Volume 4 - Khaley étoile

Album review

You'd figure that the fourth and final volume in this series of Etoile de Dakar's early recordings would deliver some monster mbalax, but Khaley Etoile really doesn't. Certainly the studio recording quality is much better -- right from the opening title track, the guitars that were nearly subliminal on earlier releases are more forceful before triggering tag-team solos from the horns at the end that never quite reach an ecstatic climax. "Silmakha" and "Sama Guenth Gui" are OK slow ballads, but nothing really special, while the rowdy rock guitar solo is far more assertive than the Etoile norm, playing against the sharp horn riffs on the strong "Youssou." The up-tempo "M'Baye Gueye" rides on a bed of guitars and percussion behind the vocals -- some surprise horn blurts pop up to accent the guitar solo, but the only notable development is the more prominent role of lead guitarist Badou N'Diaye. And the tag-team horn solos striving to bring the music to a closing peak of excitement on a few tunes keep falling short of achieving that goal. Maybe the strains that would split the group -- with N'Dour turning his Etoile "Super" and going international, while El Hadji Faye and Mar Seck transformed their branch into Etoile 2000 -- were to blame for these relatively lukewarm performances. Khaley Etoile is a well-crafted album, but not one that really knocks you out -- it would have been nicer if N'Dour's first band had sailed off into history in a blaze of musical glory. And truthfully, nothing on these four albums comes close to the best of Orchestra Baobab, especially Bamba.

© Don Snowden /TiVo