The Rough Guide to Australian Aboriginal Music
World Music Network (www.worldmusic.net)

Music is essential to the native people of Australia. In Australian aboriginal myth, totemic beings sang the world into creation, while 'songlines' link the mystic Dreamtime with the material world. This CD, produced by the same folks who created the excellent Rough Guide series of travel books, is a wonderful introduction to the musical roots of the very ancient (50,000 years old!) Australian native culture.

Land is all-important to the aboriginal people--the true Mother of all that is. This focus on the value of the land itself, even the most arid and seemingly inhospitable parts of their vast continent, is reflected in many of the songs on this CD, such as the Bangarra Dance Theatre Company track, "Black", which closes the collection.

If you know Australian music only from a brief taste of didgeridoo sounds from pop bands like Brother or Midnight Oil, you are in for a great revelation and a fine treat with this Rough Guide. - Bill Nevins