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A compiler of one of the triples recently bemoaned to me that he was given a handful of small labels to choose tracks from to ensure licensing was easy and cheap. In contrast, the 34 tracks on World 2006 really do span the world and the criteria for inclusion has nothing to do with ease of licensing but everything to do with the tracks that Charlie and his many listeners connected with over the past year.

This is a mammoth work in contrast and you are paying for one of the best pair of ears in the business to spend literally hundreds of hours listening out for the best of the bunch and doing a thorough job of tracking down the deals to get them on these two CDs.

Even for hacks like me who get dozens of CDs a week through the door, there are surprises and sonic jewels aplenty among the many tracks on this double compilation. Free Hole Negro prove that there is indeed much to be gained by flogging the dead horses of Cuban son with their funky reworking of ‘Caballeros para el monte’ and then next up Romania’s Fanfare Ciorcalia do a similarly Lazarus-like trick with that old jazz standard ‘Caravan’ — in their own Balkan way of course.

Household names like Salif Keita, Ali Farka Touré and Nitin Sawhney get a look in too. Charlie once confessed to having a deaf spot for Nitin, despite admiring him as a musician. He puts that right by including this wonderfully eccentric slice of Delta Bollywood. The inclusion of the Czech Tara Fuki, drew a wry smile as I was lucky enough to be in the studio when he played that one some months ago. Charlie pronounced the surname with a long ‘oo’ sound, I maintained then and to this day that ‘Fuki’ rhymes with ‘mucky’.

The list of gems goes on and on, drawing on no fewer than 27 countries to give the listener an inspirational snapshot of the sounds bubbling out of the world’s speakers. Get out there and put your hand in your pockets.

Disc: 1
1. La Falla De San Andres - Johansen, Kevin & The Nada
2. Tirar Onda - Think Of One
3. Rhythmic - Gypsy Kings
4. Caballeros Para El Monte - Free Hole Negro
5. Caravan - Fanfare Ciocarlia
6. Dao Ruang Dao Roi - Blue Asia
7. Iutaphonic Dub - Oki
8. Dead Man - Sawhney, Nitin
9. Hoobaale - K’naan
10. Yambo - Keita, Salif
11. Chura Liya Hai Tum Ne - Kronos Quartet & Asha Bhosle
12. Balance - Tavares, Sara
13. Azul Claro - Isaar
14. Gadja Nilla - Pirttijarvi, Ulla
15. Nibari - Umalali & Sofia Blanco
16. Sabra Dima - Saqati, Amira
17. Okamzik - Fuki, Tara

Disc: 2
1. Djanfa - Amadou & Mariam
2. Bolega Banjo - Moussu T & Lei Jovents
3. Muy Fifi - Cooder, Ry
4. Penda Yoro - Toure, Ali Farka
5. Ilham - Massi, Souad
6. Voyeur - Costa, Gal
7. Tubela - Kekele
8. Otkako Sam Tudja Zena - Buttler, Ljiljana
9. Kto Kogo - Leningrad
10. Paradise Here Abouts - Gelb, Howe & Voices Of Praise
11. Semana Azul - Topferova, Marta
12. Ulica Zachodzacego Slonca - Loebl, Bogdan
13. Entronic - Aiwa
14. Amantito - Robin, Thierry ‘Titi’
15. Jolie Bruine - Camille
16. Esh ‘Dani Alash Mshit - DJ Cheb I Sabbah & Cheba Zahounia
17. Akhian Ni Akhian - Noor

Link: www.soundoftheworld.com