![]() ![]() Generally, the first disc contains the most traditional-minded performances, which can be stark in both their recording and execution, though they (like many of the tracks) often make use of instruments and singing that still sound exotic to many Western ears. Some cuts here and there sound a bit like forms you wouldn't expect to have been played in Africa, such as rural blues (Orbert Nentambo Zahke from South Africa), country waltzes (the Seychelles United Band), and even zydeco. ![]() Perhaps the more modern tracks will be more accessible to the average collector investigating this body of work, with some mid-20th century performances that date from the early days of highlife, and others that both reflect and probably influenced international jazz, gospel, and calypso. It also ensures, on the other hand, that very few open-minded listeners will find at least some material that intrigues and entertains them. The sheer variety of sounds, as well as the sometimes primitive recording techniques (although the fidelity is good-to-excellent throughout, with the expected conscientious transfers from the original discs), does ensure that not many listeners will be enthusiastic or equally interested in everything. ![]() Like other ambitious boxes by Dust-to-Digital, Smithsonian Folkways, and some other labels, it straddles the lines between ethnographic/folkloric documents and music that might be of interest to the general adventurous listener. ![]()
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