Search - Salif Keita, Kante Manfila :: The Lost Album

Don't believe the hype!

Antony D. O'dowd | Honiara, Solomon Islands | 07/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am a big Salif Keita fan, and have been for a while now. Over the last ten years I have been tracking down the old "lost" stuff - some of which is pretty hard to get. So it is nice that this album is finally available without having to mortgage your house.



But it is worth putting this release into perspective. This album is a gentle, acoustic set, but rather thinly recorded, and which shows neither Salif Keita nor Kante Manfila to their best advantage. Most of what is on here has been redone better elsewhere, with better sound.



And one can see why it was not broadly released in the first place. I like this sort of stuff, so I have given it a good rating, but it is really not in the stone cold classic category of the great Salif albums like "Mouffou" or "Soro" or "Amen" or "Folon". For those who have heard the Les Ambassadeurs or the Hot Rail Band albums, it is pretty similar. Salif sings his heart out as usual, and the music is lilting, hypnotic and melodic, but it sounds like a demo. There is some especially lovely playing on "Nakana" and moving and soulful singing on "Toura Makan" and "Wara", for those wanting to investigate. But basically this is for fans only. It is not the "lost masterpiece" that is being claimed.

"