"Amazonian legends" - A trip through the Amazonian rainforest with Xango. CD reviewed by Alan Hewitt.

This CD is the result of a collaboration between a group of Brazilian musicians and Kim Poor whom many of you will know from her work on Steve Hackett’s album covers, and of course through the fact that she is Steve’s wife.

Kudos music released this CD last year to coincide with the staging of an exhibition of artwork by Kim which dealt with the legends and stories of the native inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest. The exhibition featured Kim’s interpretations of these stories and had a musical soundtrack which Kim helped to produce in collaboration with the group; Xango. Group member Junior was one of the players on Steve’s album Till We Have Faces back in 1984.

Sadly, I wasn’t aware of the exhibition until after it had ended, however the music on this CD more than compensates for that oversight. At times it is as if you are actually listening to the heart of the forest and reliving the legends themselves. The music is mainly rhythmic and in some cases positively hypnotic but always effective and I am sure that at some stage it will be used to good effect in programmes about this particular part of the world.

More importantly perhaps than it being a CD of worthwhile music, buying it can also help alleviate some of the problems which the people of this region face, because a portion of the price is contributed directly to Survival International, a charitable foundation which is attempting to help the indigenous peoples of the world. I would recommend that you give a listen if you have ever wondered where Kim draws her inspiration for her work from, and also as refreshingly different music; good for both the body and the soul.