Search - Youssou N'Dour :: Nothing's In Vain

Racism triumphs again

mcvitty | Anytown, USA | 12/21/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When you read the reviews of this album on this website, you realize how, despite the cachet of "world music," nothing has really changed. Youssou is criticized for not being "African" enough. For using "cheesy" string arrangements (remember what people said about Parker with strings?) In fact, this is beautiful music. If you understand the lyrics (sorry, non-Francophone or non-Arabic white consumers), you realize that this is legitimate, heartfelt African music. No one says that in contrast with the romantic garbage puryveyed and hyped by American musicians, this is music that is both wonderful to hear and difficult to understand. Perhaps, in a hundred years, Western listeners will be able to appreciate what non-Westerners have to say, without labeling them as not non-Western enough for their "exotic" sensibilities, not anti-Romatic enough to satisfy their appetite for cynicsm. If Euro-American art has been absorbing African influences for a century or more, why shouldn't African artists absorb Western influences? Whites would shudder in horror if Youssou or some other African recorded happy Como Christmas songs. It would disturb their ideas of black suffering, of which they have become conoisseurs. Buy this album and enjoy it if you have a brain in your head. If you don't, I feel sorry for you."

Beautiful, rich sounds.

J. Forelle | NY, NY | 01/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An amazing album. N'dours ability to craft wonderfully melodious and pulsatingly rythmic music transcends language. N'dour wrote songs on this album that are addictive, almost singable (despite being written in senegalese). In fact, this album makes you want to learn the dialect so you can sing along with Youssou. Until you do, you will annoy those around you by humming to the melody and making african sounding interjections to more familiar choruses.
Unlike most of N'dours other work, this album WILL NOT FRUSTRATE YOU WITH AN OVERPRODUCED POP SOUND. Gone is Peter Gabriel's authenticity-ruining touch. Thank god someone sat Youssou down and told him that he was ruining his beautiful music in the studio. Aside from two songs where Youssou succombs to the misguided advice of producers, he created a beautiful, exotic, but highly listenable album. My favorite album of the last few years and the one I have gotten most excited about in a long time. Buy it."

Solid

T. Snyder | AZ | 03/31/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yet another very solid release from Youssou, who's blessed with a kind-of-high-pitched voice, that still sounds very smooth. A very distinctive voice that's difficult to forget once you've heard him. The album has a great adult contemporary pop songs. It definitely has the very Peter Gabriel-world feel meets modern France-production. It's difficult to describe his records because they combine a whole lot of genres together. Even though it's not in English, it's still very catchy and very accessible to the casual listener.I love the atmosphere that this record creates; it feels very heartfelt. "Nothing's In Vain" is a good place to expand your musical horizons."