Dama & d'Gary

While The Long Way Home is billed as "Madagascar meets Louisiana!," that's not strictly true. You'd be listening a long time to hear any trace of Cajun or zydeco on this album. And though the great Cajun fiddler Michael Doucet does guest, his role is more atmospheric than anything. The focus is purely Malagasy, and everything else is secondary. D'Gary shows himself to be one of the guitar greats -- and Dama's no slouch on the fretboard, either -- playing in a true Malagasy style, which is, well, any number of things. It pulls from Indonesia, the slack key style of Hawaii, and so many other things you have to believe it's a musical polyglot. At times there's an almost Appalachian feel, at others it could be from East Africa; the one constant is that it's melodic, rhythmic, and thoroughly enjoyable. Lava and Pana from Tarika Rossy, another Malagasy band, provide drums and percussion, and that's all these two need behind them. The fiddle works, to an extent, although it's not really necessary. And when Sonny Landreth adds some electric slide to "Voasary" and "Miavonavana Tokoa," it cuts gently through the beauty, but also brings it back to a more recognizable, and mundane, reality. Producer Henry Kaiser contributes to a couple of tracks, but only in a minor way, preferring to let the music speak for itself. While D'Gary sticks to guitar -- both acoustic and electric, with a little bass -- to jaw-dropping effect, Dama proves most effective on the native kabosy, with its odd frets, and his supple vocals. Utterly captivating, and if not quite as good an introduction to Malagasy music as The Sweet Sunny South, it should be the next in line. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide