Babatunde Olatunji – Drums of Passion (1960) [REISSUE 2002] SACD ISO + FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz

Drums of Passion is an album released by Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji in 1960. Unquestionably, it was the first recording to popularize African music in the west, becoming immensely successful and selling over five million copies. In 2002, it was released as a single layer stereo and 5.1 SACD by Columbia Records. In 2004 the album was added to the National Recording Registry.

Having come to USA. from his native Nigeria to study medicine, percussionist Babatunde Olatunji eventually became 1 of the 1st African music stars in the States. He also soon counted jazz heavyweights like John Coltrane (“Tunji”) & Dizzy Gillespie among his admirers (Gillespie had, a decade earlier, also courted many Cuban music stars via his trailblazing Latin jazz recordings). And, in spite of it being viewed by some as a symbol of African chic, Drums of Passion is still a substantial record thanks to Olatunji’s complex & raw drumming. Along with a cadre of backup singers & 2 other percussionists, Olatunji works through 8 traditional drum & chorus cuts originally used to celebrate a variety of things in Nigeria: “Akiwowo” & “Shango” are chants to a train conductor & the God of Thunder, respectively, while “Baba Jinde” is a celebration of the dance of flirtation & “Odun De! Odun De!” serves as a New Year’s greeting. The choruses do sound a bit overwrought & even too slick at times (partly due to the fact that most of the singers are not African), but thankfully the drumming is never less than engaging. The many curious world music fans who are likely to check this album out should also be sure to look into even better African drumming by native groups like the Drummers of Burundi & the percussion outfits featured on various field recordings. (The 2002 CD reissue on Columbia/Legacy adds the track “Menu Di Ye Jewe (Who Is This?)”, which was recorded at 1 of the 1959 sessions for the album, but was previously unissued in USA).

Tracklist:

01. Akiwowo
02. Oya
03. Odun De! Odun De!
04. Gin-Go-Lo-Ba
05. Kiyakiya
06. Baba Jinde
07. Oyin Momo Ado
08. Shango
09. Menu Di Ye Jewe [Bonus Track]

Recorded on August 14 & 20 and October 1, 1959 in New York City.
Mixed & Mastered in Stereo & 5.1 Mix by Mark Wilder at Sony Music Studios, NYC.

SACD ISO

Babatunde0latunjiDrums0fPassi0n1960Reissue2002SACDIS0.part1.rar
Babatunde0latunjiDrums0fPassi0n1960Reissue2002SACDIS0.part2.rar
Babatunde0latunjiDrums0fPassi0n1960Reissue2002SACDIS0.part3.rar
Babatunde0latunjiDrums0fPassi0n1960Reissue2002SACDIS0.part4.rar

FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz

Babatunde0latunjiDrums0fPassi0n1960Reissue2002FLACStere02444.rar