That's an album we've all been waiting for since 1997 when the first Bah Samba 12" on Estereo (by the way the label's first release) Reach Inside was released. Further releases like So Tired Of Waiting in 1998 (like their debut with a Restless Soul Remix by Phil Asher), Black Blood, All I Ever Wanted (both in 2000) and Tired Little One (in 2001) kept to increase the tension and anticipation for a full-length album. Inbetween Bah Samba also did some very good remix work like T.T.O.'s (Turntable Orchestra) cover version of Gil Scott-Heron's The Bottle or Muro's Bohemian.
And finally in the late spring of 2002 we see the release of Bah Samba's debut album Bah Samba. It features all their previous singles (except for Black Blood) plus 7 new songs. If you're familiar with the above mentioned releases you know Bah Samba as on of the U.K.'s best bands incorporating a strong brazilian/latin flavour [well, they call themselves Bah Samba after all :-), by the way the Bah was made up of the surnames of the band's foundation-members Julian Bendall, Kevin Alexanda and Geoff Holroyd]. And especially appealing is the fact that Bah Samba is a real band that uses real instruments, a fact that gives their sound a strong live feeling. Add to this the voice of Alice Russell and you get the perfect match.
Just listen to the, er, beautiful And It's Beautiful with it's warm Fender Rhodes by Julian Bendall and the acoustic guitar solo by Mark Ralph or Drifting with some nice vibes by Roger Beaujolais.
But Bah Samba stands not only for mid- and uptempo latin-flavoured songs like So Tired Of Waiting, Reach Inside (unfortunately for those who've missed the 12" single, it appears only in a short edited version here) or All I Ever Wanted, with Tired Little One we get a simple but effective ballad with only Alice Russell singing and Mark Ralph playing guitar. And Bah Samba can also handle some funky songs D-Influence would be proud of (It Tastes Good with an otherwise rarely used trombone by John Harborne).
Add to this some other strong songs like the fast My Spirit Soars, the bossa influenced Pass It On or the instrumental Sugar Beet (The Last Pineapple) (with a flute solo by Kico Cowan) and you get a really great album that just fits perfect for the summer. And if we don't get a decent summer this year this album will wash away all the clouds and the rain in an instant.