Youssou N'Dour, 2010.
It's been a prolific year for Mr N'Dour.
This soundtrack release by no means represents the runt of 3 magnificent releases - which include the movie itself (grab it as soon as it appears in the shops, or encourage your library to get hold of it), and the unrelated Dakaar-Kingston CD (prev rev?).
I toyed with the idea of purchasing this goodie, thinking "well, I already have these songs on such and such albums - this may be taking me down the slippery slope of "completism"...then I listened to it.
The joy of joys resides in the production values.
Not only do we get classic N'Dour songs - picks from the last 20 years of his recording career - we get them in new versions, impeccably performed, sizzling with rhythmic vitality and intensity, and with the Magic Voice that bestrides cultural/religious/linguistic differences, cutting through with a laser-light of emotion (actually laser suggests something a bit cold, and there's nothing cold in the vocal delivery).
Several wonderful groups of musicians surround the man, and one of my personal faves is the live Egyptian Orchestra version of "Touba" (the one I bore my kids with by pointing out the use of the neutral 3rd in the scale as nature/the Senegalese intended...).
Birima is here, as is a tonally shifted Lima Weesu, and I would definitely recommend this album as a starting point for getting to know the music of Youssou N'Dour.
Even if you do know the songs, the experience of the album is definitely one of being bathed in luxurious, heartfelt and uplifting music.
10/10.
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