archives, and...
Reviewed by Charles De Ledesma in issue: Jan/Feb/2015
All My Friends
A little more than a century after the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution secured American women the right to...
Reviewed by Doug Deloach in issue: May/2024
Eclairer le Monde (Light the World)
It starts with a furious flurry of percussion, and then in comes that voice, as commanding, passionate and distinctive as...
Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: May/2025
Island Records Presents Ska: 40 Original Ska Classics
Best known as a British rock label, Island Records actually began life in Jamaica in 1959. Its Harrow–educated founder, Chris...
Reviewed by Neil Foxlee in issue: June/2013
Luci e Guai
Raised in Lyon with the tunes his Sicilian grandmother sang to him, Julien Lesuisse set out in search of his...
Reviewed by Robert Rigney in issue: June/2021
Roots Rocking Zimbabwe: The Modern Sound of Harare’ Townships 1975-1980
Music scenes are strange things, ephemeral and unpredictable. The right confluence of history, politics, culture, migrations, community, geography, trends, hard...
Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: June/2025
Prisoner
There have been many fine reggae artists to come out of Africa since Bob Marley played in Zimbabwe in 1980...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: January/2025
Teleology
If this really is the final album from Peggy Seeger, then the great lady is going out in style. Released...
Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: July/2025
Lam Phloen Grade A Guy
Angkanang Kunchai | Sonthaya Kalasin | Various Artists
Composer, producer and savvy businessman Doi Inthanon (named after Thailand's tallest mountain) has created a huge catalogue of songs and...
Reviewed by John Clewley in issue: Jan/Feb/2017
Tension
Mulatu Astatke & Hoodna Orchestra
As the father of Ethio-jazz, the Ethiopian multi-instrumentalist and composer Mulatu Astatke has carved out a unique musical path. On...
Reviewed by Paul Bowler in issue: January/2025
