Little Axe - Stone Cold Ohio (Real World)

Little Axe is Skip McDonald (aka Bernard Alexander) with longtime cohorts Doug Wimbish and Keith LeBlanc, whose working relationship dates back to the early days of the Sugar Hill label. Coated in the decidedly dub-by feel that immediately marks this as an Adrian Sherwood production, Stone Cold Ohio is situated in profoundly swampy territory (is Ohio swampy?) between country blues, gospel and… something else. Rockin’ Shoes is both my favourite track and wholly typical of what Little Axe is all about. It lopes along, with a call and response between Skip and his choir that’s suggestive of both a Sunday sermon and a chain gang. Meanwhile, an eerily familiar organ line plays under the vocals, threatening at any moment to break out into Superstition. The whole thing is wrapped up in Sherwood’s characteristically reverb rich On-U sound. Only one thing nags… Moby credits Little Axe as an influence on his massively successful 1999 CD Play, and the debt is HUGE. As a listener coming to Little Axe post-Play, I really wish I could wind back the clock and hear this wonderful hybrid fresh, untainted by the sonic legacy of Moby’s multitudinous TV licensing deals.

Thomas Mapfumo - Rise Up (Real World)

In 1940, George Orwell wrote: “We are in a strange period of history in which a revolutionary has to be a patriot and a patriot has to be a revolutionary.” Listening to Thomas Mapfumo reminded me of Orwell and other true men and women of conscience who transcend orthodoxy to resist tyranny of whatever stripe. In the 1970s, Mapfumo’s chimurenga (‘struggle’) songs were the musical voice of the armed insurrection that brought an end to white minority rule and saw ZANU assume power under Robert Mugabe. Fast forward a quarter century. Mugabe’s profoundly bankrupt regime clings to power and Mapfumo lives in exile in Oregon. Rise Up falls short of advocating tyranicide, but with lyrics like: “Why do our youth die? They die for breadcrumbs like rats and the die for ‘The Party’, for the senile man,” I think it’s fair to say that the “Lion of Zimbabwe” is doing his part to hasten Mugabe’s departure. For more on Thomas Mapfumo, Google “The Lion in Winter”, Banning Eyre’s excellent feature in the April 2005 issue of The Walrus.

Dobet Gnahoré - Na Afriki (Contre-Jour / cumbancha)

This recording from twenty-something Ivorian singer Dobet Gnahoré delivers nicely on the momentum generated by her 2006 BBC World Music Award nomination in the Newcomer of the Year category, and rave reviews of her live performances as a participant in Putumayo’s Acoustic Africa tour. Throughout Na Afriki, the pairing of Gnahoré’s voice and the acoustic guitar of musical collaborator / life partner Colin Laroche de Féline is deeply sympathetic and arranged with a subtlety that at times triggers favourable comparisons with one of my favourite artists, Rokia Traore. Infused with a spirit of genuine creative exploration, Na Afriki signals a significant arrival. Highly recommended.

Angelique Kidjo - Djin Djin (Razor & Tie / Starbucks)

Judging from the growing pile of rapturous reviews for this record, I may find myself in the minority suggesting you steer clear of Djin Djin – which may prove challenging given this project is a collaboration between Razor & Tie and Starbucks Entertainment; virtually assuring that it will become a fixture in the java vendor’s proliferating locations. The push is definitely on. Rarely – if ever – has a world music artist marshalled such forces for an assault on the easy rock / AOR audience. Produced by Tony Visconti and featuring Alicia Keyes, Branford Marsalis, Joss Stone, Ziggy Marley, Josh Groban and Carlos Santana, this is the veritable D-Day landing of crossover attempts. Problem is… it doesn’t work. These ‘collaborations’ have all the subtlety of Donald Trump’s ‘cameo appearance’ at a Hollinger shareholder meeting. Nowhere is this more evident than in the cover of Sade’s ‘Pearls’. Josh Groban’s lachrymose baritone and Santana’s rarely restrained guitar stylings take things way way over the top. This might otherwise be forgiven, but for the fact that the chorus conflates – apparently without irony – the misery of an impoverished Somali woman and the pain of breaking in new footwear: “She lives a life she didn't choose / And it hurts like brand-new shoes.” Perhaps it is unfair to characterize the entire CD by its weakest link, but an utterly superfluous cover of ‘Gimme Shelter’ (featuring Joss Stone) and the puzzling ‘Lonlon’ – a free adaptation of Ravel’s Bolero – seal the deal and negate any redeeming value that might be found in this project. It’s a great pity. I expected more of both Angelique Kidjo and Razor & Tie. Then again, I don’t expect anything less from Starbucks. All of which matters nought, because last week I stumbled across Angelique Kidjo’s performance on The Tonight Show and when it comes to shaping tastes in Middle America, I’m pretty sure Jay Leno has me beat.