Robert Christgau's Music Criticism Blog - Expert Witness - MSN Music

Bachata Roja/Vijana Jazz Band

Oldies but Goodies, Pained and Jocose

By Xgau Dec 20, 2011 2:08AM
Bachata Roja: Amor y Amargue (iASO)
This introduction to Dominican son was "recorded live to 2-track," sniffs the same label's co-released Bachata Legends, in which the original artists re-record decades-old classics smoothly and even beautifully but seldom enthrallingly. What the original vocals lacked in accomplished ease they made up and then some in quirky intensity, and they weren't anything like amateurish. With more at stake professionally and personally, these young singers grabbed onto the "bitterness" at the heart of their barrio-bohemian genre so as to dramatize not only the pain of thwarted love but the hunger for public identity that eats at a people after half a century of tyranny. Sometimes it's almost like they're crying. A MINUS

 

Vijana Jazz Band: The Koka Koka Sex Battalion: Rumba, Koka Koka & Kamata Sukuma: Music From Tanzania 1975-1980 (Sterns)

One band with two names so it could record over quota when it managed the journey to the studio in Nairobi, Vijana Jazz Band and its Koka Koka Sex Battalion doppelganger favored the typical East African iteration of soukous's rippling guitars. Sometimes this approach is compared to country music, but that's a metaphor, not a musical analogy‑-these guys aren't true soloists, and rarely is Nashville guitar so ramshackle. In East African rumba, guitars provide atmosphere more than content. The content's in the jocosely hectoring vocals and single-line saxophone interjections, which with this enjoyable little band are numerous and various enough to engage non-Swahili speakers who find some of the melodies warm and others tepid. B PLUS

 

< Back to Expert Witness
User Picture
Write a comment...
168Comments
Christopher Monsen (Chris Monsen)
Dec 23, 2011 1:31AM
avatar
Early "Can't Hardly Wait": goo.gl/d2Lji
"Can't Hardly Wait" is one of my favorite Mats tunes. Heck, in a given mood I'd be inclined to say it's one of my fave tunes full stop. Found myself missing the horns in the demo version, and some of the lyrics clearly needed work (some of the lines feel crammed and forced). A great demo, but I prefer the finished one.
ClownDJ
Dec 23, 2011 12:29AM
avatar
Yeah, Clown isn't tops. But Gatsby is feeling like life itself right about now.
Ioannis Sotirchos
Dec 22, 2011 8:11AM
avatar
say, any of y'all anointed ones out there know when the P&J results are due for "publication"?
Cyclops703
Dec 21, 2011 8:05PM
avatar
 Jeff, Bob, and Greg:  Thanks for the leads and suggestions, some of which I'll look into between now and Monday.  My Spanish isn't enough that I can come close to following a deep song but maybe a simpler one coupled with baby steps is feasible.


Greg Morton (GMort)
Dec 21, 2011 7:15PM
avatar

Cy: A great question and a very incomplete answer --

 

Julieta Venegas' "Lento" is highly political if you are Latina. I think.

 

And Aterciopelados is known for their political stance, especially female lead Andrea Echeverri. Their music is a little hit or miss with me though, "Panal" being my fave.

 

I'm also a big fan of Los Rodriguez, "Sin Documentos"; "I love you without documentation." Again, I think. Venegas covered it on her excellent album Limon y Sal.

 

None of the above are in English though.

Greg Morton (GMort)
Dec 21, 2011 7:00PM
avatar
jream -- Awesome is right. The song is a dead-ringer for Steve Earle's The Mountain, with a credibility that Earle nailed artistically but may or may not have had genealogically.

 

Looks like lots of Scott Miller on YouTube. In a brief survey I also like this version of "Daddy Raised A Boy" from 1999.

 

goo.gl/aK99A

 

Hairy Irene (dzdzdz)
Dec 21, 2011 5:34PM
avatar
[A]ll I got was an arch "oh they're using minor key to make it sound more Jewish.  So cliched."  

Your kids, while smartass punks, rule. How old was that one?

Cyclops703
Dec 21, 2011 5:33PM
avatar
 Jason, Thanks for the tip on the Lomax book!  You don't have to get me an x-mas gift now.  Man, if I can find a copy in reasonable shape it's going to the top of my music reading list.
Jason Gubbels
Dec 21, 2011 5:21PM
avatar
 Is anyone here expert acoustic and electric Delta blues of the 1930s and 1940s that were actually recorded in the Mississippi Delta and Arkansas??  My question is why virtually nothing exists of the stuff in the natural setting of the jukes and house parties on Saturday nights, where a single song might run twenty minutes or more? (Unfortunately, recording them as 78s or for 78 release meant the songs were unnaturally short.) 
Cyclops, it's been a long time since I read Alan Lomax's The Land Where The Blues Began, which goes into quite some detail about the recording sessions in the field, but my recollection is that Lomax and his crew did indeed run afoul of the authorities throughout the south, and made many of their recordings either under the auspices of prison guards or on the sly in performer's homes. Not sure if you've read the book - it's definitely worth it if that's a period of music you're interested in.
Richard Cobeen
Dec 21, 2011 4:05PM
avatar
Cyclops, I'm under no illusion about my place in my timeline.  I also hope I'm a ways from having to start raging.
Bris Piggy
Dec 21, 2011 3:41PM
avatar
A handful of great and mostly forgotten Christmas tunes that y'all might enjoy: http://goo.gl/yybp9

ETA: Also this one that one of my friends kept sneaking into the queue at my Christmas party last weekend http://goo.gl/3XsVC
Cyclops703
Dec 21, 2011 1:59PM
avatar
Irene,
 Wouldn't it be crazy if we really were faking it and had stolen the identity of four people who happened to be friends??
  Steal the IDs of four random people and make them friends.  More flexibility for backstory and more room for random events.
 Piggy, thanks for the link.  Dolly's cool and didn't lipsynch.  I've heard about those 9-5 things but never done it myself.
JeffC77
Dec 21, 2011 1:04PM
avatar
Sweet. Thanks, guys. Let me know if you think of anything else.
Tom Walker
Dec 21, 2011 12:39PM
avatar
Mitch F - I am working on the singles, not albums, but yes, lots of boring records.  Empty atmospheric goo, for example.  
rocambole2
Dec 21, 2011 12:22PM
avatar
Duke: Don't forget the indispensable Joan Armatrading. And, from the beginnings of rock, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rose Maddox (with her brothers), Dinah Washington, Ruth Brown, Etta James, Esther Phillips, Big Maybelle. And “Fine Brown Frame” by Nellie Lutcher, my favourite song from the jump blues era. Also Short Sharp Shocked. And Laurie Anderson. Tina Turner.

Best to everyone for the holidays (from Montreal, QC).
jreamteam
Dec 21, 2011 10:28AM
avatar
jreamteam -- Scott Miller. What do you make of the (I assume) historically accurate John Brown references in "Highland County Boy"

gmort -- i have quite a few thoughts on this song, but it will take more time than i have right now to sort my brain and post something (hopefully) thoughtful on it. 

 

interestingly, i'm going hiking at Harpers Ferry sometime in the next coming weekends.  been there many times before, but maybe i'll visit it with some newly gained perspective.

Greg Morton (GMort)
Dec 21, 2011 8:18AM
avatar

jreamteam -- Scott Miller. What do you make of the (I assume) historically accurate John Brown references in "Highland County Boy", one of the songs inspired by letters from his great-great-grandfat​her? Pretty fascinating IMHO.

Greg Morton (GMort)
Dec 21, 2011 7:56AM
avatar
One of the West Coasters -- Salem, Oregon. Capitol city and all that.
jreamteam
Dec 21, 2011 7:43AM
avatar

Currently listening to Scott Miller's Citation. i love how he extensively borrows from Bryan Adams on the first song. sounds terrible i know, but this is actually a good thing imo.

spoonknife
Dec 21, 2011 6:13AM
avatar
Indiana.  Originally the cornfields south of South Bend, currently Fort Wayne.  Like Mr. LaFollette, I eagerly await the start of the Pacers' season.  I also eagerly await the end of the Colts' season.  (Two more weeks, almost there.)
Report
Please help us to maintain a healthy and vibrant community by reporting any illegal or inappropriate behavior. If you believe a message violates theCode of Conductplease use this form to notify the moderators. They will investigate your report and take appropriate action. If necessary, they report all illegal activity to the proper authorities.
Categories
100 character limit
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?

about the blogger

Robert Christgau

Starting in 1967, Robert Christgau has covered popular music for The Village Voice, Esquire, Blender, Playboy, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. He teaches in New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, maintains a comprehensive website at robertchristgau.com, and has published five books based on his journalism. He has written for MSN Music since 2006.

find concert tickets

 
Find more tickets. Powered by FanSnap

follow msn music

music news

More news

blog roll