Today's Tunage Sandwich

[Stone]

Haven't had much time to listen, as I'm on the road, but here's a few I brought with me and have listened to:

The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

Van Morrison - Astral Weeks

Devendra Banhart - Oh Me Oh My . . .

Etoile de Dakar (feat. Youssou N'Dour) - Etoile de Dakar Vol. 1

Manu Chao - Proxima Estacion Esperanza
A client is a huge world music fan and he's slowly feeding me a lot of the stuff he really likes. This was one he gave to me recently to listen to (as was the Youssou N'Dour) and I must say it's fantastic. It's upbeat and accessible, almost reggae, but it can't really be categorized that neatly. A really fun record.

[Davey.]

Etoile de Dakar (feat. Youssou N'Dour) - Etoile de Dakar Vol. 1

Manu Chao - Proxima Estacion Esperanza
A client is a huge world music fan and he's slowly feeding me a lot of the stuff he really likes. This was one he gave to me recently to listen to (as was the Youssou N'Dour) and I must say it's fantastic. It's upbeat and accessible, almost reggae, but it can't really be categorized that neatly. A really fun record.

Was just listening to the Youssou N'Dour Set album a couple days ago myself. You may recall that the title track led off that African Music comp I did? I think you got a copy of that. Anyway, it's from later in his career, kind of at the dawn of his becoming well known throughout the world in 1990. Really nice CD with Michael Brook at the production helm. Still backed by his Etoile de Dakar band, except now with Super appended to their name. Also been listening a lot this past week to the incredible Djam Leelii. I've mentioned it a few times before, but it's one of my all time favorites. A timeless acoustic collaboration between Sengalese star Baaba Maal and blind singer/guitarist Mansour Seck. The full title is Djam Leelii: The Adventurers. It was originally recorded in 1982 and released with very limited distribution a couple years later, only to fall into obscurity. I guess the master tapes were even lost for many years. But it surfaced again in 1998 on a very nice sounding CD (even though it credits John Dent at Loud Mastering ) with a couple bonus tracks from those same '82 sessions and since that time has become one of my favorites. Not just a favorite in guitar music, or African music, or any other limited genre, but an unqualified favorite. Beautiful, sublime and evocative, foreshadowing the wave of acoustic Afro-pop that was to come in the nineties. Masterful acoustic guitar work by Maal and Seck, with some electric credited to Aziz Dieng. One of those albums that I can just listen to over and over and over and.....

I do have an early Orchestra Baobab recording from the Dakar series of about the same timeframe as the one you mention by Youssou. Guess they are somewhat similar. Not very good sound but pretty fun nonetheless. On the other hand, the Djam Leelii is a very good recording. Haven't heard the other one you mentioned but sounds interesting.