The Soul of Black Peru
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Album:Afro-Peruvian Classics: The Soul Of Black Peru
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David Byrne is one of those people whose music (post-Talking Heads, at least) I wish I liked better. He's smart, articulate, skeptical in all the right ways and deeply humane. I respect him immensely. His albums are just hard for me to listen to.That said, Byrne is one of the truly great curators of popular music. His taste really is beyond reproach. There was a run in the mid-Nineties, just after the Brazilian compilations that made his second reputation, where I would buy any new Luaka Bop collection on blind faith and in full confidence. And would not be disappointed."The Soul of Black Peru" is probably my favorite of these. The rhythms, clearly grounded in Africa, are complex but always effortless, never needlessly tricky. The interplay between the musicians is consistently sympathetic, the songs well-crafted, the singing terrific - does that just about cover everything? This came out in '95 (can it really have been 12 years ago? Scary...)and made a name for Susana Baca - she still shows up on the concert circuit. You can probably figure out why when you hear this.It's really a shame that Byrne isn't doing this sort of thing any more.(Another, non-Baca cut from "The Soul of Black Peru" in the comments.)
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