Some people don’t like instrumental music because it has no lyrics. Then again, there are people who don’t much care for world music sung in…
Beyond Words
Author: Tom Orr
Tom Orr is a California-based writer whose talent and mental stability are of an equally questionable nature. His hobbies include ignoring trends, striking dramatic poses in front of his ever-tolerant wife and watching helplessly as his kids surpass him in all desirable traits.
Caught Up In Getting Caught Up
It is a long time since I have contributed reviews to this site. The reasons are many, varied and not a matter of public record.…
Thunderous and Passionate Farafina
Farafina – Bolomakote (Intuition, 1992) The raw, percussion-driven but still melodic sounds of Farafina burst forth on this 1992 release. Layers of drumming provide a…
Nua Teorainn
Various Artists – Nua Teorainn – New Celtic Music from Green Linnet (Green Linnet, 2000) The “new” in the title of this fine compilation is…
Eastern European Ecstasies
A term like “Eastern European music” gets bandied about by many, including me. It’s one of those convenient generalizations used to cover a category that’s…
Breaking the Ground a Little More
The very names of the CDs I’m reviewing here (some, anyway) indicate that they’re looking to go to places that haven’t yet been fully explored…
African Friends New and Old
It’s not likely I’ll ever get a handle on just how many great African musicians are out there, despite over three decades of loving and…
Latin Changeups
I’ve long contended that Latin music (something of a loaded term) was the first world music (ditto) to catch on in a big way. Even…
Getting Reacquainted With Old Friends and Making New Ones
It’s been more than three decades since my musical tastes went global. In that time I haven’t stopped being amazed at the diversity of music…
Voices of a Better World
In this era of harsh voices speaking know-it-all rhetoric from various political, religious, cultural and elitist viewpoints, the need for musical voices to tame the…