JOE CANG
Firefly (Manjo Music)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Joe Cang first gained attention as the bassist for the late, lamented Scritti Politti, and has since collaborated as a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist with the likes of Reebop Kwaku Baah, Ian Drury, Desmond Dekker, Hugh Masekela and Aswad. Recently, he's been writing and producing for Steel Pulse's latest project. Along the way, he's somehow managed to maintain a solo career, releasing albums like his Arista Records debut, Navigator, and this one, Firefly, an independent release.

Firefly offers 13 original tracks of soulful, largely acoustic pop, with overtones of his experiences with African musicians from his earliest days never far below the surface, and occasionally, as on the exceptional "One For Marlon," coming straight to the top. It's a consistently satisfying, and sometimes stunning, effort by an artist who many of the best in the business have long counted on to make them sound even better. At his best, Cang is sometimes reminiscent of bands like Traffic, but really never less than fully original in approach and performance.

Track List:

Firefly * Broken * Interlude 1 * Lost Ball * Church * Sure * Bad Luck * Long Distance Lover * Happy Hour * One For Marlon * Why * Interlude 2 * Trust Me

[Pick this up at CDBaby.]

© 2004 - Shaun Dale