|
Culture Planet
|
Salif Keita CDs
M'Bemba
(2005)
Salif Keita Already Had a 35-year Career
Behind Him Before He Could Record at Home, in Bamako, in the Studio He'd Built
Near the Nearby River Niger. His Career Had Taken Him to Abidjan, New York and
Paris, and it was Inevitable that it Would One Day Take Him Back to the Land
Where He was Born, and his Own People. Keita's Story is One of Many Consecutive
Exiles. As an Albino, He was Disowned by his Own Father; As a Musician, He was
Rejected by the Aristocracy of his Own Cast; And as a Man with Ambition, He Had
No Choice but to Leave a Country which Offered No Professional Perspectives. The
Result was a Path that Wandered, but his Strength, Talent and Clairvoyance
Enabled Him to Find Fame and Fortune. So his Return to the Fold was Symbolic,
and Something of a Triumph. This Album Marks the Real Return of the Prodigal Son
to his Roots and History. --album description
Moffou
(2002)
Salife Keita made his name with Rail Band and Les Ambassadeurs, but he gradually veered away from re-Africanized Latin tunes to explore his Mande birthright. Then, in the late 1980s, he released Soro, a potent blend of traditional sources, Western pop, and savvy studio electronica that took the international market by storm. There have been other high points since then, but on Moffou, what went before is consolidated and transformed via the depth and patina of an artist in his prime. The set opens with a slinky, accordion-laced duet between Keita and Cape Verdean diva Cesaria Evora, but quickly moves on to the soulful Malian acoustic ballads that form the heart and soul of this masterpiece. Other tunes recall the insouciant heyday of Paris-posse Afropop, but minus that era's banal production values. Keita's voice is magnificent throughout; alternately silky, sensual, and ethereal, it floats amid Kante Manfila's intuitive settings like incense. --Christina Roden
Papa
(1999)
Mali's Salif Keita might possess one of Africa's great voices, but in the past there have been times when his material hasn't done him real justice. That's not the case here--Papa is as close to brilliance as he's likely to get, with enough of a real roots feel to bring out his emotive qualities. For once, the Western studio overlays (done in New York and Paris) don't overwhelm everything else. In fact, the only time they really intrude is when coproducer Vernon Reid (ex-Living Colour) takes a wild guitar solo at the end of the record, and that's an ideal fit. The title track is Keita at his very best, as his voice cracks and soars. This time he's hit it perfectly. --Chris Nickson
Best of
~ Salif Keita
Folon
~ Salif Keita
Amen
~ Salif Keita
Soro
~ Salif Keita
Mansa of Mali
~ Salif Keita
