Wade

Anyone who loves the crossover collaborations not remain insensitive to Havana Paris Dakar, wedding several cultures and rich musical colors of history. Beautiful World Village label reveals the union of a nomad of Senegalese music, Alune Wade, and a Cuban piano prodigy, Harold Lopez-Nussa time of an album. The duo portrayed the African musical landscape through covers of famous songs like Small Country, the success of Cesaria Evora, Sara Tavares, the standard of chaabi Yarahya, Aminata, salsa made in Dakar, or Independence Cha Cha, a tube of years of independence, composed by Joseph Kabasele.

No one is likely ever to sort out the true "best" of Ian & the Zodiacs, never mind their overall history: they were on too many labels, and never sold enough records to justify the effort as anything other than a labor of love. But based on the evidence of this 26-song CD, there was a good deal to love there. All of what's here is very solid American pop/soul done Merseybeat-style, complete with the occasional blowing sax (sharing the spotlight with fuzztone guitar) and horns. To be sure, they were never a cutting-edge outfit like the Beatles or the Hollies, or even an ambitious pop/rock outfit like the Merseybeats the nature of the material here speaks to that, American soul and Brit-beat pop/rock that was already a bit retro when it was done in 1966 (at around the same time that the Beatles were having fun at the expense of the British soul boom - and also expanding the meaning of the word "soul" - with the title of the Rubber Soul album)…