Search - The Bhundu Boys :: The Shed Sessions: 1982-1986

A really good tenga

Gudo Chidakwa | At Large | 03/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These timeless classics take me back to the days before the members of this band yielded to the shameful effects of a slow puncture. Too bad. Their music will live on long after their debauchery-ridden bodies have returned to the dust from whence they came.



Listeners of this album will be struck by the interplay between the strong bass lines and the carefully co-ordinated rhythms, which often perform a seamless segue from an unusual 7/8 beat to a standard 4/4 beat, and then back again, without so much as a self-indulgent pat on the back. Whilst those not well versed in the Shona language might dismiss the lyrics as mindless, repetitive nonsense, this would be as unfair as making the same claim about some of Bob Dylan's work, merely because the man could never afford proper elocution lessons. The rich vocal qualities of the singer's voice provide the lead instrument in this orchestra of African music, where the symphonies and cacophonies of the bush blend with the ear-shattering sounds of the village.



I was eager to award this album 5 stars, however, I was extremely disappointed that it does not include the timeless Bhundu Boys cover versions of "Rhodesians Never Die", and "The Terrorist's Lament". I would recommend this to anyone who already has Wrex Tarr, Clem Tholet, and John Edmond in their collection."

Start and end here

Gudo Chidakwa | 04/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone wishing to sample the Bhundu Boys needs to start and end here, because this 2cd set covers the period when the boys were hot in Zimbabwe and rivaled only by the veteran Four Brothers as masters of the jiti style. All the classics are here, including Faka Pressure, Simbimbino, Manhenga, Kuroja Chete, Hatisi Tose, Babamunini Francis. The Bhundu Boys were nothing if not versatile, their style dipping into Chimurenga, rumba and the slower rhythms favored by James Chimombe and Tuku. But the shimmering guitarwork remains a constant throughout. And the quality is remarkably polished."

2 LPS in one

mumbling-skull | providence, ri USA | 04/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Includes all of Shabini and the best of Tsvimbodzemoto...great unadulterated garage-style jit."