In this week's Boston Phoenix, Banning Eyre reviews Youssou N'Dour's latest CD, Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take), and finds further confirmation that "the emotional nexus of N'Dour's best work [is] in his near-divine voice." The album is "just one more reflection of how the demands of N’Dour’s far-flung audiences have sharpened his powers." N'Dour's US tour heads to the Boston area on Monday, December 10.
In this week's Boston Phoenix, Banning Eyre reviews Youssou N'Dour's latest CD, Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take), and finds further confirmation that "the emotional nexus of N'Dour's best work [is] in his near-divine voice." Eyre spoke with Youssou about being a "middle man" between hometown pop fans and listeners abroad hoping for high-art roots music. Rather than hinder his music-making, this give-and-take has only enhanced it. For Eyre, the music of Rokku Mi Rokka is "just one more reflection of how the demands of N’Dour’s far-flung audiences have sharpened his powers."
Youssou's US tour brings him to the Boston area on Monday, December 10, at the Somerville Theatre.
Read Banning Eyre's article in full at thephoenix.com.