Marie Louise

Essentially the father of Congolese rhumba, Wendo Kolosoy gave the genre its first major hit in 1948 with "Marie Louise." In a new version, that song is included here, and though its magic powers might have declined (originally, if played at midnight, it was supposed to raise the dead), it's still a gorgeous piece of work. But the same is true of everything here. Accompanied by a young band, Kolosoy gently rhumbas his way through a set of mostly new material (another early hit, "Soki Oyoki Victoria," is also remade) in a voice that might not be as mellifluous as it was 50 years earlier but is still wonderfully musical, although he certainly does love his yodels. Full marks also go to the excellent, inventive guitarists, Vula Missy and Zacharie Onana, who complement the music so eloquently without ever seeming intrusive. While it's a joy to hear the old material again, perhaps the album's highlight is a duet between Kolosoy and Anne-Marie Nzie, another veteran of the early rhumba days (this is actually the first time they've ever sung together), on a completely improvised lyric, although you'd be hard-pressed to know it. This is an album that takes the music back past the soukous it became, all the way to its real roots. Glorious, and a very welcome return for one of Congolese rhumba's true greats.