Editorial Reviews:
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While Senegal hums merrily along, the Gambia is mired in poverty: yet culturally these contiguous states are as alike as peas in a pod. In common with Mali and Guinea, they both derive their music from the griot tradition, whose roots lie seven centuries back in the Mande Empire. Every one of these 13 tracks is a delight, and while it's nice to hear the insinuating tones of Youssou N'Dour and the sweetly melodious sound of Cheikh Lo and his band, the more recherche tracks are much more interesting. My favourite is a song from the Gambian griot Tata Dinding Jobarteh, whose kora playing--on the West-African cross between harp and lute--comes from a graceful, pre-electronic age. Most of the groups gathered here purvey village sounds rather than the blare of the stadium; one track reflects the merry slap of the "balafon" (Africa's wooden xylophone) in a coconut grove, while another comes swathed in riverside sounds. Finally, a serious criticism: we may get good biogs of the stars on this disc, but we are told nothing about the tracks' content, and are given no names of accompanying musicians. This suggests a lack of respect--for the artists' work, and for the listener's intelligence. --Michael Church
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