Guinea music reviews

I found this cd second hand in San Francisco, the only reason I bought it was because it was on the same label (Gunter Gretz's Popular African Music) as a wonderful album I'd discovered the week before - Reminiscin' in tempo with Balla et ses Balladins. It proved to be a very lucky whim indeed! The whole album is of a very high quality with the guitar work of Djessou Mory Kante (the younger brother of Les Ambassadeurs' Kante Manfila) and the balafon playing of Djelimady Kouyate being particularly noteworthy. The band hits beautiful grooves, the melodies are strong and Sona Diabate's singing is something that creeps up on you leading you to a gentle, subtle and soulful ecstacy. Two songs in particular stand out, the title track Gare Gare and Touma Touma, each alone is worth the full price of this album.