The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features

Zap Mama

Supermoon | Heads up
By JEFF TAMARKIN  |  July 30, 2007
1.5 1.5 Stars
inside_supermoon
Any similarities between Zap Mama 2007 and the group who bore that name in 1990 is purely coincidental. What started as an African-inspired, Belgium-based a cappella quintet is now Marie Daulne and an army of random musicians and guest vocalists. Perhaps that’s where Zap were always headed anyway — Daulne so dominated the group from the start that only the most loyal fan could have named any of the others. But as she’s assimilated into the R&B mainstream and shed nearly all trappings of Africana, she’s sacrificed her brand identity: Supermoon could have been cut by any diva with access to state-of-the-art studio tools and a budget. “Gati,” with its Carnival pulse and multiple rhythmic layers, does get a party started, and “Hey Brotha,” headlined by Michael Franti on vocal and guitar, projects a funky Sly Stone vibe. “Go Boy,” with Leon Pendarvis’s jazzy piano and stacks of vocals, hints at Zap Mama’s abandoned roots. But even ace sessioneers (pianist Robbie Kondor, trumpeter Michael Leonhart, bassist Tony Garnier) can’t inject life into the glossy “Where Are You,” one of the quieter, duller moments, and “Princess Kesia,” the closer, is so bogged down in its multi-tracked choral vocals and superfluous instrumentation, it cries out for a remix that subtracts rather than adds.
Related: Billy Bragg, Lil Mama, Life after The Sopranos, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Entertainment, Music, Michael Franti,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

[ 11/30 ]   Sam & Ruby  @ Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun
[ 11/30 ]   Infinite Ensemble  @ Sally O'Brien's
[ 11/30 ]   Karina Stone  @ Lily Pad
ARTICLES BY JEFF TAMARKIN
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   TOM WAITS | GLITTER AND DOOM LIVE  |  November 17, 2009
    Arriving five years after his last release of new material, and two after the three-disc Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards box of outtakes and oddities, this live set culled from assorted 2008 gigs could be seen as a time marker.
  •   ROSANNE CASH | THE LIST  |  September 28, 2009
    In 1973, when she was an 18-year-old rock fan, Rosanne Cash's dad gave her a list of songs he felt she should know — mostly country, all falling under the current banner Americana. She held onto that list, and now she's recorded a dozen tunes from it.
  •   REVIEW: BEBEL GILBERTO | ALL IN ONE  |  September 24, 2009
    There couldn’t be a more apropos title than the one Bebel Gilberto has given her fourth album.
  •   GEORGE THOROGOOD | THE DIRTY DOZEN  |  July 22, 2009
    Before you press PLAY, you know what you're going to get on The Dirty Dozen : music to drink lots of beer by.
  •   SON VOLT | AMERICAN CENTRAL DUST  |  July 15, 2009
    With American Central Dust , Jay Farrar has now accomplished something he was unable to do either during Son Volt's initial run (1995-99) or his evidently aborted solo career (2001-04): released three consecutive albums of undeniable quality.

 See all articles by: JEFF TAMARKIN

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group