Rough Guide To Youssou N'Dour & Etolie De Dakar

Youssou N'Dour is Senegal's most famous singer-composer, a powerhouse who has long since become an international icon. His meteoric rise in the West was partly the result of Peter Gabriel's ardent sponsorship, plus a series of high-profile collaborations, like "Seven Seconds," his best-selling duet with Neneh Cherry. However, it is likely that his undeniable genius and charisma would have taken him just as far had he traveled solo. On this strikingly well-coordinated retrospective, the youthful bandleader of Etoile de Dakar is captured in the throes of burnishing and refining a synthesis of bubbling Wolof polyrhythms and lightly applied Latin influences that he called Mbalax. Youssou's piercing, filigreed vocals are supported by tinny, mellow electric guitars, explosive batteries of talking drums, brash horns, and elaborate backup singing. His lyrics were still based on praise-singing, but his revolutionary sound united fans from all backgrounds, thus striking a decisive blow against class prejudice. --Christina Roden