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Mbilia BelBel Canto: Best Of Genidia 1982-87 (2 CDs) (Stern's Music) 2 CDs of crucial recordings of Mbilia Bel, the queen of Congolese music and one of the most popular pan-African stars throughout the 1980s, selected from Tabu Ley's 'Genidia' label by Gerald Seligman with additional notes by Ken Braun. These recordings represent an artist at the peak of her career, and included is a bonus track, the hard-to-get single version of 'Mpeve Ya Longo' - the recording that started her career. Beautifully packaged with a full-color, 44-page booklet with detailed notes, lyric translations, a discography and rare photos. Highly recommended.
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More info: When Tabu Ley Rochereau decided to add another singer to his retinue in 1981, he can't have anticipated how successful she would become. As he watched Mbilia Mboyo on a popular TV music show, tucked away on backing vocals for another act, perhaps he thought she could be just another singer that would join for a few years and then one day go, unmourned by a public always wanting what's next. If so, he was wrong. With her name changed to Mbilia Bel, they recorded the duet "Mpeve Ya Longo". It was an instant hit with the Kinshasa crowd and also in Nairobi, Kenya, where she made her concert debut as featured singer with 'Afrisa International'. By the middle of 1982, the buzz about Mbilia was a roar and she was hailed as the country's brightest new star. They went on to marry and, for Tabu Ley's new label, Genidia, record a string of hits that help define the sound of an era. And not just for central Africa. From those very earliest concerts, East Africa always held a passionate fan-base and Mbilia's recordings reached South, West and out into the African diaspora beyond. She also touched a nerve in the women of her audience and to this day there is something about Mbilia Bel that gains that audience's loyalty. However the partnership, indeed the marriage, between Mbilia and Tabu Ley lasted only until 1988, when they parted ways and Tabu Ley introduced his next female discovery, Faya Tess. Mbilia moved to Paris and then on to the States but, as fashions changed, so has her music. She has never quite found the same run of success as on those key recordings from the 80s. These 2CDs contain those tracks and tell that story.
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