Various Artists, Putamayo Presents Global Soul, (Putamayo, 2003)
Putamayo’s latest compilation, Global Soul, explores the impact of American hip-hop, soul and R&B on music scenes around the world. Proudly spanning the globe, Putamayo lists the country of origin for each of the thirteen performers featured on the back cover. This is perhaps a good idea, as some of the tracks definitely come off as indistinguishable, even when sung in different languages.
Given that the liner-notes namecheck pop artists such as Destiny’s Child, Puff Daddy, and Alicia Keys, it is not surprising that the album opens with France’s answer to Destiny’s Child, Melgroove. As their name would indicate, they are after a mellow groove, and “J’attendraie” is a pleasant enough midtempo cut that establishes the mood for the album. This mood is laid-back, well-dressed and generally inoffensive, with each artist’s regional sensibilities added some much-needed textures to the programmed beats, synth lines and cooing female backing vocals typical of contemporary easy listening a la Babyface.
Fernanda Abreu’s “Eu Quero Sol” stands out for its more uptempo drum track, and the singer’s purring delivery. On the other hand, Doc Gyneco’s “Caramel” is, as the cheesy name would suggest, a generic lover-man boast worthy of an artist whose name is Doctor Gynecology, though in fairness it is true to its 70s-soul origins. One really interesting cut is Kaissa’s “Nika Pata Lambo”, which features a great vocal performance backed by ominously sparse orchestration, its combination of driving beats and lyrics sung in the Cameroonian language Douala, providing a direct link between contemporary hip-hop and its ancient African roots.
1Giant Leap’s “Braided Hair” is the kind of track that has huge commercial potential, combining elements of downtempo car-commercial music with hiphop MC Speech and production values that lean towards the epic. Through some gorgeous additional vocals by Neneh Cherry and African chanting by Ulali, the song builds to a grand groove – expect to hear this and similar cuts from the band’s self-titled debut album in clubs and restaurants all summer.
This album is perfect for playing in relaxed atmospheres, preferably accompanied by food and not-too-much drink. Your enjoyment of this album will depend in no small part on your enjoyment of mid-tempo top-40 contemporary R&B, and those in pursuit of some real world-music thrills might feel a little underwhelmed by it all. But can we really blame these artists for taking their inspiration from what currently passes for hip-hop in the mainstream, rather than, say, the Roots (or their own roots, for that matter), when it is the most commercially successful music in the world today? We should perhaps praise these musicians for their ability to create the kind of slick production values that fuel artists like Destiny’s Child and Puff Daddy (or whatever he’s calling himself these days), rather than complain that they are creating indistinguishable sonic wallpaper, this review notwithstanding.
