Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Ah Ndiya (Oh My Love)
2. Wayeina (An Exclamation of Enjoyment)
3. Mogo Te Diya Bee Ye (You Can't Please Everyone)
4. Magnoumako (Agony)
5. Dugu Kamalemba (The Womanizer, the Skirt-Chaser)
6. Saa Magni (Death Is Terrible)
7. Woula Bara Diagna (A Long Way Away)
8. Yala (Roaming About for No Good Reason)
9. Djorolen (Worry, Anxiety) [Remix]
10. Denko (The Business of Having Children)

Disc 2:

1. Maladon (Hospitality)
2. Diaraby Nene (The Shivers of Passion)
3. Sigi Kuruni (The Little Marriage Stool)
4. Ne Bi Fe (I Love You)
5. Laban (The End of a Human Being's Life)
6. Kayi Ni Wura (Good Evening to Everyone!)
7. Sabu (The Source)
8. Djorolen (Worry, Anxiety)
9. Baba (A Love Song for a Husband)
10. N'Guatu (The Straw That Grows in the Savannah Fields)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #250082 in Music
• Released on: 2004-02-24
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .30 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
This six-foot-tall goddess is indisputably one of modern Africa's greatest singers. Her magnificent, throaty alto and exotic yet accessible style have already won her an impressive international following. Oumou's lyrics are nearly as compelling as her voice and person; her open affirmation of female sensuality and diatribes against polygamy have irritated conservative elders but delighted her contemporaries. She is an exponent of the blues-like Wassoulou tradition, which takes its name from a province in Southern Mali. The region's music is based upon Asian-sounding five-tone scales and is usually accompanied by the resonant kamelengoni (a six-stringed hunters' harp) and searing, earthy fiddles, while jaunty polyrhythms are marked by wood drums, metal scrapers and/or shakers. This double album constitutes an ideal introduction. It contains a 12-track "greatest hits" package (picked from her first three albums, Moussoulou, Ko Sira and Worotan) plus eight new tunes that have never before been available on CD. --Christina Roden, Amazon.com

Album Description
Oumou Sangare is Mali's great diva, champion of women's rights, and one of the world's most astounding female voices. 'Oumou' is her first new release in 7 years.

Compiled by Charlie Gillett and Nick Gold this 2CD collection contains 8 new songs never before released on CD, alongside a career retrospective of 12 of the best tracks from her previous 3 critically acclaimed World Circuit albums. All tracks have been digitally remastered and the CD booklet contains song notes by Oumou Sangare herself.

Drawing deep from a wealth of musical traditions from Southern Mali, Oumou Sangare's idiom is the hypnotically rhythmic home-grown music that has become her trademark: wassoulou. Oumou's lyrics talk about the concerns of everyday life in contemporary Mali, especially the problems that women face on a daily basis. Her songs talk openly about a diverse range of subjects that previously would have been considered taboo in West African society, such as songs about female sensuality or the problems of polygamy.

Available for the first time on one collection, 'Oumou' brings together the greatest works of this amazing artist.

Customer Reviews

Exceptional bargain
I have been listening to some of Mali's modern music lately. I find the music from this African country exceptionally good in general, and this 2CD is at the summit. It is a collection mainly taken from Sangare's earlier albums "Moussolou", "Ko Sira", "Worotan", and "Laban" (the latter only released on cassette in Mali). Seldom have I encountered a CD which is so consistenly enjoyable. Every song has features that arrests you and which makes repeated listening both a must and a joy. In fact, this CD has a classical quality to it in that it doesn't wear thin after many hearings. This quality is not displayed for all to see at first, but probably you will find yourself playing these songs again and again, trying to penetrate some unassuming mystery. I cannot praise Sangare's voice too much. Maybe it will strike you as quite ordinary at first, but again repeated listening reveals an exceptional richness... Last, the themes of the songs are not the usual irrelevant stuff you find in popular music. Here are songs about women's conditions in Mali, about the vulnerability of some of Mali's traditions (like hospitality), and about how you will die, to mention some. To me, Oumou Sangare is a really great musician.

Amazing stuff from an exceptional artist
This is no doubt an amazing work of art: Blend of african rythms, the quality of Oumou's voice, and the philosophical depth of the lyrical composition is amazing to say the least. Oumou's succeeded in bridging the gap between african music, the neo-soul groove effect, afrobeat, and funk.
This is a 'must-own' work of art.

Amazing stuff from an exceptional artist
This is no doubt an amazing work of art: Blend of african rythms, the quality of Oumou's voice, and the philosophical depth of the lyrical composition combined to produce a beautiful work of art.Oumou succeeded in bridging the gap between african music, the neo-soul groove effect, afrobeat, and funk.This is a 'must-own' work of art; Oumou is definitely one of the most gifted singers in the world.