CD-Charts Position 1
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Ethiopiques - the Very Best of Ethiopiques: Hypnotic Grooves from the Legendary Series

CD-Charts > Music > World Music Bestsellers
by: Various Artists

Release Date August 13, 2007
The 28 tracks on this wonderful double CD are drawn from a series of 23 Ethiopiques albums put together by the inspirational French promoter Francis Falceto. This haunting, uplifting music which is an intriguing mixture of jazz, soul, funk & folk was created and recorded in Ethiopia during the final years of Emperor Haile Selassie's reign(1930-74).
'The Very Best of Ethiopiques' has been described as "doing for Ethiopia what the Buena Vista Social Club did for Cuba" and this marvellous music certainly deserves to reach the widest possible audience.

CD-Charts Position 2
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Clandestino

CD-Charts > Music > World Music Bestsellers
by: Manu Chao

Release Date November 27, 2000
Throw aside all your prejudices against world music, forget the half-baked Robbie Williams cover of "Bongo Bong", and enter the magical world of Manu Chao. Simply a fantastic album, all fits together so well, a beautiful blend of musical styles and influences. Make this the soundtrack to your 2007!

CD-Charts Position 3
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Buena Vista Social Club

CD-Charts > Music > World Music Bestsellers
by: Buena Vista Social Club, Ry Cooder

Release Date June 09, 1997
Just take a listen, it doesn't matter what you're in to, just listen.

It's relaxing and melodic while being completely passionate and beautiful. How anyone could ban this stuff is beyond me. Damn politics!

CD-Charts Position 4
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Rhythms Del Mundo (featuring Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs...)

CD-Charts > Music > World Music Bestsellers
by: Rhythms Del Mundo

Release Date March 26, 2007
this is just a fantastic blend of different genres of music.
the music is pure joy.
if you really want to enjoy this,
get a dance partner and head out to
the local salsa dance club with this CD.
simply brilliant stuff. recommended.

CD-Charts Position 5
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Nina De Fuego

CD-Charts > Music > World Music Bestsellers
by: Buika

Release Date June 02, 2008
I heard this album, whilst on holiday in Girona (Spain).
It is a must buy album. Even if you can't understand Spanish,she has a wonderful voice. It has a contemporary-jazzy sound without losing the traditional Espanic feeling. thanks for readind DaveyT.

CD-Charts Position 6
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Aman Iman

CD-Charts > Music > World Music Bestsellers
by: Tinariwen

Release Date February 05, 2007
I'm no world music expert, but from time to time something comes along from outside the English speaking world that demands my attention. 'Aman Iman' is such an album. These Touareg musicians from the Western Sahara create a music whose 'otherness' is obvious, yet which is immediately accessible to western sensibilities. Their music evokes the solitude of the desert and the loneliness of exile, and yet is life affiriming and joyous. It's a thrumming, hypnotic, even foot-stomping sound, not obviously African, with arabic influences and hints of the blues, and deserves a wider audience.

CD-Charts Position 7
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The Mande Variations

CD-Charts > Music > World Music Bestsellers
by: Toumani Diabate

Release Date February 25, 2008
Toumani Diabaté, the kora guru of Africa, has outdone himself with this collection of solo instrumental pieces. The virtuosity in fingering the kora, the richness of the rhythms and range of melodies is unmatched by anything this Malian musician has done previously. I enjoyed his earlier solo collection, "Kaira", produced twenty years ago and his "New Ancient Strings" (1999), with which he and the younger Ballake Sissoko paid homage to their fathers' musical genius. Yet now, with this CD he has reached a level of maturity, depth and musicality not previously achieved. For fans of the West African kora, this is a must in their collection; for the "newbies", this is a great introduction into a mesmerizing aspect of Malian music and treat to enjoy over and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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The Harder They Come

CD-Charts > Music > World Music Bestsellers
by: Jimmy Cliff

Release Date July 30, 2001
This is a brilliant introduction for anyone who thinks Jamaican music begins and ends with Bob Marley. From the ska of Desmond Dekker ("Shanty Town") and The Maytals ("Pressure Drop" - later covered with less success by The Clash) to the more soulful efforts of the magnificent Jimmy Cliff (his three most classic tunes are included here, two of them twice for some reason), there isn't a dud track on offer. Possibly the finest reggae album of all time.

CD-Charts Position 9
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Ana Hina - Natacha Atlas

CD-Charts > Music > World Music Bestsellers
by: Natacha Atlas & the Mazeeka Ensemble

Release Date May 26, 2008
Yes, the review published above (from Songlines) is right enough: the arrangements here are restrained and 'tasteful'. And also her singing...but too much so, for my taste. It's all rather genteel and delicately done: the result is so low-key that it becomes inanimate and unspirited. At her best, Atlas has been a terrific lead for the transglobal projects, but the material on this CD is pretty ordinary stuff and the delivery lacks spark.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

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La Radiolina

CD-Charts > Music > World Music Bestsellers
by: Manu Chao

Release Date September 17, 2007
Manu Chao has always intrigued me. He makes extremely basic music with lyircs which are for the most part drivel - but his records are undeniably compelling. What makes Manu special is his inherant sense for a single chord and a line of Spanish or French that even those who flunked their GCSE can sing along to.
On Radiolina he's at it again, catering for those dreadlocked European backpackers who want their slice of world music. My problema with Chao is that he seems to insist on all this thinly veiled political rubbish. Does he really think he's making a statement with tracks like Tristeza Maleza and Rainin in Paradise?
It's a shame because when he puts his mind to it he's capable of penning truly excellent songs about feeling lost in the world. ... Read More: