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Buy anything from the World Music store and you can get the official CD from the Songlines Music Awards 2013 for just £1.99. Offer ends at 23:59 on Sunday, June 30. Learn more. |
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Track Listings
| 1. Marley - Youssou Ndour, Mutabaruka |
| 2. Medina |
| 3. Joker - Youssou Ndour, Patrice |
| 4. Bololene |
| 5. Bamba |
| 6. Black Woman |
| 7. Survie |
| 8. Africa Dream Again - Youssou Ndour, Ayo |
| 9. Diarr Diarr |
| 10. Don't Walk Away - Youssou Ndour, Morgan Heritage |
| 11. Bagn Len |
| 12. Leteuma |
| 13. Pitch Me |
Product Description
Review
With its Dakar–Kingston title and an opening track simply called Marley, it would seem that this album is designed as a tribute to Jamaica's king of reggae music. Upon further investigation, the king of African music (well, one of them) has elected to pay homage to Bob Marley and the Wailers in a less obvious fashion.
Youssou N'Dour is revisiting songs from his own back catalogue, picking representatives from five older discs. The original material here is in the minority. He's been recording in Marley's old Tuff Gong studio in Kingston, with Wailer keyboardist Tyrone Downie at the production helm. There were also sessions in Dakar and Paris, so this is a typically international project.
Downie has had a significant input in the new reggae-fied arrangements of the songs, and has gathered together a creamy crop of veteran players. Where else would it be possible to hear the guitar combination of Oumar Sow, from N'Dour's regular combo, and Earl 'Chinna' Smith, from almost every 1970s reggae album conceivable? Also on hand are saxophonist Dean Fraser and percussionists Bongo Herman and Sticky Thompson, though the disc's booklet manages to misspell most of their names.
Marley features N'Dour very directly addressing Bob's legacy, assisted by the raspingly intoned verses of Jamaican poet Mutabaruka. This one song succinctly details the mission at hand. It's a gentle reggae lope, highly poppy with its little synth worms and harmonious backing vocals.
N'Dour often sounds ungainly when singing in English, but his accent does possess a certain charm. Before too long, he's back into Wolof lines, doing an electro-dancehall strut to "Medina". He's back to English for "Joker", joined by a guesting Patrice. "Bamba" is extremely catchy, making a brisk stride, with clipping keyboard punctuations, the horn section adding extra bounce. "Black Woman" is the epitome of N'Dour's simple and approachable stance here. His mixture of Senegalese mbalax and Jamaican reggae is finely balanced throughout the course of this entire disc, best showcased on "Diarr Diarr".
Morgan Heritage guests on "Don't Walk Away", the first of two tracks that feature some eerie harmonica trilling. Usually, this role would be tackled by a melodica, but these parts are surely taken by a mouth-harp. N'Dour saves his best soaring vocal delivery for the closing "Pitch Me", a tightly-woven skank that boasts a fulsome bassline, detailed percussion and a rich weave of voices.
--Martin LongleyFind more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
CD
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Simon Levene
Format:Audio CD
I have several of Youssou N'Dour's previous albums and have to admit that I really like the more westernized songs (sorry all you purists out there), I enjoy hearing musicians who are not afraid of blending styles of music and this is certainly a well-realized project.
The production is crisp and the playing is tight, the vocals (both lead and backing) are superb. The songs are performed in a relatively straight forward reggae style although most of the songs have a more typical array of African percussion.
The opening song, Marley and one other: Black Woman suffer from having what may be described as clumsy lyrics sung in English. This is certainly not the first album where the English lyrics appear awkward and it maybe that the songs sung in French suffer the same way. These two songs diminish the power of the album as a whole, hence four stars instead of five.
If your expecting a traditional-sounding album from Youssou N'Dour, then look elsewhere. This is, however, a fantastic hybrid, one where the old songs get a fresh breath of life, not necessarily better than the originals, just different enough.
The production is crisp and the playing is tight, the vocals (both lead and backing) are superb. The songs are performed in a relatively straight forward reggae style although most of the songs have a more typical array of African percussion.
The opening song, Marley and one other: Black Woman suffer from having what may be described as clumsy lyrics sung in English. This is certainly not the first album where the English lyrics appear awkward and it maybe that the songs sung in French suffer the same way. These two songs diminish the power of the album as a whole, hence four stars instead of five.
If your expecting a traditional-sounding album from Youssou N'Dour, then look elsewhere. This is, however, a fantastic hybrid, one where the old songs get a fresh breath of life, not necessarily better than the originals, just different enough.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Youssou Ndour has this marvellous capability to make you feel better whenever you hear him. The album opens gently with Marley. This is a new song, on which Yusuf Islam (better known as Cat Stevens) and Tyrone Downie (from the Wailers) collaborated. There are some very good new songs such as Black Woman, Diarr Diarr and Bagn Len.
About half of the songs are not new but they have been reworked and given a reggae twist: the catchy Medina (first recorded in 1985 but included on Set), Joker (which was on some versions of 2002's Nothing's in Vain..), Bololene (which was on Alsaama Day of 2007 but which is now released internationally for the first time), Bamba (from 1994's The Guide (Wommat)), Survie (which was on 1992's Eyes Open), Don't Walk Away (from 2000's Joko), Africa Dream Again (also on Nothing's in Vain..) and Pitch Me (from 1984's Immigres). Sometimes it's difficult to decide which version is the better one and you won't regret buying this CD!
I had the chance to see Youssou Ndour twice in concert last summer. He gave us 'a musical journey from Kingston to Dakar' where reggae blended into mbalax and where the excellent musicians made sure that everybody was dancing from beginning to end. Catch them if you can!
About half of the songs are not new but they have been reworked and given a reggae twist: the catchy Medina (first recorded in 1985 but included on Set), Joker (which was on some versions of 2002's Nothing's in Vain..), Bololene (which was on Alsaama Day of 2007 but which is now released internationally for the first time), Bamba (from 1994's The Guide (Wommat)), Survie (which was on 1992's Eyes Open), Don't Walk Away (from 2000's Joko), Africa Dream Again (also on Nothing's in Vain..) and Pitch Me (from 1984's Immigres). Sometimes it's difficult to decide which version is the better one and you won't regret buying this CD!
I had the chance to see Youssou Ndour twice in concert last summer. He gave us 'a musical journey from Kingston to Dakar' where reggae blended into mbalax and where the excellent musicians made sure that everybody was dancing from beginning to end. Catch them if you can!
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Youssou Ndour is the master of mbalax and here he proves again how easily he can handle new material. Those who are superficial and unschooled in the reggae of the 1970s will not comprehend the power of this creation. His journey from Dakar to Kingston is pure genius and so refreshing. The lyrics are equally powerful. The duets resonate with anyone with a musical ear. This is a crossover album and if you are looking for vocal talent, superb and seamless reggae/mbalax musical fusion and an incredible sound a la 1970s style enjoy this album. The CD brings relaxation and reflection - a pure breath of fresh air.
Enjoy the genius of the maestro. I hope there will be a follow up to this great album.
Enjoy the genius of the maestro. I hope there will be a follow up to this great album.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Dakar - Kingston
There were a few misunderstandings in our dealings but things worked out in the end. The CD was ok, our communications clear and helpful and the delivery fine.
Published on 27 Sep 2010 by S. M. Berman
1.0 out of 5 stars
I don't like reggae, I....
Youssou's music has elements of reggae anyway and it works really well in the mbalax style....
But this? Why, oh why, oh why?
Dreadful. Read more
But this? Why, oh why, oh why?
Dreadful. Read more
Published on 25 April 2010 by One more opinion
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