washerman's dog: Rhythm Return: Rolling Stones in Blue

Friday, September 7, 2012

Rhythm Return: Rolling Stones in Blue

Golden griot

The route is circuitous. A rhythm emerges from the soil of Africa. It then is shackled and shipped across the wide water to a supposedly new world. There the rhythm is gumbofied, shimmied, chopped and mixed with beats that bubble up from every river. Centuries pass. The rhythm returns home sounding like a conquistador. Africans recognise it and quickly add more skin to the onion. Rumba is soukous is highlife.

Meanwhile, back in the newly conquered world, the guardians of the rhythm that emerged from the soil of Africa, keep the chant alive. They speak the truth and tie it up in in three notes they call the blues. Ripples of the sound echo across the wide water where in the gloom it is sponged up by boys desperate for anything to mean something.

A new rhythm emerges and moves across the water once more, where guardians of the truthful blue notes hear the dim hymn of Africa gifted to them by their ancestors, in these garish new tunes of desperation.

The Rolling Stones were nothing but a blues band. Just listen to this cracker in which the statesmen of the Blues pick up a handful of Stones’ tunes and make them appear as ancient as black soil.

Brilliant Friday night music.