HERBIE HANCOCK & FODAY MUSA SUSO: VILLAGE LIFE

Herbie Hancock

•

Jazz Rock/Fusion

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Herbie Hancock Herbie Hancock & Foday Musa Suso: Village Life album cover

3.86 | 10 ratings | 1 reviews | 10% 5 stars

Write a review

Buy HERBIE HANCOCK Music
from Progarchives.com partners

Studio Album, released in 1985

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Moon/Light (7:57)
2. Ndan Ndan Nyaria (9:50)
3. Early Warning (2:52)
4. Kanatente (19:59)

Total Time 40:38

Line-up / Musicians

- Herbie Hancock / Yamaha DX1 synth, Yamaha RX11 drum machine, programming, co-producer

- Foday Musa Suso / kora, talking drum

Releases information

Recorded at CBS/Sony Studios, Shinano-Machi, Tokyo on August 7, 8 & 9, 1984

Artwork: Prince Twin-Seven Seven

LP Columbia ‎- FC 39870 (1985, US)

CD CBS/Sony ‎- 32DP 231 (1985, Japan)

Thanks to clarke2001 for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
Edit this entry

Buy HERBIE HANCOCK Herbie Hancock & Foday Musa Suso: Village Life Music

DOUG LARSON IMPORTS — Buy prog rock music and rarities (Free shipping on orders over 10 CD's)
AMAZON.COM — Best-selling prog vinyls

HERBIE HANCOCK Herbie Hancock & Foday Musa Suso: Village Life ratings distribution

3.86
(10 ratings)

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(10%)
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(40%)
Good, but non-essential (50%)
Collectors/fans only (0%)
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)

HERBIE HANCOCK Herbie Hancock & Foday Musa Suso: Village Life reviews

Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Easy Money
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

It's hard not to feel good and just a bit lighter and possibly even enlightened when you hear this album. Foday Musa Suso plays the Kora, an African instrument that sounds like a cross between an acoustic guitar and a harp. The melodies he plays are generally in a major key and almost always positive sounding, but never glib or shallow. The almost hypnotic repeating phrases he plays have some similarities to the subtle finger picking style of Missippii John Hurt, as well as traditional harp music from around the world. Herbie Hancock is not the only western musician who has sought out Suso's compositional and performance skills, The Kronos Quartet, Philip Glass and jazz fusionists Mandingo have also featured his brilliant performances.

For his part on this record Herbie wisely stays in the backgound and supplies accompaniment to Suso's uplifting melodies, and occaisonally adds tastefully non-flashy solos. Herbie plays a Yamaha DX7 on here, one of the first affordable programmable polyphonic synths that at the time totally dominated the keyboard scene. Many an 80s record features this usually plastic and overly bright and tinny instrument that always sounded tacky to my ears. Leave it to Hancock to bring out the best in this cheesy instrument. Throughout this album Herbie coaxes beautiful sweet almost African sounds, often sounding like a steel guitar, an instrument that was at that time as popular in Africa as it is in country music in the states.

I have played this album for friends who don't normally listen to traditional music from Africa, even when Suso sings occaisonally with some very non-western vocals, most have agreed there is a peaceful beauty to this album that transcends it's culture and becomes universal.

Latest members reviews

No review or rating for the moment | Submit a review

Post a review of HERBIE HANCOCK "Herbie Hancock & Foday Musa Suso: Village Life"

You must be a forum member to post a review, please register here if you are not.

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).