Search - Mory Kante :: Touma

An absolutley wonderful CD

Kenneth M. Cox | Los Angeles | 05/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I became exposed to Mory Kante through this CD given to me as a gift. It's wonderful. Every track ranges from above average to great. Mory is from Senegal, and singing in his native tongue, so I have NO idea what he's singing about, but that doesn't matter. The entire album is very upbeat, uplifting and infectious. I find myself trying to sing along because it's just so darn enjoyable. Great music knows no language barriers, and this disc most certainly qualifies. Not long after this disc was released, I was fortunate enough to see Mory live in concert, opening for the Stranglers in Paris. Wonderful. I must say I loved this disc from the time I received it, and the wonderful memories of the concert do not influence my review of this disc.



I loved it instantly.



So..... what could I compare it to? Well, I wouldn't say they're alike, but the first thing that pops into my head would be the upbeat tracks from Afro Celt Sound Systems 2nd CD, "Release". They both just grab you and take you on a wonderful journey. I don't know anything about Mory Kante other than his music, and that's enough.



Grab this disc and enjoy it. It's great.



I only rate it 4 stars because personally, I'm stingy. A disc has to be flawless & an absolute classic to rate 5 stars in my book. That's very difficult. This comes close. I think people fling out 5 star reviews FAR too frequently here. I'm trying to be fair & objective.



An extremely worthy effort, I'd give it 4 1/2 if possible. Standout tracks include "Mankene", "Ayeh", & "Touma (Wimowe)", which is a version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"."