Brilliantly compiled, these CD’s are more than just collections of songs about mortality. As a whole, they form a unified composition, a meditation on the way different cultures respond artistically to death, a statement on grieving and a declaration of superb musical taste. Like a deft free-form radio show, these CD’s follow Albert Ayler with Robert Wyatt with a funeral in a village in Ghana. Moody, atmospheric and moving, they segue Cassandra Wilson into the Geto Boys, and slowly march through dirges from Lou Reed, Billie Holiday, Lydia Mendoza, Tom Waits and. brass and vocal groups from Mexico, Albania and Serbia. It may not seem like joyous holiday fare, but it’s a perfect way to reflect on those less fortunate.
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