S. E. Rogie - Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana
1994
Of course they don't! :) Get your bongs going, ladies and gentlemen, fill them up with that sinsemilla, lay down on a hammock and let the soothing vibes of Rogie's music make you forget all the crap in the world. Alternatively, you can grab a beer or two :)
Brought to you by TQMP
The Quality Music Project
The sweet, old West African tradition of palm wine guitar has few great players left. Palm wine music dates back to the days when Portuguese sailors first introduced guitars to West African port cities. Early African guitarists and bottle percussionists played at gatherings where revelers drank the fermented sap of palm trees, a traditional alternative to bottled beer. Rogie, palm wine music's greatest ambassador, began his career as "The Jimmy Rodgers of Sierra Leone." His early hit "My Sweet Elizabeth" stands as the most popular song Sierra Leone has produced to date. After he left home in 1973, Rogie's long, up-and-down career took him around West Africa, to the US, and ultimately to England, where he recorded, taught, and performed vigorously until his sudden death at the age of 68. Fortunately, he left behind some fine recordings of his easy, delightful songs, including the ironically titled Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana, made just months before his own demise.
-- Afropop.org
The title of this album proved to be tragically ironic, as the 68-year-old Rogie died shortly before his international debut was released. But if there's any justice in this world, the deceptively simple charms of Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana will leave the singer/guitarist from Sierra Leone immortalized by his music. Rogie is a master of palm wine music, which is named for a drink made from the milky white sap of Sierra Leone's palm trees, and the atmospheric, carefree feel of the tunes conjures up images of relaxing times on breezy beaches watching lush, tropical sunsets. Rogie's lilting guitar, backed only by standup bass and subtle percussion, has a rootsy folk-blues feel, while his soothing, buttery baritone caresses you like a warm Caribbean wind. With traditional African call-and-response vocals, the music comes off like a cross between the laid-back island rhythms of reggae, the back-porch vibe of rustic blues, and the spiritual feel of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, making this a sweet, stirring testament to an undeservedly little-known talent.
-- All Music (****1/2)
Tracks
01- Kpindigbee (Morning, Noon, and Night)
02- A Time In My Life
03- Nor Weigh Me Lek Dat (Woman To Woman)
04- Jaimgba Tutu (The Joy of Success)
05- Koneh Pelawoe (Please Open Your Heart)
06- Jojo Yalahjo (I Lost My Wife)
07- Nyalomei Luange (Love Me My Love)
08- African Gospel
09- Nyalimagotee (The Cornerstone Of My Heart)
10- Diemman Noba Smoke Tafee
EAC log and CUE sheet included.
Audio format: FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec)
http://flac.sourceforge.net/index.html
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Enjoy, seed and inhale!
Legalise it!
Pastafari Cubensis
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