Album Notes: With a title that means "give and take" in Youssou N'Dour's native language, Senegalese, ROKKU MI ROKKA presents a vibrant set of traditionally rooted North African songs. The follow-up to the worldbeat superstar's Grammy-winning EGYPT, this 2007 album, issued on the respected Nonesuch label, is carried along by light, frenetic percussion and lilting melodies that allow N'Dour's emotive vocals to shine brightly, as on the shimmering opening track, "4-4-44," and the rolling "Tukki." For those unfamiliar with N'Dour's revered brand of Afropop, this organic, uplifting outing is a wonderful point of departure.
Album Reviews: Rolling Stone (p.85) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[W]ith N'Dour, the prime attraction is always musical, radiating out from a voice whose skylike clarity and beseeching high end would catch you short in a singer half his age..."
...I must confess - I have only heard this right through once. I do however own the single "Seven Seconds". It is superb.
N'Dour's vocals are haunting, powerful, restrained, imperious, magnificent. The music behind them is soft, inspired and perfect.
Seven Seconds, on which most of my knowledge is based, is a true masterpiece. Backed by Neneh Cherry, the song is deeply moving, with a clear and powerful nature. The video, filmed in black and white, is just right. It leaves you contemplative, wanting to hear it again, to discover it's true message.
The whole of The Guide is similar. Eminently easy-listening, you won't tire of it, I promise....
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Advantages: Very moving, personal, vivid, intense Disadvantages: can invoke all sorts of emotions - good or otherwise
...Although quite old now, Seven Seconds is still a very powerful soul record, sung by the relatively unknown N'dour and of course Ms Cherry herself.
But for me its N'dour that carries the music with the kind of aethetic desire & mystic Turkish charm which melds into the pace & delivery of the rhythm.
Cherry adds a little feminine charm but done with a certain mature manache that envelopes N'dour's delivery: it's as if the two are lovers serenading each other's devotion & hopes.
Like most ballads each song seems to hold something special to the listener; and for me Seven Seconds will always remind me February 21st 1998. As someone once said, a particular song (love songs usually) will always have strong affections & emotions for one person in their hearts; and this song is no exception.
The big problem with ballads...
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Advantages: An excellent introduction to Peter Gabriel Disadvantages: None
..., but that is a minor complaint. The other problem with the album is that every track is available on other CDs bar one, the title track, although to be fair it was released as a single so people were not to aggrieved about that.
If you have no Peter Gabriel music and would like to sample his work, then this is a perfect album. If you already have all the tracks shelling out for a single track is a bit steep to take, the problem being that “Shaking The Tree” is an excellent collaboration with YoussouN’Dour and is not a dispensable track, but there’s always Morpheus.
Rather than describe the songs, which I have already covered in previous reviews apart from the two offerings from “Passion” which I will review soon, I will just list the songs and the album from which they came:
Track Album...
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helpful 13.08.2001
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