Television

Baaba Maal – Television
Reviewed by Sadie O., 10/13/09
The mixture of vocal styles and languages is interesting, and it’s all exceptionally pretty. Maal’s vocal style is still unabashedly Senegalese, and he’s got great percussionists, so the Africanism isn’t overwhelmed by the crossover, thankfully. All very lovely, no FCCs.
1. 7:08 **slow fade in to midtempo swingy chimes and whispers, pretty female vocals in French – interesting counterpoint to Maal’s soaring vocals. Upbeat yet relaxed, somehow.
2. 4:16 ***midtempo, swingy and kinda bluesy, with bits of slide guitar. Nice talking drums, too.
3. 4:02 ***loping groove, very pretty – has a positive vibe, although apparently the thought behind it is the world needs a miracle to get through these days…
4. 6:08 *downbeat and very relaxed, with whistling. Has a bit of pina colada feel. Some nice modulations.
5. 6:23 ***downtempo and groovy hand percussion, slight bit of Spaghetti Western feel from the bits o’ slide. Kinda mysterious. The talking drum really shines on this one.
6. 4:30 ****female spoken list of cities, then really cool bass and percussion.
7. 3:16 **acoustic guitar, piano, upright bass – very Caribbean vibe. Or maybe the Caribbean has a Senegalese vibe… Meanwhile the lyrics are largely in English.
8. 7:05 *acoustic guitar, singing in unison. Very pretty and relaxed indeed.