Here's one of two brilliant
Franco CDs, with 15 years between them. Listening to the pair together underlines the enormous and highly personal talent of
Franco, as well as his ability to bring out the best in other musicians while turning fashionable elements to his own purposes. "For Ever," ironiclly, was
Franco's last issued recording. Despite rumors of AIDS, his own guitar was as brilliant as ever, whether slashing in the mid-range solos he loved or teasing the beat behind the superb
Mangwana. As always, there are the bows to fashion -- here, zouk horn players whose riffs sound more effective against the soukous guitar than they ever do these days in their own music.