Oremi + We Are One [EXTRA TRACKS]

Angelique Kidjo

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 24, 1998)
• Original Release Date: November 24, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Label: Fontana Island
• ASIN: B00000G0TN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #89,664 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > World Music > Africa > Benin

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Benin-born Afropop star Angelique Kidjo will rock you, but her music is ultimately a wave of higher consciousness. Oremi ("Friends"), her fifth album, makes the first stop of a projected trilogy in the U.S. and creates a coalition between the sounds and spirits of Africa and R&B. The set jumps off with a soul-to-soul gesture--Kidjo's powerhouse take on "Voodoo Child," Jimi Hendrix's prescient nod to his origins. Collaborations with Robbie Neville, Cassandra Wilson, Branford Marsalis, and Kelly Price range from stunning to intoxicating, as in Price and Kidjo's "Open Your Eyes" duet. Kidjo scores as strongly solo and never stoops to preach. "Babalao" is this African sage's moving plea for the world's youth, while "Yaki" is her impish cackle at pretension taking a well-deserved pratfall. The album also contains Kidjo's single from the Lion King II soundtrack, "We Are One." --Elena Oumano

Vibe

Several tracks ... are too dated: they sound like Paula Abdul-style fluff. Though Kidjo's tracks could have been way more interesting ... Oremi still manages to charm its way into the winner's circle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If this doesn't make you a convert, nothing will., January 19, 2000

By	yygsgsdrassil "yygsgsdrassil" (Crossroads America) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I saw Kidjo's stage show a few years back here in Emerald City at one of my favorite watering holes/live show venues....the rhythm, the ancestral motif, the techno/hip-hop flavoring, the seductive backgound singers and dancers, Kidjo's ball-of-fire performance....I fell deeply in love with her. Who wouldn't, I ask ya? She's been out for a little while and this album "Oremi", as one of the other reviewers stated, is one that melds the US hip-hop to the African music/World Beat music (I am not sure of the proper term for it, so if you're a description purist, forgive me.) that she generally does...I purchased the CD "Logozo" some years back and lemme tellya, she really shouldn't worry about capturing that US R&B audience--"Logozo" was bumpin'and thumpin' and though it was sung all in her language, I really don't need a translator to feel what she means, dig? This CD "Oremi" quite does the same thing. It is so strong that it will make you a Kidjo fan forever.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars mind-bogglingly good!!, May 9, 2001

By A Customer

excellent album to widen your musical horizons without worrying about buying something you'll dislike when you take a close listen. not only has this album withstood that test, but i've been walking around with the music in my head for the past week!! heck, my boss *and* our secretary *both* borrowed the CD because they liked the sound, and will probably buy copies of their own!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LoVe ThIs CD, March 15, 2001

By	T. L O'Keefe (Altadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I got turned on to Oremi and after hearing it, hunted until I found FIFA and AYE (thank you Amazon.com). The music and beats are infectious and it really doesn't bother me that I can't understand a thing she's saying. Because with a voice that beautiful, it's all about the music. The lyrics I do understand (like Open Your Eyes) are worthy of being sung again and again. Also, compared to the lyrics of a lot of the songs on the radio, I don't mind my 5 yr old daughter singing her way phonetically through this gem of an album. Kelly Price, Branford Marsallis and Cassandra Wilson were pleasant surprises on an already completely satisfying CD.