Product Description: Released in England last fall to rapturous reviews, Made In Dakar has landed on many British critics year-end, best-of lists. The Guardian called Orchestra Baobab masters of an urban style that pairs rippling, fast-flowing guitar lines with impassioned vocals and sophisticated dance rhythms. These move effortlessly from rumba, reggae and highlife to more indigenous grooves such as mbalax and their own mbalsa, an infectious salsa hybrid heard on the track Ami Kita Bay. The Sunday Times agreed, declaring the group a walking compendium of West African music, saxophones and guitars rocking in rhythm over sinuous percussion. The sleek, jazzed-up funk of Colette - dedicated to Carlos Santana - is the work of a group that, in contrast to some of its rivals, knows no frontiers. London's The Mirror summed up the enthusiasm of both critics and loyal fans: The first album in six years from this bountiful Senegalese collective glitters and tingles with rejuvenating glee, confirming their status as the jewel in the crown of African pop.
One of the best of 2008? Yes it is early to be making such a list so soon but I would not be surprised if this was on my top ten for the year. I already had two of their previous and thought that I did not need another. But, every time I went to my local cd store the clerks were playing this cd and it has just slowly but surely won me over. This is music that is not easy to find so order it now and enjoy it. It is part King Sunny Ade and part Cuban Allstars and is just plain well done-the Orchestra Baobab way.
Vibes from the Motherland This is such a rich taste of the densely textured, sophisticated structure of African music -- in this case Afro Cuban. The key elements really stand out -- the polyrhythmic (many shifting percussive patterns at once) and falsetto passages. These elements are so present in the motown and pop music of the 60s. i keep thinking of the original Frankie Lymon recording of Why Do Fools Fall in Love, where he breaks into that angelic falsetto over the booming, chanting anchor of the bassline, which is SO classically African.
These are rico suave , smooth , jazzy nightclub sounds from the ends of the earth -- the last bit of land of west Africa, ie Senegal, Cabo Verde and out into the vast Atlantic. Chilling in a historical context.
Another Masterpiece I haven't been buying much new music lately and hadn't even realized this had been released. I just happened to catch Orchestra Baobab performing live at a small club at the recent Montreal Jazz Festival and was lucky enough to hear some of the tracks on this disk performed live the first time I heard them. The show was just incredible and the tracks from "Made in Dakar" were definitely among the highlights of the show for me. I've been listening to "Specialist In All Styles" and "Pirates Choice" constantly since they were released and there are tracks on this disk that are even better than anything on those two outstanding recordings. Since picking up the new disk, I keep wearing my iPod battery down replaying "Pape Ndiaye," "Nijaay," "Colette" and "Aline." This is a great recording and if you have any interest in African music, pick it up!
propulsive, dynamic music Like the previous reviewer, I did not hesitate in buying Baobob's "Made in Dakar" I have all their available releases. This music is never far from my players..car or home. If they dont get you groovin and movin ,you are dead.
fabulous again once again the orchestra baobab has done it. ever since i stumbled across their first release and then the pirates choice i have been hooked on this festive sound. when i saw this in the store there was absolutely no hesitation but to grab it and run to buy it so i could get home and play it. do i know any the players or what they play? no. do i know any of the words? no. does it matter that much? no. this is music that you put on and you just enjoy for whatever it is that they do and what they do is make wonderful music. would i recommend it to any and all? well the five stars should speak for itself. the guitar work, the percussion, the horns all combine into a very moving beat that pulls you willingly along. the vocals are very expressive and it all works extremely well this time too just as the other cds have. you will not regret buying this.
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