Galo Negro
{{Infobox album
| name = Galo Negro
| type = studio
| artist = Sam Mangwana
| cover = Galo Negro.jpg
| alt =
| released = 1998
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre =
| length =
| label = Putumayo World Music{{cite news |last1=McCallister |first1=Jared |title=Afro-Latino Night |work=Daily News |date=7 June 1998 |location=New York |department=Suburban |page=14}}
| producer = Christian Polloni
| prev_title = No Me Digas No
| prev_year = 1995
| next_title = Sam Mangwana Sings Dino Vangu
| next_year = 2000
}}
Galo Negro is an album by the Angolan Congolese musician Sam Mangwana, released in 1998.{{cite journal |last1=Hund |first1=Peter |title=Music |journal=World Trade |date=Sep 1998 |volume=11 |issue=9 |page=82}}{{cite magazine |last1=Reece |first1=Doug |title=Roadwork |magazine=Billboard |date=Jun 20, 1998 |volume=110 |issue=25 |page=19}} Mangwana deemed his sound "Congolese Rumba."{{cite news |last1=Himes |first1=Geoffrey |title=Sam Mangwana 'Galo Negro' |work=The Washington Post |date=23 July 1999 |page=N13}} Mangwana supported the album with a North American tour, accompanied by labelmate Ricardo Lemvo.{{cite magazine |last1=Lannert |first1=John |title=Latin Notas |magazine=Billboard |date=May 30, 1998 |volume=110 |issue=22 |page=64}}
Production
Recorded in France, the album was produced by Christian Polloni.{{cite news |title=Singing songs of struggle and love |work=Daily Hampshire Gazette |date=July 15, 1999 |page=D1}} Mangwana sang in Swahili, Lingala, Kikongo, Portuguese, French, and English.{{Cite news|url=http://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/sam-mangwana/|title=Sam Mangwana|date=July 29, 1999|work=Chicago Reader}} Several songs are about oppression and the effects of colonialism.{{cite news |last1=Armstrong |first1=Gene |title=World music's hot beat coming |work=Arizona Daily Star |date=August 6, 1999 |page=36E}}
"Manjani" is a duet with Murray Head; Mangwana yodels on the song.{{cite news |last1=Sayani |first1=Fateema |title=Son of Africa has a global message: Sam Mangwana to play at Wakefield's Black Sheep Inn tonight |work=Ottawa Citizen |date=4 Aug 1999 |page=C16}} The title track, about a freedom fighter, was written by Mangwana with his guitar player, Papa Noël Nedule.{{cite news |last1=Cantor |first1=Judy |title=The Congo, by Way of Cuba |work=Miami New Times |date=June 11, 1998 |department=Music}}{{cite magazine |last1=Shepard |first1=T. Brooks |title=Earworthy |magazine=American Visions |date=Feb–Mar 2000 |volume=15 |issue=1 |page=49}} Dizzy Mandjeku also played guitar on Galo Negro.{{cite news |last1=Seigel |first1=Stephen |title=Negro Gold |work=Tucson Weekly |date=August 5, 1999 |department=Soundbites}}
Critical reception
{{album ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/galo-negro-mw0000037851|title=Sam Mangwana Galo Negro|website=AllMusic}}
|rev2 = Robert Christgau
|rev2score = {{Rating-Christgau|hm2}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1209&name=Sam+Mangwana|title=Sam Mangwana|website=Robert Christgau}}
|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=5 |pages=472–473}}
|rev4 = MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide
|rev4score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide |date=2000 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=478}}
|rev5 = The Tampa Tribune
|rev5score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite news |last1=Ross |first1=Curtis |title=Sam Mangwana, Galo Negro |work=The Tampa Tribune |date=January 8, 1999 |department=Friday Extra! |page=15}}
}}
The Chicago Reader wrote: "The gently rolling rhythms come from former Portuguese colonies like Angola and Cape Verde as well as Cuba, the sweet accordion lines from Madagascar, and the lovely lead guitar work from Congo, courtesy of former OK Jazz member Papa Noël Nedule Montswet." The Sun-Sentinel called the album "full of Congolese rhythms and Latin rhythms—from rumba to vallenato."{{cite news |last1=Cazares |first1=David |title=Singers Find Synergy in African, Cuban Beats |work=Sun-Sentinel |date=12 June 1998 |department=Showtime |page=26}} The Los Angeles Sentinel labeled it "groundbreaking," writing that it "blends pan-African pop styles with influences from Portugal, the Caribbean and Latin America."{{cite news |title=Legendary African Musician Performs Congolese Soukous |work=Los Angeles Sentinel |issue=33 |date=15 Nov 2000 |page=B4}}
The Gazette deemed Galo Negro "a delicate, sensuous set highlighted by Mangwana's evocative tenor voice."{{cite news |last1=Feist |first1=Daniel |title=Mangwana plays African ambassador |work=The Gazette |date=27 June 1998 |page=D11}} The Washington Post noted that "the island flavor of Mangwana's music is reinforced by the presence of the great Malagasy accordionist Regis Gizana and by Mangwana's use of Cape Verdean falsetto vocals." The New York Times considered the album "pretty plainly indicative of an African-Cuban (and African-South American, with hints of music from Colombia and Brazil) cross-pollination."{{cite news |last1=Ratliff |first1=Ben |title=Africa and Cuba Meet in a Melody |work=The New York Times |date=27 July 1999 |page=E6}}
AllMusic wrote that a listener "hears elements of everything from Afro-Cuban salsa and Dominican merengue to Spanish flamenco and Colombian vallenato."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| title1 = Galo Negro
| length1 =
| title2 = Manjani
| length2 =
| title3 = Ghetto
| length3 =
| title4 = Elima
| length4 =
| title5 = Zengolo
| length5 =
| title6 = Maloba
| length6 =
| title7 = Nakupenda
| length7 =
| title8 = Cara Mabanzo
| length8 =
| title9 = Balobi
| length9 =
| title10 = Ya Mbemba
| length10 =
}}