It's easy to wonder about the liner note proclamations that
Tlahoun Gessesse is "the Voice of Ethiopia." If he's the man, why wait until
Vol. 17 to dedicate a full disc of the exemplary
Ethiopiques series to his '70s hits? It's not that
Gessesse isn't a strong, expressive singer, but his voice is thinner than
Mahmoud Ahmed's. That may boil down to a
pop vs. roots
soul/
blues debate, since the arrangements here are very controlled and in the pocket. It sounds more like genuine Ethiopian
pop music in the sense of well-crafted professionalism without many rough edges, so maybe
Gessesse rates as "the Voice" by virtue of his ability to reach a mass audience. Another possibility could be that
Gessesse latched onto his groove thing and worked it. Bookended by
"Sego Menor" and
"Ras-Hen Betcha," at least half a dozen tunes here are peppy, uptempo Ethio-
pop with answering horns,
soul-style guitar comps, organ blankets, and
Gessesse occasionally cutting loose but usually playing it cool. The
ballads "Lantchi Biye" and
"Sethed Seketelat" may be the strongest selections musically, with a very deep, dark moody aura created by minor-key piano, vocal melisma, and an up-and-down rolling bass riff.
"Yene Mastawesha" is a lightweight
pop ballad with a near-Indian feel, and
"Selamtaye Yedres" dips into the classic
soul ballad bag with trumpet responses. The songs that leap out are the ones that sound different, and usually on the rougher or rowdier tip.
"Aykedashem Lebe" sports rapid-fire
jazz-inflected guitar soloing through a more complex arrangement, punchier drums, and stronger horns playing off
Gessesse's affecting melisma.
"Ene Negn Wey Antchi" falls closer to his usual vein, but it's a pretty happening uptempo
James Brown sound with a roving bassline, snappy horns, and the drums chop-funking up a storm.
"Kulun Mankwalesh" gets some of that smoky Ethiopian trance mojo working via a repetitive riff, wah-wah guitar, and flute for spice. Stronger horns adorn the looping octave drop riff to "Tezalegn Yetentu."
Tlahoun Gessesse doesn't impress as a particularly daring artist on these tracks, more like one who found what works and stuck with it, relying on excellent craftsmanship and
pop professionalism to get over. Early
Motown on an Ethiopia-scale might be a reasonable analogy. There's a lot of good music here but also moments when attention flags and whole tracks pass by without registering, something uncharacteristic of the better volumes of
Ethiopiques. ~ Don Snowden
![The Rhythm of the Saints [Bonus Tracks]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0886978988027_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "The Rhythm of the Saints [Bonus Tracks]")
