Son Egal

Tarika | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 21, 1997)
• Original Release Date: January 21, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Xenophile Records
• ASIN: B000001L5Q
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,900 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #19 in Music > World Music > Africa > Madagascar

Editorial Reviews

Son Egal by Tarika

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important history lesson set to great rhythm, March 12, 2002

By 

"skak1" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Son Egal (Audio CD)

In March 1947, the French government sent troops from Senegal to crush an uprising in its colony of Madgascar. Estimates claim that perhaps as many as 100,000 inhabitants of the world's 4th largest Island were killed in the crushing of this exile. Torture and rape also featured in these brutalities. The Malagasy have never forgiven the Senegalese for these atrocities committed in the name of France. Tarika set out to discover the truth of these brutalities and used this as the central concept of this album (Son egal, literally 'equal sound', is a play on words with the French word for Senegal). The group discovered that although the troops used to crush their up-rising were called Senegalese they were actually from all over Africa. The album is a plea for reconciliation- should former colonies continue to be divided by violence carried out in the name of the coloniser? is it not time to move on? Even if this and other political messages in the album leave you cold, you will find here a superb range of rhythms and melodies. This is African dance music at its best. Some have compared the group to Bob Marley. Although the style is very different from his reggae there are certain similarities in the emphasis on rhythm and also the up-lifting message of the lyrics which are usually a plea for peace and positive thinking. The liner notes of this album translate most of the songs into English and give interesting explanations of all the songs.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Jewel, May 3, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Floida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Son Egal (Audio CD)

This CD is one of favorite of all genres. It is filled with wonderful harmonious voices, vaiety of styles and instrumentation, with adequate production. (This can't be said of much music today.) This CD is enough to capture any music lovers attention. C'est tres bien!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not in the same league as Tarika's other albums, April 12, 2002

By 

woburnmusicfan (Woburn, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Son Egal (Audio CD)

This is the weakest of Tarika's albums. The songs discuss deep issues, from the systemic corruption of Madagascar's politicians to France's 1947 use of soldiers from its other African colonies to brutally put down a Madagascar uprising. But all the effort was put into the lyrics, and none into the music. Unless you speak Malagasy, once you've read through the liner notes, what you're left with is a CD of nondescript music. The song "Avelo" is an exception. (I'm not even sure the effort was put into the lyrics--Hanitra Rasoanaivo's liner notes are a lot more compelling than the translations of the lyrics she provides.)