Rough Guides to world music

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Ok so maybe it's a silly question, but just imagine I have a limited budget, and I want to get half a dozen of these, which would you recommend to me, and which would you recommend I avoid?
I like virtually any style or form of music, which is why I can't narrow it down...

Do you have any favourites, ones that you listen to more than others?
Tell me this if you prefer not to 'destroy' anything.

― Littlest Hobo, Tuesday, 18 May 2004 01:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Rough Guide to Franco is the only one i have so far, but it is really good!

― Phil Dokes (sunny), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 01:57 (twenty-two years ago)

start w/Franco, Youssou N'Dour & Etoile de Dakar, Kenya & Tanzania, Cumbia, Highlife, Cuban Son, Cuba [separate volumes], Paris Cafe Music, and African Rap. that'll get you started.

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Matos' list is great, but he didn't mention Tex Mex or Music of Haiti, both of which are really good.

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:12 (twenty-two years ago)

And Congolese Soukous!

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:12 (twenty-two years ago)

oh yeah Congolese Soukous is really good, duh!

just put on the brand-new Kenya vol, will report later

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I still haven't picked up African Rap, how does it compare to the Trikont album, other expanding the focus beyonce Francofone stuff?

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I like it about equally

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Matos's list is indeed cool, but I'd go for France over Paris Cafe Music. Other ones I've heard (and liked): Eastern Europe, Japan, Indonesia, Egypt.

― de, Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:31 (twenty-two years ago)

They really should do Zimbabwe or, at least, Thomas Mapfumo comps.

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Zimbabwe was one of the first! it's pretty good but not great; about a 7/10 I'd say

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh wow, I've never seen it anywhere.

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:42 (twenty-two years ago)

see if you can track down the Worlds of Music textbook, which comes with a 3 CD set. Terrific overview of everything from Javanese gamalan music to weird Navajo psych pop.

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 02:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I only have the Moroccan one, but it's definitely got some really good hard-to-find stuff on it.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 04:33 (twenty-two years ago)

S: Ali Hassan Kuban

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 05:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks for this everyone, you're making it a lot easier for me!

― Littlest Hobo, Tuesday, 18 May 2004 11:53 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought African Rap was just okay. I love Paris Cafe Music. There are three new Bollywood Rough Guides that are worth getting. Also Rough Guide to the music of Ethiopia. We just got the Ska one, but I haven't listened to it yet, but it looks like some rare ska.

Have you been to www.worldmusic.net , the label's website? It has mp3s and a "rough guides radio".

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 18:02 (twenty-two years ago)

A class act all around. Pretty hard to go wrong with these. I'm almost always satisfied, even when they cover areas/styles I'm less interested in--I never expected to dig the Okinawa RG, for instance.

S: Rai, Bhangra. just about any of the African ones

D: The North American comps (maybe just personal preference though), "concept" discs ("RG to Passion"), some single-artists (Franco & Youssou are great, but there are better places to start with Nusrat, and you don't need to start with Lucky Dube at all), the super-general ones ("RG to Africa")

― Keith Harris (kharris1128), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 19:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks Kerry. I only knew about Rough Guide's site up to now, which isn't so good for finding out what's on the cds. I'm going to enjoy listening to those samples.

Keith - thanks also. btw what's wrong with Lucky Dube? Just asking
:-)

― Littlest Hobo, Tuesday, 18 May 2004 20:31 (twenty-two years ago)

the release schedule seems pretty crazy (there's about 7 sitting on my desk unlistened to from the last couple of months) and the areas covered is narrowing eg was kenya & tanzania now just kenya, plus the single artist ones. also i have a feeling they're actually getting better...

― mullygrubber (gaz), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 07:46 (twenty-two years ago)

I pondered hard and then took myself down to the store. Luckily there was a concentration of some so that made it even easier (my list necessitated a futher paring down). I finally got Franco, South Africa, Highlife, Japan, Rai, and Morocco. And I'm enjoying them damn well. Thanks all. I think I'm going to do the same again in about a month or two, so keep those updates/recommendations coming if you will.

― Littlest Hobo, Friday, 28 May 2004 02:20 (twenty-two years ago)

six years pass...

Apparently there's a skillion of these, and some have even been revised over the years. Can someone point me to a link with a complete listing?

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 25 February 2011 22:21 (fifteen years ago)

You can find them World Music Network

Emusic now has 25 of them on mp3 if you're feeling cheap.

― Funye West! (u s steel), Saturday, 26 February 2011 05:56 (fifteen years ago)

I went to the Musical Instruments Museum yesterday and was really inspired. The displays are fantastic, you walk around with headphones and a little bluetooth receiver tunes in to each display. Almost every single country in the world has instruments and unique music to offer and I've been meaning to dig into the Rough Guide CDs anyway.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, 26 February 2011 15:59 (fifteen years ago)

Rough Guides is a little progressive and pop oriented, so if that's not what you're looking for you could try Folkways or something.

― Funye West! (u s steel), Saturday, 26 February 2011 16:25 (fifteen years ago)

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Rough Guides to world music - S & D