The first live release from "the Lion of Zimbabwe." This concert was recorded for Thomas Mapfumo's 50th birthday at the El Rey Theatre, Albuquerque, NM. It features a stripped-down version of the Blacks Unlimited.

7 MP3 Songs
WORLD: African, WORLD: World Traditions



Details:
Apple iTunes
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=152393598

Emusic
http://www.emusic.com/album/10892/10892669.html?fref=700329



Here is what James Lien, New World columnist for CMJ, had to say: "Thomas Mapfumo took the traditional sounds of mbira music (characterized by the gently plinking sounds of a thumb-piano) and fused them with electric guitars and rock drums to create a revolutionary hybrid. Shortly before his 50th birthday in 1995, Mapfumo undertook a small but significant U.S. tour that featured a stripped-down crew of two mbira players, a trap-kit drummer and the phenomenal talents of Allan Mwale on electric bass. This is a superb testament of African music that is deeply spiritual, powerful and evocative. -James Lien "

From Banning Eyre at CDNOW: Zimbabwe's most famous pop star, Thomas Mapfumo... tough, political anthems... full-force African dance band. Live at El Rey ...takes listeners right to the spiritual center of Mapfumo's chimurenga sound... the music heats up to a dance frenzy, mbira melodies surround and embrace you like a sonic womb. Don't expect to find another Mapfumo release like this....

From Winthrop Dahl for Dirty Linen: This web-based label should be thanked for bringing us some of the latest recordings by the Lion of Zimbabwe, Thomas Mapfumo. Live at El Rey... shows a different side of Mapfumo; this album captures him live in 1995 in Albuquerque ... The album has vocals, bass, scattered drums, and very prominent mbiras. It's a kinder, gentler, and certainly more mystical Mapfumo... We hear Mapfumo's typical vocalizations over the mbira, but no horns or guitar solos intrude. In a lot of ways it's more traditional-sounding. Although the songs on this album are not new, their new clothes make them seem that way... Live at El Rey...quite worthwhile.

From Lyn Horton for The Jazz Review: LIVE AT EL REY ... Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited on tour in 1995 ...the celebration of Thomas's 50th birthday.... a steady meal of music of the Shona mbira ... delicate, smooth revelation of music deep within the African soul. ... Mapfumo's vocals are captivating and the band's rhythms, ...derived from the pulses of life under the skin.... cannot let go and you have to move withthat rhythm, with those beats... The musical line is harmonic and multi-voiced: the polyrhythms are distinctly layered....let the music slide over you, like water does, over rocks in a stream. The mbiras incessantly call to an inner sense of calm. They help to render this music peaceful and meditative... They reflect a continuum of consciousness. And the more aware you become of the different aspects of the continuum, the more internal they become.