Face A
1. Kaini Wura
2. Ko Sira
3. Dugu Kamalen Ba
4. Nawo Nawo				play

Face B
1. Sigi Kuruni
2. Mani Jin Dala
3. Bi Furu
4. Saa Magni

In 1990, Wassoulou singer Sangare became a superstar in West Africa with Moussolou, which sold an astonishing 250,000 copies (many more were likely pirated). She received much of her attention for writing and singing lyrics that specifically addressed concerns of women in modern West African society, such as the conflict between marriage and personal freedom; not a shocking subject in the Western world, perhaps, but a pioneering one for the popular music of the region. Western listeners who can't understand the lyrics will be drawn in by her mellifluous vocals and smooth, circular compositions, which use full arrangements without sounding over-produced. Both traditional instruments and electric guitars/basses are prominently used (without getting in each other's way) on her 1993 release Ko Sira, her most widely available recording in the U.S.

A strong set of all-original material that has its cake and eats it too. With unobtrusive electric guitar and bass blending in with more traditional instruments like flute and djembe, it's both more accessible to modern audiences than traditional African instrumentation, and not as pop- and dance-oriented as much contemporary African music. The focus remains on Sangare's gliding singing (thickened by a couple of female backup singers) and the music's looping (but not laid-back) grooves.

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1 Djama Kaissoumou 		
2 Diaraby Nene 		
3 Woula Bara Diagna 		
4 Moussolou 		
5 Diya Gneba 		
6 Ah Ndiya

Personnel: 
Oumou Sangare (vocals); 
Boubacar Diallo (guitar); 
Aliou Traore (violin); 
Ahmadou Ba Guindo (bass); 
Brehima Diakite (bongos, kamelngoni); 
Oumou Sinayoro, Nabintou Diakite (background vocals).

Hailing from the Wassoulou forest region of Mali, singer Oumou Sangare helped modernize the acoustic-native mix of hunters' songs and sogoninkun dance music she grew up with. Finding her way to the city of Abidjan in 1989, Sangare cut a cassette that would eventually sell close to a quarter of a million copies; it became her debut disc, compliments of the World Circuit label. And while she would go on to cut albums with a mix of traditional and tastefully chosen Western elements, Moussoulou captures Sangare in all her sensual acoustic glory. Undulating atop a musical base featuring violin, the djembe goblet drum, a call-and-response choir, and the kamalengoni harp, Sangare daringly speaks out against such traditional practices as polygamy and arranged marriages. She fleshes out these modern views -- for Mali and many other African countries, at least -- with songs that both encourage her countrymen to recognize women as individuals and focus on a girl's struggle to reconcile old values with modern needs. A find for fans of West African folk-pop music.--- Stephen Cook, Rovi

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CD1
1.Ah Ndiya
2.Waiyeina - (previously unreleased)
3.Mogo Te Diya Bee Ye - (previously unreleased)
4.Magnoumako - (previously unreleased)
5.Dugu Kamelemba
6.Saa Magni
7.Woula Bara Diagna
8.Yala - (previously unreleased)
9.Djorolen - (remix, previously unreleased)
10.Denko

CD2
1.Maladon - (previously unreleased)
2.Diaraby Nene
3.Sigi Kuruni
4.Ne Bi Fe - (previously unreleased)
5.Laban - (previously unreleased)
6.Kaya Ni Wura
7.Sabu
8.Djorolen
9.Baba
10.N'Guatu

Personnel: 
Oumou Sangare (vocals); 
Boubacar Diallo, Baba Salah, Nitin Sawhney (guitar); 
Mike Williams (flute, alto saxophone); 
Malik Mezzadri, Abdouleye Fofana (flute); 
Pee Wee Ellis, Jean Toussaint (tenor saxophone); 
Paul Jayasingha, Graeme Hamilton (trumpet); 
Winston Rollins (trombone); 
Simon Burwell (keyboards); 
Amadou Ba Gundo, Colin Bass, Guy N'Sangue (bass); 
Brice Wassy, Frank Tontoh (drums); 
Ibrahima Sard, Basidi Keita (djembe); 
Thomas Dyani (percussion); 
James Thompson (programming).

Following Worotan, Oumou Sangare's third album for World Circuit, she decided to take some time to devote to her family and also to focus her efforts on bettering her own country rather than continuing her path to international stardom. After nearly eight years since that last stateside release, World Circuit is reintroducing her with the Oumou compilation. But this is much more than a simple "greatest-hits" package, as six of the tracks come from Sangare's most recent album, released on cassette only in Mali in 2003, and two others are previously unreleased. Sangare is not only a fabulous singer with a great band, she is an important social commentator, addressing many aspects of Malian society with a forthrightness never before heard from a Malian woman. Her basic sound is rooted in Wassoulou, a modernized version of an ancient hunters' musical tradition, which featured the kamalengoni, a six-stringed African harp. Sangare blended that with violin, electric guitar, bass, and her powerful, passionate lyrics, taking Mali by storm in the early '90s. As time went on, she incorporated some outside influences, but never abandoned her deeply Malian sound. In fact, some of the material from the most recent cassette release is virtually indistinguishable from her first album. On the other hand, she successfully integrated Pee Wee Ellis and his horn arrangements on Worotan, and while the drum programming on "Yala" might be a bit disconcerting at first, she points out in the liner notes that the song was intended as a message for young people, and where better to get that message out than the dancefloor? (That song and "Ne Bi Fe," with its almost trip-hop flavor, represent the only real stylistic departures on the collection.) The intelligent, non-chronological sequencing makes the collection flow nicely. Informative liner notes outline the origins of Wassoulou as well as Sangare's history, and Oumou herself provides track-by-track commentary. This is a great package of amazing music from one of Mali's most important artists. ---Sean Westergaard, Rovi

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