Bona

Considered by many in the jazz world as the natural heir to the throne of the late great Jaco Pastorius, Cameroon-born bassist and vocalist Richard Bona is so well-known for his incredible work as a studio sideman (Joe Zawinal, Regina Carter, Bob James, etc) and two-year stint as musical director for Harry Belafonte that it's easy to overlook his prodigious solo output since the late '90s. Rather than release a safe greatest hits type collection, Decca had the capital idea to follow his Grammy nominated disc Tiki with a high energy, hour-plus live album that captures a batch of his most compelling, rhythmically overjoyed tracks in the habitat where they best come to life. The unique twist is that while Bona loves being on-stage, he's not a fan of making live recordings. So his deal was telling his board guy not to inform him of which performance he was recording to use for the album.

Yet another of Harry Belafonte's proteges who later made a big name for himself, Cameroon's Richard Bona takes time out from his ace session bass life to make another remarkably versatile, impeccably polished solo album, Munia: The Tale, his first on Verve. While Bona allows rock, jazz, funk, and Brazilian influences through the window, the melodies and rhythmic patterns are still strongly rooted in West Africa, always permeating the atmosphere. On some of the tracks, Bona needs no help at all to make an impression, layering on his vocals over his bass, guitars, keyboards, and percussion in an exquisitely controlled one-man show. He often does so with the subtle shading and dabs of color of a pianter, like the gentle Moog lines that seep into the background of "Dina Lam."

Morrissey - Bona Drag (1990) (2010 20th Anniversary Edition Holland Press)
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 492 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 160 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1990, 2010 Major Minor / EMI | CDSMLP 70
Rock / Indie / Alternative

Digitally remastered and expanded 20th Anniversary edition of the former Smiths vocalist's 1990 album. Bona Drag brings together his first seven singles including 'Suede head'; 'Everyday Is Like Sunday'; 'Interesting Drug', 'The Last of the Famous International Playboys', 'Ouija Board, Ouija Board', 'November Spawned a Monster' and 'Piccadilly Palare' alongside a selection of high quality b-sides from all the singles. With Morrissey's full involvement, the original album has been remastered and expanded with six previously unreleased tracks. Directing the artwork for the reissue, Morrissey has chosen to return the cover art to it's natural color and to update the back and inner artwork with a selection of favorite, hand-picked and rarely-seen photos.