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Muhammad Ali and the ultimate sound of fistfighting
TRIKONT US-0314
CD in Digipak with detailed Booklet in english and german
CD of the Week / Daily Telegraph 8.11.03
"For an idea of the extraordinary breadth of Muhammad Ali's appeal, you won't do much better than this hugely entertaining compilation of musical tributes from around thw world. Vintage Afro-pop sits beside Jamaican DJ toasting, doo-wop and salsa beside calypso and smouldering Southern funk.
(Mark Hudson, Daily Telegraph)
With these lines, a young, aspiring boxer named Cassius Clay opened a press conference on November 5th, 1963. He was signing a fighting contract with Sonny Liston, the heavyweight world champion of the time..
Usually an event like that is at best worth a mention in a paper's sports section. But this man, who was later to become Muhammad Ali, saw his place somewhere else: he was much more than a pair of fast fists, and to him boxing was more than just a sport. His personality was to add a whole new meaning to boxing. From now on, an appearance on tv, good prize money and a big mouth wouldn't be enough. A title would be no more than a pretty belt, without a show, without a momentum that transcended the mere act of boxing. When asked, why he had become a boxer, the Irish featherweight champion Barry McGuigan replied: "I can't be a poet. I can't tell stories..." Cassius Clay aka "The Louisville Lip" turned these words of wisdom upside down. He was well aware of the power of language. And he knew how to speak, with the rhetorical power of a Plack Panther activist, the exaggerated mimicry of a black comediant and the threatening gestures of a street fighting man. His enemies were insecure.
Some people, like Sonny Liston for example, were afraid they were dealing with a madman. Others felt like punching bags, constantly being launched at by Ali's narcissism, his cocky monologues, and ideological twists and turns.After all, Ali's show was mainly about one thing: style.
It was a way of fighting no one had experienced before. Not only did he surprise everyone with his light-footedness, tactics, and flexibility inside the ring, but he created an image outside the ring, too.. "Style wins",Ali's great trainer Angelo Dundee affirmed time and time again. His protégé had lots of it.
Muhammad Ali, born on January 17th, 1942, as the grandson of a slave from Louisville, Kentucky, started amateur boxing when he was twelve years old.
Ten years later, he had already won a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rome. He had knocked out hero after hero of an elapsing boxing era, and - what could be a stronger symbol in the early 60s' atmosphere of change? - posed with the Beatles for photographers in his training camp. "You're not as dumb as you look" he is supposed to have said to them on that occasion. To crown it all, the boxer, who publicly predicted the rounds in which he'd win, who bragged about his good looks, and claimed to be directly related to God, wanted to be taken seriously. "My way of joking is to tell the truth". In 1963 - Cassius Clay had not yet changed his "slave name" and had never appeared with the Black Muslims or Malcolm X in public- the press was still acting amused. Should they take the big mouthed young fighter seriously? Would his loquaciousness help the poetic boxer when confronted with the fists of the 7:1 favourite? Sonny Liston, Clay's opponent, was considered a terrifying fighter. He was merciless in the ring, and had previously been convicted outside the ring for using his fists.
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Tracklist
 1. RUSSEL,TOM: Muhammad Ali [03:17]
2. TRIO MADJESI: 8ieme Round [05:08]
3. BEN,JORGE: Cassius Marcellus Clay [03:28]
4. ALCOVES,THE: The Ballad Of Muhammad Ali [02:36]
5. SIR MACK RICE: Muhammad Ali [03:38]
6. ORCHESTRE G.O.MALEBO: Foreman Ali Welcome To Kinshasa [04:17]
7. BEST EVER,THE & ALI,MUHAMMAD: The People's Choice [03:00]
8. MCLAURIN,BETTE: You're The Greatest [02:42]
9. ALCAPONE,DENNIS: Muhammad Ali [04:56]
10. SCHERER,PAGE: He Is He [02:42]
11. CURTIS,EDDIE: The Louisville Lip [03:18]
12. COVAY,DON: Rumble In The Jungle [03:33]
13. LIBERATED BROTHER: Muhammad Ali [03:21]
14. ALCAPONE,DENNIS: Cassius Clay [03:23]
15. BIG YOUTH: Foreman Vs Frazier [02:40]
16. MR.CALYPSO: Muhammad Ali [02:35]
17. HARREL,VERNE: Muhammad Ali [03:13]
18. GRASHOPPER,J.W.& BUTTERFLY,THE: Ali Shuffle [02:46]
19. FRAZIER,JOHN: Try It Again [03:05]
20. ALI,MUHAMMAD: I'm The Greatest [02:47]
21. PUPI Y SU CHANRANGA: Bommaye [04:04]
22. FOREMAN,GEORGE: Live In Houston [01:13]
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