Oliver Mtukudzi: The Oliver Mtukudzi Collection

By GRAHAM REID

(Herald rating: * * *)

Subtitled The Tuku Years — doesn't bear thinking about really, does it? — these 10 tracks have some small overlap with the earlier albums but also include songs by this great Zimbabwean singer/ guitarist which were never released outside South Africa where they were recorded with producer Steve Dyer. Bonnie Raitt rightly likens Tuku's voice to that of Otis Redding and Toots Hibbert, and his guitar playing is warm and sinuously melodic.
The man who wowed Womad in the Auckland Town Hall four years ago always deserves serious consideration, but if you have no album by him the previous Tuku Music might be the better introduction.

Label: Putamayo/Elite