Amadou & Mariam – Dimanche a Bamako (2004)

1. M’Bife
2. M’Bife Balafon
3. Coulibaly
4. La Realite
5. Senegal Fast Food
6. Artistiya
7. La Fete au Village
8. Camions Sauvages
9. Beaux Dimanches
10. La Paix
11. Djanfa
12. Taxi Bamako
13. Politic Amagni
14. Gnidjougouya
15. M’Bife Blues

    Amadou Bagayoko — guitar, vocals
    Mariam Doumbia — vocals, choir
    Nicolas Auriauit — trumpet
    Samou Bagayoko — choir
    Manu Chao — guitar, vocals, choir
    Ousmane Cissé — choir
    Boubacar Dembele — djembe
    Roberto Shilling Pollo Duarte — piano
    Tiken Jah Fakoly — vocals
    Laurent Griffon — bass
    Stéphane Hamokrane — choir
    Alain Hatot — clarinet, flute, baritone saxophone
    Pierre Hauthe — trombone
    Renaud Lacoche — saw
    Loïc Landois — harmonica
    Cédric Lesouquet — double bass
    Ibrahim Maalouf — trumpet
    François Regis Matuszenski — keyboards
    Roy Paci — trumpet
    Stephane San Juan — drums, tabla
    Philippe Teboul — percussion
    Tiemoko Traoré — choir

Amadou & Mariam, the blind couple from Mali, have certainly paid their dues over the last 30 years, and it's about time they received their big break. Certainly given the excellent reviews in Europe, Dimanche a Bamako could be it, thanks to the production and participation by the elf prince of world music, Manu Chao. He brings a playful lightness to their soulful, bluesy Malian sound, letting in plenty of sunshine, and drawing in a sense of place through the ambience of traffic sounds and snippets of conversation. Chao is also obviously present on several tracks, such as "Senegal Fast Food," which offers a bouncy, reggae-styled rhythm so typical of Chao's own records. But even when not so obviously asserting himself, his presence is felt in the space he creates, and the use he makes of Mariam's admittedly limited voice (she's good, but no one will ever mistake her for one of the word's greatest singers), as on "Beau Dimanche," for example. Lyrically, this is very much an album of love songs, postcards between the couple, but it never veers into maudlin sentiment. Yet there's also a political edge to it, such as with "La Realite." Even if you don't understand the words, however, the entire disc is an absolute aural joy, poppy enough to be exquisitely memorable, yet with layers of resonance underneath. Likely to be one of the world music albums of 2005, it can hopefully find the kind of wide audience it surely deserves. --- Chris Nickson, Rovi

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