Search - Various Artists, Pierre Barouh, Barney Wilen :: Saravah for Cafe Apres-midi

Some good nuggets

B. McGowan | dublin, ireland | 11/30/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Saravah for Cafe' Apres Midi is a mellow collection of heavily bossa nova flavored French music from the 1960's. Pierre Barouh's compositions are given prominence. The five initial Barouh songs culminate in an extremely low-fi analogue recording of Barouh and Baden Powell where several bossa nova and rising tropacalia stars are mentioned by name. I guess it's an homage that Barouh seems to be paying. The mix occasionally sags into more campy French lounge music before moving to 60's R and B. The C.D. reaches its apex with two Barney Wilen numbers from a 1970 released album entitled Moshi (available from Amazon.Com (Japan) for a very good price! The Wilen tunes contain funky lighthearted chanting by several women who seem to be recounting stories of Wilen's mishaps while trying to record pygmies in Africa. The two Wilen songs have a deep Afro Jazz groove, and Wilen's saxophone playing is definitely loose and inspired. The Saravah CD and other Cafe Apre Midi CDs created by DJ's in Japan contain some very rare and tastefully chosen tracks that avid music collectors would be happy to own."

Mixed bag

B. McGowan | dublin, ireland | 11/27/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Sarahvah compilation was created by Tokyo DJ Toru Hashimoto. Hashimoto's selections are thoughtful and well balanced. This particular mix kicks off with five songs in a row by Pierre Barouh. Barouh plays guitar solo and sings a series of French flavored bossa nova tunes. The Barouh 60's recordings sound musty, exotic, and well..French! The c.d. reaches its zenith on the Barney Wilen inclusions numbers 13 and 14. These two compositions are some of the finest R and B/jazz hybrids to come out of the 60's. They are also rare releases outside of France. Their inclusion on this compilation makes the c.d. well worth buying. As far as a listening environment for this type of music, try Sunday morning, slightly hungover, on a sofa with coffee on its way!"