Youssou N’dour

This 16-track compilation covers Senegalese singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Youssou N'Dour's Columbia Records period, from 1991 to 1996. Perhaps the most popular pop culture figure in Senegal's history, N'Dour created a music of his own from various sources, which he called "mbalax" and which incorporates everything from jazz, soul, hard R&B styles, hip-hop, and even Cuban samba, and juxtaposes them with the folk melodies and polyrhythms of his native land. The cuts here, particularly "Old Man," "New Africa," "Yo le Le, (Fulani Rhythm)," and the covers of Smokey Robinson's "Don't Look Back," and Lennon and McCartney's "Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da," reveal N'Dour's idiosyncratic, yet very accessible grasp and integration of Western and African pop styles.

Senegal’s greatest living artist is back with a major album that subtly alternates between tradition and modernity. ‘History’ strikes a balance between modern sounds and his african roots with variey and eclecticism. Included is a tribute to Habib Faye his late bassist, a great remix ‘Birima’ with Seinabo Sey and the duet ‘Hello’ with Mohombi amoungst many other treasures. A little prince of the Dakar medina since his early youth, Youssou Ndour is now growing and evolving within the wider matrix of Africa, influenced by the entire continent’s sounds, moods, and successes. Ndour’s Africa is a continent that’s alive, always in motion. It is therefore an open and informed album that the Senegalese artist offers us. Ndour has never hidden the importance he attaches to linking the past to the future.

Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry - 7 Seconds
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 133 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Chaos Rec. # 660254 2 | Country/Year: Europe 1994
Genre: Electronica, Hip Hop | Style: Downtempo

"7 Seconds" is a song composed by Youssou N'Dour, Neneh Cherry, Cameron McVey and Jonathan Sharp, released in 1994 as a single performed by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry. It reached the top three in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Portugal, Germany, The Netherlands, Australia, Russia and Poland…

John Lennon would have turned 67 in 2007. If alive, he could well be at the forefront of bringing peace to Darfur, where more than half a million have died from violence and disease during four years of rebel discord. So to create awareness of the ongoing conflict, Amnesty International (with permission from Yoko Ono) has mined Lennon's solo work and rounded up nearly two dozen current artists to reinterpret the music, which spans the ex-Beatle's entire post-band catalog (plus a pair from while the Fab Four were still in business). As with any attempt to cover Beatles-related music, results are hit and miss, with kudos going to Snow Patrol and the Postal Service for capturing the starkness of "Isolation" and "Grow Old with Me," respectively, Mexican rock band Jaguares for uncovering the fear and fury in "Gimme Some Truth," and (surprise!) Christina Aguilera for nailing the complex composition and mood of "Mother." Other highlights include Jackson Browne's piano-led "Oh My Love," Green Day's louder straight take on "Working Class Hero," and the Black Eyed Peas turning "Power to the People" into a gospelly protest. Will resurrecting 30-to-40-year-old messages of peace and love be enough to help end the brutalities in Darfur? That remains to be seen. But selecting John Lennon as the author of those messages will make people listen and, with this collection, may keep them listening.

5 CDs full of beautiful music to enjoy together, an ideal gift for Mother's Day, with recent hits plus the classics of world artists including Elton John, Leonard Cohen, Santana, Alicia Keys, Art Garfunkel, Whitney Houston and others.