Piké devan (La seule différence) / Pike devan (La seule difference)

This live offering from Magnum Band is a strong album of Haitian music. Featuring a funky, jazz-fueled romp through some of their best tracks, this is the perfect way to enjoy this band. Working very well as a live unit, the band not only plays almost note-perfect, but fills each track with an energy that cannot be captured in the studio. This is a great example of what a live album should be like: the crowd goes wild for the band, the extended jams actually add something to the original song, the energy level is high, and the sound quality is excellent. The only questionable feature is the disappearing/reappearing crowd noise, which becomes a major annoyance on some parts. The crowd literally drops out of the mix, just to reappear at a completely different volume only a second or two later. This may be a recording fault or the crowd noise might just be a loop (a common practice on live albums), but either way it really gets in the way of certain tracks. Besides that problem, there is still a lot to like about this recording. This is recommended to fans of high-energy, jazzy world music.