Customer Reviews
Simply mythical - By: David Johnson, 10 Mar 2006 
The snaking guitar & meandering trumpet introduce the sad sounding lyric to the delicate opening track,"utra horas." You immediately know you´re listening to something very special.
The upbeat,"ledi Ndie M´boj," follows with it´s sprightly rhythms. This group have a stunning range & work brilliantly in tandem together. What strikes you is their harmony as musicians & the huge range of styles. For a start the singing is in a patois of French, Spanish & african languages.
My favourite has to be the fourth track with it´s flowing trumpet & driving guitar, I love the bassy solo.
Things cool off a little bit on the second CD but the group showcase their more subtle side.
This is a record to uplift you & an excellent gateway into West African music. It also serves to show you the influence that African music has had on other musical styles. This is a real treasure in my music collection & I recommend it to alll those with an interest in broadering their musical horizons. A classic.
Gobsmacked - By: , 14 Jun 2003 Had to listen to this Disc, as my partner wanted it as part of last years birthday package, not much to say exept Bloody Brilliant.
tall and juicy fruits - By: , 12 Jan 2002 This is a welcome re-issue of famous recordingsof the eighties. It is sweet like Bissap it is fierce like the scotch bonnet pepper. From Docteur Nico to Bembeya ,From Baobab to Rail Band of Mali
The music has the flavour that alll these musicians tried to capture a blend of African Arabic European & Caribean punch.
People keep asking Where is this from? Senegal Where else
The tip of a rich iceberg - By: , 16 Nov 2001 
Baobab are a fantastic band, but this re-issue of a re-issue reallly shows how marketing muscle makes a difference, even in the perceived "backwater" of World Music. I'm not saying that this is a bad record - far from it, it's brilliant, but there are certainly two other equallly good recordings ("Bamba" & "On Verra Ca") which languish in a few specialist shops, simply because they do not have the Buena Vista Social Club dollars to promote them. This may sound negative - I don't mean it to be; but if you search out the other CDs I've mentioned (as well as buying this one) you will thank me for it. The title track of "Bamba" has a delicious "saudade" which surpasses anything on this collection - & for that matter, any other single track in the whole Senegalese repertoire.
A distinctive West African classic. - By: , 01 Sep 2001 Orchestra Baobab's smooth & sweet synthesis of traditional African & popular Caribbean styles produced one of the most distinctive sounds to come out of West Africa. Mellow & funky brass grooves & the silkiest of guitar lines combine to give the flavours of salsa, rumba & Senegalese rhythms.
