Album Review: Thomas Mapfumo - Chimurenga Masterpiece
A review of Chimurenga Masterpiece, Thomas Mapfumo's eleventh album, from 1990.
I'm catching up on a few selections from Thomas Mapfumo's sizable discography and will be posting brief reviews now and then. See all of our reviews here.
I don't rate albums, but if I did Chimurenga Masterpiece would get a high mark. It was Thomas Mapfumo's eleventh album, released in 1990. It followed Corruption, which was released internationally the previous year and which did not endear Mapfumo to Zimbabwe's authorities, who didn’t like being criticized.
Like several of the albums I've reviewed recently, it's short on songs (five), but relatively long on music (about 40 minutes). It's another one you can get at Bandcamp, courtesy of Global Press Music, for a very reasonable price.
Things kick off with "Ndozvauri," a lilting number that's mostly just a guitar and some low-key backgroud vocals that drop in from time to time. It goes down so smooth that its ten minutes might just flit by before you realize it. The horns drop in late in the game, as they often do in Mapfumo's world. It's a great trick and one that never gets old.
"Swerengoma" find dueling factions of backup singers getting into a back and forth over a fairly basic guitar part - kind of a call and response thing. And then the horns, which play a particularly enticing part this time.
As "Dangu Rangu" commences, the mbira (thumb piano) appears for the first time that I could hear. Mixed with a bit of percussion and vocals and a wee bit of guitar. Pretty low-key stuff, but good.
"Jojo" gets my vote as probably the catchiest tune on the album. Most of the usual instruments are on board this time around, but none of them really seem to stand out in the mix.
"Jairosi" features a "leisurely" guitar part. I'm at a a bit of a loss as to how to describe it otherwise. It's kind of a melancholy song, but a strong closer to a strong album.