POP MUSIC : MIXED MEDIA...

The positive points: good historical material, a healthy use of African sources and illuminating sections on influential but hitherto unknown groups and the Caribbean zouk connection in Parisian studios. On the downside: a British orientation, the inclusion of marginal artists, and the authors’ assumption that knowing which three rhythms went into a certain brand of soukous will mean something to readers who are struggling to distinguish makossa from mbqanga . Good for musicologists, but novices remain better off with Ronnie Graham’s “Da Capo Guide to Contemporary African Music.”