Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Various artists
The Story of Fado (Hemisphere) (star) (star) (star)
Fado, the blues of Portugal, is a mournful song style that grew out of the poor communities of Lisbon in the 1940s and ’50s. It’s based primarily on the guitarra, the Portuguese guitar that has six sets of double-strings. It’s usually accompanied by viola, bass and, sometimes, hand percussion. Like other Hemisphere records in the “The Story of . . .” series, this one goes for the grassroots. Thus artists such as Maria da Fe and Nuno da Camara Pereira get prominent slots on this excellent 22-song collection.