| In Search of the Lost Riddim | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Ernest Ranglin |
| Cover: | Ernest Ranglin - In Search of the Lost Riddim.png |
| Released: | 1998 |
| Length: | 70:14 |
| Label: | Palm Pictures[1] |
| Producer: | Ernest Ranglin, Ira Coleman, Bart Fermie |
| Prev Title: | Memories of Barber Mack |
| Prev Year: | 1997 |
| Next Title: | Soul D'Ern |
| Next Year: | 1999 |
In Search of the Lost Riddim is an album by the Jamaican musician Ernest Ranglin, released in 1998.[2] [3] It was among the first releases from Chris Blackwell's Palm Pictures label; Blackwell's Island Records had signed Ranglin in the 1950s.[4] The album title refers to Ranglin's decades-long absence from making music in Africa. Ranglin supported the album by playing North American shows with Baaba Maal.[5] The album was a success on the Specialist albums chart in the United Kingdom.[6]
Recorded in Dakar, Senegal, with members of Maal's band, the album was produced by Ranglin, Ira Coleman, and Bart Fermie.[7] [8] Ranglin wrote three of the 11 songs.[9] Maal sang on "Minuit" and "Haayo"; Maal and Mansour Seck also played guitar.[10] Dion Parson played drums on the tracks.[11] A balafon was used on a few tracks, as were koras and tamas.
Orlando Weekly called the album "an intoxicating aural bath that matches Ranglin's eclectic six-string leads and fills and the steady bass work of Ira Coleman with traditional percussion and string instruments and luxurious chanting and singing."[12] The Guardian deemed it "a gently rhythmic, refreshingly original and contemporary-sounding fusion that is both joyful, subtle, and remarkably classy."[13] The Sydney Morning Herald considered it "a beautifully recorded album—an all-acoustic session using just percussion, stringed instruments and vocals—with the relaxed, celebratory atmosphere of musicians reaching across the diaspora to find common ground."[14]
The Financial Times labeled In Search of the Lost Riddim "a lovely, sunny sound, all tinkling guitars and delicious variations of rhythm."[15] Newsday wrote that "Ranglin's fat, juicy notes on his electric guitar blend in perfectly with the acoustic accompaniment of the Senegalese musicians."[10] The Observer noted that "the music is filled with Ranglin's melodious warmth and easy good nature."[16]
AllMusic wrote that "the English bass and drums style gets all mixed up here with reggae and Afro-pop, resulting in a scintillating dance party."
| Peak position | ||
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] | 85 |
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