This collaboration between soul singer Frankie Lee and multi-instrumentalist bluesman Dan Treanor definitely utilizes some African elements, but the title might be an exaggeration. At heart it's very much a straightforward (and excellent) blues record. Of course, the blues does have its roots in African music, but they're not as widely explored as they might be. "African Wind" comes closest, with kalimba (and Lee doing his best Taj Mahal imitation), and "Cane Flute Soul" brings in fife and drum - again, originally from West Africa, but really more familiar from Mississippi hill country. "The Griot" pays tribute to the African historian storyteller and historian, but with very American style. That said, Treanor does use ngoni and khalam (although it's hard to hear the former)…

The Ladies And The Babies (1984). Frankie Lee's debut album, The Ladies and the Babies, was one of the first contemporary blues albums to successfully negotiate the territory between post-Bobby Bland blues and southern soul. As one of the first albums on HighTone Records, the album helped set the stage for the numerous records and artists that teetered between soul and blues. To Lee's immense credit, he achieved this balance quite skillfully, thanks to solid songs, tight arrangements and powerful vocalists. He followed the record with several others quite like it, but none matched the energy or quality of The Ladies and the Babies…