Search - Thomas Mapfumo :: Collected

Excellent sampler of later works!

01/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a priceless collection of his later works from the period 1996-2002 with the exception of Ndave Kuenda and Joyce from his 87 Zimbabwe/Mozambique album, the first to feature mbira players. My favorite track has to be Hurombo, just an emotion charged song highlighted by lovely female backing vocals and the late great Jonah Sithole's spine-tingling guitar solos. In fact the majority of the guitar work is handled by Sithole and yet another since departed legend Joshua Dube(see the playful, bass-heavy Chemutengure excursions). The album is just worth it for featuring the greatest mbira-guitarists that ever lived (RIP). There's a couple of remakes of his late 70's/early 80's classics, Pidigori and Pamuromo Chete, interesting for the way the mbiras reproduce the rhythms of the rapid fire dual guitar originals, rather than the reverse which led to the birth of the Chimurenga style. Mapfumo is firmly in the driver's seat with his typical Shona traditional wails and yodels in Mukadzi wemukoma. This album will nicely round up anyone's collection of Mapfumo's greatest hits albums."