Afro-Latin: Via Kinshasa

The hard part about putting together a killer compilation of music is not selecting the tracks, it's getting the licensing rights to them. This double-disc is largely drawn from the Sonodisc archives, which have changed hands faster than a parcel in the Kabul post office in the last few years. Consequently, fans of Congolese rumba will have almost all of these selections. Newcomers have a treat in store, for here is the distilled essence of the Congo beat: throbbing rhythm and bass guitars, romping congas and a slightly off-kilter clave beat, punctuated by sweet choral horns. Latin music was near– universal by the late 1950s, even affecting Western pop: think of ‘Hang on, Sloopy’ or ‘Twist and Shout’ and you realise the beat and chord progressions had got under the skin of Western teens. But Congolese musicians went one step further: the rhythm guitarist became truly rhythmic, playing his instrument like another drum.

And all the main exponents of the sound are here to slip their arm round your waist: Franco & OK Jazz, Grand Kalle & African Jazz, and its offshoot African Fiesta (formed by Dr Nico and Tabu Ley Rochereau. There are two tracks from Negro Succès (including the storming ‘Naleli Coco, with a bridge based around the ‘Peanut Vendor’ changes) and one from Vox Africa (which explains the large photo of Sam Mangwana on the cover). There are five OK Jazz rarities on here, while better Franco material is represented by ‘Lumumba Héros National’ and ‘Ma Hele.’ It's impossible to go wrong with this stuff but the Kinshasa album doesn't seem particularly well sequenced; a wider array of artists would have made it more interesting.