Alpha blondy in Reggae Music

"Akwaba: The Very Best of Alpha Blondy" (07/05/2005) Jazz General Blondy, Alpha, EMI Music DistributionAlpha Bondy is highly regarded by reggae aficionados, and this career retrospective offers a fascinating glimpse at how he progressed from his roots in the fertile 1970s scene. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Adapters: Charly Ongolo; Fran?is Vehgueu; Lionel Pradine; Traore "Asalfo" Salif; Ben-J; Alpha Blondy. Personnel: Fran?ois Mihigo Chouchou (guitar); Mouloud (keyboards); Joel Netry (percussion). Audio Mixers: Emmanuel Desmadril; Kikiqimix. Audio Remixers: Rim' K; Lester Bilal; Groove Busters (Fricotin, Dmitri & Bibi). Recording information: Studio 7, Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire; Studio Bionix; Studio Mirador; Studio Piccolo, Paris, France; Studio Twin, Paris, France. Photographer: Arnault Joubin. Arrangers: Christian Dessart; Rachid Mir; Manu Key; Alpha Blondy; Zachary Richard; Boncana Ma?ga. Gifted with a sweet voice and a songwriting style that's sunny effervescence one minute, cutting and bitter the next, the enigmatic Alpha Blondy is an improbable combination of fun and revolution, new and old, earthy and tech, and more than anything, a tough one to compile. Akwaba: The Very Best of Alpha Blondy makes things even more risky by adding new remixes of some favorites, but the good news is they're tasteful, mostly beneficial, and probably just the way the modern-thinking Blondy wants to be represented. If you haven't encountered his reggae-by-way-of-Africa music, you're in for a treat, and Akwaba makes every effort to capture the maverick in a way that's thrilling. Tracks are laid out mostly in chronological fashion, but the sequencing occasionally jumps ahead or back in time to keep like songs separate, along with sprinkling in the new remixes to keep them from being afterthoughts or bonuses. Best of them all is the leading "Sweet Sweet," a more modern version of the closing "Sweet Fanta Diallo," with Lester Bilal providing a French rap. Up next is the slinking "Brigadier Sabari," Blondy's revolutionary arrival on the music scene with slow boiling venom. From here on it's wise picking of album tracks, all hooky and infectious but vital lyrically. If you don't speak French and Dioula, don't worry because the handholding liner notes explain what the pain, tension, and hope in Blondy's voice doesn't. When the disc ends, you realize you've heard some electronica, a wicked African reggae interpolation of the Ohio Players' "Fire" called "Wari," and an exciting collaboration with UB40, all held together by one man. Start here because as any longtime fan can tell you, Akwaba is an excellent introduction to this versatile artist. ~ David Jeffries

"Elohim" (01/11/2005) Jazz General Blondy, Alpha, Shanachie RecordsPersonnel: Alpha Blondy (vocals); Ekwala (didjeridu); Phillipe Slominski, Philipp Slominski (trumpet); Christopher Burch, Christopher Burch (keyboards); Clive "Azul" Hunt, Guy Sangue (bass guitar); Samuel Kone, Samuel Kone (drums); Rohan Romain, Rohan Dwyer (programming); Sarr Julia, Julia Fenere Sarr (background vocals); Wayne Armond, Mao Otayeck (guitar); Alain Hatot (saxophone); Jacques Bolognesi (trombone); Abou Watt (percussion); Marylou Seba, Lydie "Oliza" Zamata (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Rohan Dwyer. Recording information: Studio Mercadet, Paris, France; Studio RFK, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Photographer: Rene Worms. Arranger: Boncana Ma?ga. Six years old when it finally reached America, Elohim isn't the great lost Alpha Blondy album as much as it is an exciting collection of tunes with a crummy cover and so-so production. The original Elohim cover displayed Blondy as a righteous, cross-carrying warrior, but ignore the post-concert, shoved-in-the-corner singer here and you're in for an excellent -- sometimes chilling -- set of conscious lyrics with breezy music. Breezy to a fault, actually, since Blondy's Solar System band seems flattened by the thin production most of the time. Compare the version of "Black Samourai" on the live Paris Bercy album to the one included here for proof, or consider how the wicked lyric "We take no prisoners/And we eat the wounded" sits on mannered, sterile beats. The tougher Merci from 2002 displayed that Blondy would grow as an executive producer, but Elohim is filled with prime Blondy songs, ones good enough to forgive the musical stiffness. "The Devil's Tail" is up there with his best, "Take No Prisoner" is tougher than tough, and "Black Samourai" became the man's anthem. To Shanachie's credit, Elohim is 80 percent in French and the label does an excellent job of translating the lyrics for the booklet. Elohim is hardly the first reggae album to be brought down a peg by cheap, sterile production, but it makes you pine harder than usual for what could have been. ~ David Jeffries

"Grand Bassam Zion Rock" (10/19/1998) Reggae Blondy, Alpha, EMI Music Distribution