![]() ![]() The extra tracks are solid but none of them stand out enough to make you wonder why they weren't on the original LP. It's one of three Cuban songs Baobab reworked for the album, and maybe the fact that the singers are credited with writing all the originals (unlike Bamba, where Attisso's name is prominent in the credits) accounts for the mellow feel. "Werente Serigne" gets that clip-clop galloping rhythm guitar, interwined lead guitar and sax lines, and magical Baobab harmonies working again, and "Ray M'bele" keeps the momentum high with a Barthelemy Attisso solo, who seems to have left his wah-wah and fuzz box at home this time. The slow, measured "Utru Horas" and the gentle, lilting "Coumba" - both featuring Issa Cissokho's sax as the principal solo instrument - are the flipside to the hell-for-leather energy of Bamba. It's a strong album but positively sedate compared to the wild and woolly Bamba -guess it's a question of whether you prefer your African pop looking back to faithfully reflect its early roots or charging forward in new directions. Orchestra Baobab returned to rhumba with a vengeance on Pirate's Choice, but you have to wonder a little why this two-CD deluxe edition of the 1982 album received such unanimous praise from the world-music press.
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