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One of two CDs I ordered by Carolina Chocolate Drops (Justin Robinson, Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons). - released in 2010

 

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Two tracks from the album, Hit 'Em Up Style.

 

 

 

Reynadine - a solo vocal recording by Rhiannon Giddens. Definitely showing some Celtic influences here. (I should point out that Rhiannon Giddens doesn't sing lead vocals on all tracks. The other members take their turn, and they are just fine, but I seem to have become a bit of a Rhiannon Giddens fan lately, so my choices are perhaps a bit biased.)

 

 

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On 14/09/2020 at 10:32 AM, JukKluk2 said:

Not sure that this is strictly World Music, being an African American's take on her heritage, but, DAMN!!!! it is good.

Red Earth Malian Journey

 

I ended up buying a copy of this from a seller called teverjef on ebay. It is a second hand copy, 2 disc version. The seller advertised it as being in brand new condition.

 

I am always a bit hesitant about ordering from ebay, but took a chance in this case. I ordered it on 1st October, it arrived yesterday, and I am pleased to say that the seller was true to his word. It is in excellent condition, and was well packaged, being bubble wrapped inside a small cardboard box, with the whole thing inside a padded post bag. Thank you teverjef, well done!

 

I played this last night, and I agree with JukKluk2, it is DAMN good. It is a very good mix indeed with Dee Dee's jazz leanings blending beautifully with the playing and singing of the African musicians. Traditional African instruments feature prominently, and work very well with the piano and double bass of her band members.

 

The music was mostly recorded in Bamako, Mali, with three tracks being recorded in Paris. There was obviously a good camaraderie between all concerned, and that shows in the performances. Very well recorded too, sound quality is excellent.

 

The second disc is a DVD containing a 45 minute documentary called "Motherland", which chronicles the process that they went through to make this recording. It is very good, well worth watching, and can be viewed on YouTube.

 

 

 

And thanks to JukKluk2 for putting me on to this.

 

 

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Another one of my orders arrived yesterday.

 

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A 2019 recording produced as part of the African American Legacy series on the Smithsonian Folkways label. A collaboration between Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCall and Allison Russell, with songs inspired by the stories of the African people who were transported to America as slaves in years gone by. The songs were co-written by all four, and performed by them in various combinations.

 

This recording project was instigated by Rhiannon Giddens and is co-produced with Dirk Powell, who also plays a number of instruments as accompaniment (including guitars, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, accordion). The booklet includes quite a comprehensive introduction by Rhiannon Giddens in which she talks in some detail about the history which influenced the music, and how this collaboration came about, followed by notes written by co-producer Dirk Powell. There are descriptive notes with the songs, written by each of the four women, along with lyrics.

 

I think this is a pretty good album, although I do think I probably need to have a couple more listens to fully appreciate it.

 

I Knew I Could Fly - Leyla McCalla sings lead vocals, and Allison Russell sings backing. The song was co-written by them. Rhiannon Giddens plays her minstrel banjo and Dirk Powell plays mandolin.

 

 

 

Better Git Yer Learnin' - Rhiannon Giddens sings and plays her minstrel banjo on this. The music is from a book of banjo tunes published in 1855, but she has written her own lyrics (the original lyrics apparently contained some offensive terms). I really like this. I can't help feeling that the tune has a Irish or Scottish influence (although that is not mentioned).

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by emesbee
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