The 19 tracks that make up this collection from the Library of Congress' Endangered Music Project are just as raw as you would expect from
field recordings
made in the middle of the 20th century. But they are also an invaluable document in the history of
African
musical traditions. Celebrated archivist
Arthur S. Alberts
was to
African folk
music what
Harry Smith
American folk
music, and the tracks documented on this collection rank among the most complete overviews of
music of the mid-1900s available. Although the unpolished nature of these recordings is sure to limit their appeal to all but the most serious
world
music collectors, the album should be considered a must-have historical document for fans of
music in general and syncopated percussion in particular. ~ Bret Love