To my mind, Afro Celt Sound System always tended to shoot themselves in the foot a touch; for all that you had to admire their attempts at combining African and Celtic musical traditions, once they started sticking synths on top it could get a tad whale-music. And if there’s one thing we should all be sincerely discouraging it’s the kind of music ponytailed 40-somethings listen to when they’ve decided to stop working in the bank and become a yoga instructor.
“Capture” is the band’s best of – a collection spanning their five studio albums to date. One of the things that surprised me was the list of special guests – Sinead O’Connor, Peter Gabriel and Robert Plant crop up on the first disc, suggesting they have some pretty impressive pulling power. It’s no coincidence that the aforementioned people grace the first disc, as disc 2 is a collection of their instrumentals; an arrangement which works nicely.
While their music can be ethereal at its best, as I mentioned it can tend towards the corny; yet to be fair they manage to keep that to a minimum. Then again, it’s their greatest hits and they have produced enough music to be able to trim the fat without having to resort to the less-than-outstanding numbers. And that’s how it turns out – they might not be over spectacular, but they are fairly unique and do what they do better than anyone. Huzzah!
http://www.afrocelts.org/
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