Customer Reviews

Eyes Open

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a musician of long standing and with fairly wide ranging tastes, I have heard a lot of music in my time. Eyes Open ranks as one of the four or so all time classic albums that have had a profound effect on my way of thinking about music.

Youssou N'Dour is a musician of intelligence that he is able to express his thoughts succinctly and simply. He has one of those voices which, once you hear it, can belong to no-one else.

N'Dour and band are accomplished musicians. The rhythm section are tight and, as can be expected, make up a very large part of the band's sound. This is a band that can do Afro-funk at its best. Country Boy is a prime example. The rhythm track is to die for while delivering a poignant message about leaving home in more ways than one.

The other great groove track on this collection is Yo Le Le (Fulani Groove)which doesn't pretend to be about anything other than a vehicle for smouldering bass and percussion with a haunting vocal line providing the counterpoint.

The rest of the album covers many styles from soft ballads to dance numbers to politics and contemporary African society. The numbers are sung in English, French and various African dialects. As with all the best recordings (in my opinion anyway) the lyrics are included translated into English.

My first exposure to Youssou was via Peter Gabriel. I was intrigued but not well educated...Years later I read a 5 star review of this CD and got it. It was an instant favorite and still is. I like his earlier music more (IMMIGRES), for its raw joyous jamming, but this is more accessible for general listening; offering a nice balance of superb African vocals and instrumentation with Western (French) pop sensiblity/production (coproducer Rykiel adds a distinctive flavor with his keyboards and arrangements, but it is more like a bit of mellowing western spice to an exotic dish with the dominant ingredient still being Youssou and his Senegalese band!). I like EYES OPEN more than any of his similarly produced recordings (SET, GUIDE, JOKO). I disagree with the Amazon review on this; I think these songs are full of heartfelt emotion expressed in Youssou's vocals, the band's tight and layered playing and the lyrics which beautifully convey the real concerns of modern Africa (multi-lingual and fortunately printed in original and translation).

I am deeply moved by many of the songs, and feel they include many of Youssou's best (Live Television, No More, Country Boy, Things Unspoken). Consistently the band and vocals are great and the production, while slick, doesn't obscure it's African roots. I love Youssou's soaring, emotive (wide open!) voice on anything he sings, but his more recent recordings have been disappointing in their shift further into western pop. What suffers most are the complex rhythms, the layered drumming and fluid dexterous guitar work, that make his band the "super stars", and reveal Youssou as the consummate band leader. For me this CD marks the turning point where he had the two forces, roots and pop, in balance.

I have seen Youssou n'Dour live, and I have several of his albums. I am sometimes frustrated that he doesn't let his gorgeous voice soar often enough, and he doesn't let that ultra-tight Super Etoile (super star) Band off the leash enough.

On this album, "Hope" gives a taste of that voice, and then "Africa Remembers" give me what I've been looking for - a nice slow development, and those heartbreaking vocals alternating with a floating and laid-back sax and keyboards. Someday I hope to hear a 30-minute concert version of this song.

I'm not wild about the rest of the album - it's only very good - but those two cuts are enough for a five-star rating in my book.

This was the very first African Album that I bought, and started me on an expedition in Africa. Combining jazz, rock, and traditional inspired music, this is one of the best produced international albums of all time. A must for all!!

On this masterpiece, N'Dour is backed by The Super Étoile plus various guest musicians; the instruments employed are too numerous to mention. Eyes Open kicks off with the sound of birdsong on New Africa, a melodious, moving call for African self-reliance, cooperation and good governance. Then follows the satirical Live Television in English and French, in which N'Dour offers some biting observations on TV addiction in his endearing English. Those are just two of five languages on this ambitious album: he also sings (mostly) in the lingua franca of Gambia and Senegal called Wolof, and in Serer and Fulani (Pulaar).

Versatility is the name of the game, as this great work attempts a comprehensive redefinition of African music, integrating styles as diverse as rock, reggae, jazz, mbalax, soul, R&B, merengue, makossa & rap. A mouthful and an earful! There's the slow jazzy ballad No More, there's Country Boy which deals with urbanization and losing one's roots - a track with a slow intro before the polyrhythms kick in, whilst Hope and Africa Remembers are tender, soulful ballads.

The hymn-like traditional Yo Lé Lé celebrates the ancestral home of the Fulani people in graciously undulating percussive and vocal patterns. On the melancholic French-only Survie, N'Dour laments the grim economic reality that many Africans have to face every day, while the somber Useless Weapons is constructed around a grand piano and stuttering vocals.

The album concludes with words of wisdom on Things Unspoken, a warning against mindlessly following movements and subtle indoctrination and a call for people to think for themselves by reading between the lines. Eyes Open encompasses many musical treasures and yields something new with every listen. It surpasses N'Dour's 1989 bestseller, The Lion, in its melodic, stylistic and lyrical scope.

This album was recommended to me by a friend. I bought it and can't stop playing it. Youssou's voice is a WONDER-MENT. The grooves are infectious. My favorite cut is "Africa Remembers". This album is a masterpiece. I highly recommend this album. It is really a fun listen.

this was the first Album of His I ever bought&it still sounds Great.I was digging all the Styles He brought to the table here.the Guy blends so many things rather well&strongly.this Album is very Underrated to me easily one of the Decades best Albums.

"Eyes Open" is a mixture of traditional and pop songs from Youssou N' Dour. This is not a fusion album although the songs are sung in a number of languages. In the beginning you hear the flora and fauna of West Africa followed by the gradual build up to "New Africa" inviting all Africans to unite, pool resources and share ideas. This impassioned plea to rebuild Africa to the peoples of Africa is sung in English, Fulani and Wolof sets the tone for "Eyes Open". This album is subtle because of the strong acoustic guitar but also fasts paced because of the drums and electric guitar. However although it is not a dance album in the traditional sense you will find yourself wanting to move anyway. I recommend this album as a introduction to Youssou N' Dour music.

I strongly disagree with Chris Dickson, who incorrectly states that this album lacks spontaneity (while providing no specific examples, mind you). Had he taken the time to actually listen to the album, Nickson might have realized that "Ma Demba," a song he characterizes on N'Dour's later album, Joko, as a "newly recorded track," is actually a re-recording of "Country Boy..." While one might argue for the greater "authenticity" of the latter recording, sung in N'Dour's native Wolof, such distinctions have little to do with spontaneity and besides, Joko combines English titles in much the same way as Eye Open. Equally impressive on this album are the French tracks, which contain some of the more moving lyrics as well as the witty humor of "Live Television"--a song that narrates the "extraordinary story" of a host inviting his unsuspecting dinner guests to watch on a poorly-lit television "that famous show............Dallas!" A wonderful and hilarious send-up of globalized world culture!

help me find any youssou videos.i have seen a 93 video at montreau jazz festival.any source available.thanks