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Vini Pou
View on Wikipedia| Vini Pou | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1987 | |||
| Genre | Zouk[1] | |||
| Label | Columbia[2] | |||
| Producer | Jacob F. Desvarieux | |||
| Kassav' chronology | ||||
| ||||
Vini Pou is an album by the Guadeloupean band Kassav', released in 1987.[3][4] It went gold in its first two weeks of release and was their first album to be widely distributed in the United States.[5][6] Kassav', as a 16-piece unit, supported the album with a North American tour.[7][8]
Production
[edit]Produced by Jacob F. Desvarieux, the album was recorded in Paris.[9][10] Vini Pou used five singers; many songs were sung Creole.[11][12] Earth, Wind & Fire's horn section played on the album.[13]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [14] |
| Robert Christgau | B[15] |
| MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide | [9] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [16] |
Robert Christgau called the album "the latest, the longest and the easiest to find LP from the guys who invented world dance music," writing that "the production has gained depth."[15] Newsday noted that "the rhythms are often derived from the buoyant bop of Haiti's cadance and compas, a major element in Zouk."[17] USA Today deemed Vini Pou "primo zouk," noticing the "gloss of disco and soul."[18]
The New York Times wrote that "the songs step out at a brisk clip, their three-chord harmonies lilting in syncopation like a carousel at full tilt; everywhere, the beat stutters and skips behind ear-catching, perfectly calculated riffs or sounds"; Jon Pareles later listed Vini Pou as the best album of 1988.[19][11] The Washington Post determined that "Zairean guitar licks are offset by American funk and soul horn charts; synth riffs and buoyant vocals harmonies abound, and the dance mixes have a distinctly disco/Euro-pop sheen."[20]
AllMusic labeled the album "one of their weaker efforts."[14] MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide stated that "the balance between raw rhythm and studio polish is at its apex."[9]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Syé Bwa (Sawing Wood)" | |
| 2. | "Flash' (Flash)" | |
| 3. | "Souf' Zouk (Breath of Love)" | |
| 4. | "Zou (Zou)" | |
| 5. | "Soleil (Sun)" | |
| 6. | "Ayen Pa Mòl' (Nothing Is the Matter)" | |
| 7. | "Zòt' Vini Pou (Others Come For ...)" | |
| 8. | "Es' Sé An la Fèt' (Is It a Party)" | |
| 9. | "Rosa (Rosa)" | |
| 10. | "Palé Mwen Dous' (Tell Me Sweet Things)" | |
| 11. | "Chouboulé" |
References
[edit]- ^ Guilbault, Jocelyne; Averill, Gage; Benoit, Edouard; Rabess, Gregory (November 24, 1993). Zouk: World Music in the West Indies. University of Chicago Press.
- ^ Snowden, Don (19 Nov 1988). "It's Still the Universal Language: Caribbean Roots of Kassav'". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 1.
- ^ Berrian, Brenda F. (June 15, 2000). Awakening Spaces: French Caribbean Popular Songs, Music, and Culture. University of Chicago Press.
- ^ Dibbell, Julian (Dec 1988). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 4, no. 9. pp. 106–107.
- ^ Winders, J. (June 5, 2007). Paris Africain: Rhythms of the African Diaspora. Springer.
- ^ Morse, Steve (27 Nov 1988). "World Beat Crosses All Boundaries". The Boston Globe. p. B13.
- ^ Adrianson, Doug (November 18, 1988). "Caribbean Music Show Gives Miami Band It's Big Chance". Miami Herald. p. 19D.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (18 Nov 1988). "Kassav' and Tabou Combo, the Ritz". The New York Times. p. C19.
- ^ a b c MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 2000. pp. 368–370.
- ^ Jones, Andrew (26 May 1988). "Kassav' are ambassadors of zouk". The Gazette. Montreal. p. C13.
- ^ a b Pareles, Jon (25 Dec 1988). "Trendlets, Revivals and a League of Women". The New York Times. p. A27.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (4 Dec 1988). "From Dublin, New York, Toronto, Paris". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 64.
- ^ Feist, Daniel (11 June 1989). "Beating a track to the world sounds begins with research". The Gazette. Montreal. p. H6.
- ^ a b "Kassav' Vini Pou". AllMusic.
- ^ a b "Kassav'". Robert Christgau.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 388.
- ^ Robins, Wayne (27 May 1988). "Zouk: A Caribbean Stew of Ethnic Pop". Weekend. Newsday. p. 11.
- ^ Ayers, Anne (6 Dec 1988). "Albums with the international beat". USA Today. p. 6D.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (29 May 1988). "Zouk, a Distinctive, Infectious Dance Music". The New York Times. p. A23.
- ^ Joyce, Mike (25 Nov 1988). "Kassav a' Zouk: Creole-Salsa Squash". The Washington Post. p. N22.