Virunga Volcano

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Robert Christgau	A−[12]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide	[9]

Robert Christgau wrote that "Virunga's snaky bass and nimble guitar come off as spaced and delicate as the falsetto leads Mapangala trades with Fataki, his only permanent sideman, and the twin saxophones are low-budget funky, their cheesy embouchure stuck between alto and soprano."^[12] The Gazette determined that "there are delicious guitar and saxophone performances, undulating bass lines—and it's thoroughly absorbing, a silkier, jazzier sound than the modern rat-tat-tat of Zairean soukous"; the paper later labeled the album "a classic."^[13][14] The Herald-American called Virunga Volcano "electrified and funky, borrowing as much from Western pop as from Kenyan tradition."^[15]

The Los Angeles Times noted that "the real ace in the hole is Mapangala's strategic use of horns for earthy, bluesy interjections—their mournful harmonizing is crucial in elevating 'Maloko' to genuine classic status."^[7] In 2001, The Sunday Telegraph deemed Virunga Volcano "one of the great guitar discs in the history of African music, also blessed by Mapangala's warm vocals."^[16]