Reviews
The Queen of Salsa
To put together a mere 12 of the Cuban diva’s greatest recordings must be an invidious task. Nevertheless, Craft Latino...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: February/March/2026
Free the System
About this album, Dandana say ‘the old system can’t easily deal with young or new ideas.’ In a time where...
Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: October/2020
Cool Down the Heat
Junior Murvin became reggae’s falsetto voice of choice with his 1976 hit ‘Police and Thieves’, a song whose popularity in...
Reviewed by Clyde Macfarlane in issue: December/2025
The Rough Guide to the Music of India
It must be a thankless task being asked to compile one CD that sums up the whole of a musical...
Reviewed by Maria Lord in issue: Aug/Sep/2010
Ndikho Xaba & The Natives
The South African pianist Ndikho Xaba was 30 years old when he sought exile in the US in 1964. He...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: November/2015
Kathryn Tickell & The Side
The brilliant Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell has worked with classical musicians before, composing for the Nash Ensemble, percussionist Joanna MacGregor...
Reviewed by Julian May in issue: Nov/Dec/2014
Queen of the Whirl
Eliza Carthy & The Restitution
‘I've given blow jobs on couches to men who don't want me anymore’ – that first line of Eliza Carthy's...
Reviewed by Julian May in issue: December/2022
For the Night
Cool, hip, vibrant might alone be three words that sum up Elephant Sessions’ forth release, For the Night. Building on...
Reviewed by James Scott Rorison in issue: December/2022
The Works
John Spiers and Jon Boden are best-known now as the musical masterminds at the heart of folk-burlesque big-band Bellowhead. They...
Reviewed by Julian May in issue: October/2011
Burda: Contemporary Arabic Maqam Suite
This album showcases the remarkable talents of Egyptian-born oud player and singer Mustafa Said and his youthful Beirut-based collective, the...
Reviewed by Martin Stokes in issue: December/2015
