Customer Reviews

The Rough Guide to the Music of Mali and Guinea: Kora Kings and Griot Minstrels

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I received this cd from Amazon last week & I can't get enough of it.I bought it not knowing what to expect & i was not disappointed.I listened to it all, having determined that it's good I was captured by Sekouba Bambino's "Damensena"this song is beautiful, haunting my mind, the piano, guitar & Bambino's vocals melts one's heart as a result I have ordered full disk.Bambino also features on "La naya" by Bembeya Jazz National another great track."Atlanta" by Taj mahal & Toumani Diabate is very good the kora is magnificent, the guitar by Taj is good & one of the greatest griots, Kasse Mady Diabate features on vocals."kaira" means peace.Another very unusual track is "Bassa" by Momo wandel Soumah, here there's kora, belafone(slated strings)drums, a wonderful flute that gets a very visible playing accompanied by a melow saxophone by Soumah. I think it's a very beautiful song with a male backing vocalist chorus.Ali Farka Toure famous song "Allah Uya-God is Unique" never fails to impress, good song from the veteran Malian guitarist& Vocalist. Mah Damba's "Sounafi" sounds very good I like her accent.Jali Mousa Jawara's "Hadara' starts with a kora followed by a balaphone, guitar& lush female chorus.He is a half brother to (Mory Kante(-ex Rail Band).One track that also impressed me is "Alasidi"by Afel Bocoum-very traditional & he has been dubbed the next Ali Farka Toure, u will notice the similarity in style.Boubacar Traore'"Mali Twist" what can i say a great song from a wonderful guitarist.Others Rail Band, Abdoulaye, Nahawa Doumbia, are all good. This cd is the real deal for African traditional music. I read one review on Rough guide Senegal stating its the best RG, well I tend to disagree & say that this is the best Rough Guide by far.The music from Guinea is very much essential I have been underlooking it for Mali one but after hearing Sekouba Bambino's "Damensena"I have changed my one sided perceptions of this beautiful land. So go on & thrill yourself with something unique.I played this cd in my friend's car who drives a very sleek French car & when we passed by the taxi rank & market, people could not help but look at us but most of all i think they were made curious by the music emanating/ buzzing from the car & seeing that we are South Africans definately left thinking or must I say dumb founded.

This is a superb compilation of music from the heart of West Africa. This is not Paris-style world music (good though that is) - this is the real thing.

The tracks range across more than 20 years of Mali/Guinea music, with acoustic and electric sounds from well known (eg Ali Farka Toure) to more obsure (eg Momo Wandel Soumah) artists. There are some really classic songs here: Haidara by Jali Moussa Jawara and his kora, Sara 70 by Balla et ses Balladins, and Lan Naya from Bembeya Jazz National. Other big names represented are Mali's Rail Band and Ali Farka Toure. Taj Mahal even gets a look in, on a wonderful track dominated by the kora playing of Toumani Diabete.

(Missing is the most famous Malian musician of all: Salif Keita. But that's ok, as his music is easy to get hold of (the Mansa of Mali is a wonderful Keita 'best of').)

I bought this one without hearing it first, based on the reviews. If you like the simpler Mali sound, not the harder blues and pop, you will love this album like I do. Many earlier artists are included that are not on Putumayo's compilation. Maybe I was African in another life, but this music just makes me happy. There are choruses and much native sound. Enjoy.

I really like this collection. This music kind of reminds me of gospel because in some songs one person sings and a group responds. There is a lot of wood xylophone and it tends to be quiet, but well-paced music.

This was the first Rough Guide CD I bought, and also the first CD covering music from the region. It is still one of my favourite CDs though I have bought a lot more since.

I agree with an earlier reviewer - the song by Balla et Ses Balladins is the best track; although the one directly after it Haidara is also a great song.

But there are no weak points and I would recommend it highly. The inlay sleeve is also quite useful with a lot of history about the musicians and the respective countries.

The American artist Taj Mahal recently discovered that the blues and the music of Mali pretty much mesh, which may mean kidnapped natives from this Northwestern African region were the originators of American blues.

If you love the blues, you'll love the music on this Rough Guide compilation. It's melodically and rhythmically vital; it cuts to the core of one's humanity. It is beautiful, poignant, and rocking all at once. Legions of songsmiths currently live in this part of the world, and here is a superb introduction to some of their potent magic. Crank up the volume and bask in the bounty!

stand out track balla ses balladines...I am trying for 4/5 years to get music from this unique band...so in the meantime I have to reley on compilations like this superb one from your connaisseurs at rough guide.good to see Mali music catches up with listeners in the USA.I used to live in the remote Ausralian desert and all I ever listened to was Aboriginal rock bands and Mali desert music.You know why? cause it fits in with flat ,open wide spaces and car drives in heat and dust and smiling black faces.move your arse and your head will follow.

This mix really did not stand up to my expectations of the Rough Guide Label. Not recommended.