Search - Youssou N'Dour, Super Etoile :: Special Fin D'Annee Plus

Youssou N'Dour and his band hit the end of 1999 (and the end of the century) with an unadorned set of mbalax straight from Dakar. N'Dour, without a major label behind him, can make some solid, hard pop music, and this collection proves it. There are no special guests, no Euro-pop ballads, no endless layers of useless overdubs, just a band that doesn't let up and a singer who is known for his soaring notes and stamina. N'Dour earns a continued hold on his reputation as one of Africa's best on this slim, thready group of songs, heavy on rhythm and groove, light on technology, and all around a return, if not to his heyday, at least to the roots he had before his crossover to pop icon. --Louis Gibson