Music in Exile

You know this is the shit I’m here for

Clearly inspired by the late, great Ali Farka Touré, Songhoy Blues brings the same unstoppable energy to their music that made Ali so influential. "Music in Exile" is powerful and moving in a way that modern American blues so often isn't. The electric tones of Muddy Waters and Albert King find whole new dimensions when they're shaped and guided by the unexpected rhythms and patterns of Malian music. It's a whole vibe and I couldn't be more here for it. I don't understand a word that's being said and I don't care. This is just so damn good.

Something about African rock always excites me—these distant cousins just sound right together. This record really succeeds in incorporating western influences in a natural way, on top of the Malian Blues that’s already an exciting hybrid. There is also a lot of variety here, from the rock focused Soubor to the Ali Farka Toure influenced Wayei to the acoustic Petit Metier. Musicianship is great, vocals are great. Plus the record is an act of defiance against repression and religious fundamentalism, so what more could you ask for?

Desert blues, you say? Also known as Tishoumaren, you say? Tishoumaren , which is based on a french word meaning 'Unemployed', you say? EXILES YOU SAY? Five stars, I say.

this is belting. they're all called toure or dembele so they're probably fucking mint at football too. does this mean i'm a world music guy now? man i'm old. what time is giles peterson on?

This is by far the best non-English language album I’ve gotten on this list so far. It’s exactly my type of blues rock and every song is a banger from start to finish but especially soubour and petit metier. Even if I can’t understand I can feel the political message through the music and that’s just the icing on the cake for a great album; would kill to hear it live. Also, this has been a great run of albums the past week or two

This was a nice album, reminded me a bit of Power of One. Not sure why it's on this list but glad it is just for the variety and it not being a british rock band.

I didn't hate it you know. A bit like that Chesterfield Middlesbrough Fa Cup semi final in 1997.

I used to get a lot of mileage out of "Soubour" in my spinning classes. I like the driving beat and bluesy, guitar-up-front sound, as well as the fact they all sing. The song-writing is good. They stick to their style but the songs vary enough to keep it interesting. I only listened to it once, so I'll assume I would have liked it even more second time round.

Musically this was great, and I am sure based on the wiki that this tells a great story, however partly due to the language barrier it wasn't for me

These guys know how to play! Too often the blues can be boring, but these guys know how to tear it up. The language barrier is detrimental unfortunately. It’s not their fault, but I am the one doing the ranking. So the lack of my understanding the words prevents me from truly understanding the whole package. One thing I did pick up on is that the lyrics were often repetitive. From a not knowing the language point of view, I think the repetition would be more of a negative if I did know the language. One last comment on the fuckers who ran these guys out of their homeland. What kind of asshole do you have to be to not realize what a treasure their music is? This part of their story bumps them up a 1/2 star.

vibrant music from Mali, swinging and righteous

An early example of the safe bet desert blues a sizeable swathe of music crit publications still have an appetite for. Distinctly Saharan sans any especially peculiar instruments or tones, and, crucially, containing nothing to threaten sacred ideas of what constitutes rock and pop. Not knocking the group, just the framework for sticking them in the pantheon. This is nice. Try the Dakhla Sahara Session from Cheveu and Group Doueh from roughly the same time for a more incendiary and politically-charged example of the same kind of music.

Only need to hear the first 2 songs to see that I was going to enjoy this album. Amazing discovery!!!

This is an absolutely stellar album. A while back on this list, I get Savane by Ali Farka Touré, and this album reminded me a lot of that, which makes sense as they were influenced by him. It's really cool to see people from all over the world pick up American Blues Rock and make it their own. The guitar work on the album is incredible, both intricate and filled with emotion. I've been lamenting recently that I've been getting a lot of albums that are cool and significant, but aren't worthy of 5 stars on first listen. This album cured that. I loved the sound of it from the beginning of the first song, and every song after that was great, and then the album ended and I was sad 5/5

After a week of receiving dubious albums this was a nice surprise. I'm a big fan of music from Mali but there's no delicate string sounds of the Kora here, this is predominantly pretty heavy blues infused electric guitar. Wiki shows that they started out covering Ali Farka Toure, but despite having the same surname there isn't any relation. I guess Toure is the Smith of Mali. I shake my head when I read that many folks dismissed this album because they don't understand the lyrics. I guess they're also the same folks that also don't watch foreign flicks with subtitles. Oh well, their loss, they're missing out on some pretty soulful and glorious music.

This is something I would never have been aware of but for this project. The mix of “desert blues” and rock is remarkable, I absolutely love it! I was drawn to this immediately and each listen opens up more of this to me. The guitars are amazing. Reading the backstory of the group it is amazing how joyful music about dislocation and trauma can be. So glad to have encountered this!

Great album. It's rare that I fall in love with something on the first listen, but this did it for me!

Ah, this was brilliant. So laid-back and enjoyable.

Yeah, I loved this - could happily listen to Mali's desert blues all day! Super interesting to hear fragments of rock n roll picked up and woven into their own tradition. Fave track - "Soubour" is a great opener. "Wayei" for something on the chiller side...

For an ignorant sap such as myself, this rocks pretty hard and is full of bright melodies. Who knows if it's super-representative of Saharan music in general, but I enjoyed it a lot. Their next one, Résistance, is just as good and features a real banger in "Bamako" as well as a so-bad-it's-good Iggy guest vocal on "Sahara", if you're so inclined.

I love desert blues. I love it when it is relatively unpolished, and they are just settling into the groove and bashing ti out. After this played, some more produced later material and remixes appeared, and they did not do it for me. But I can totally lock into the groove of what they are playing here. Dig it!

Oddly catchy and enjoyable. I liked the album and would listen again.

Bullshit.

I honestly can’t believe that anyone rated this above a 1

Every week doing this I’m reminded that a lot of the albums generated on here just don’t fit the bill of “NEED” to hear before you die. Like, no. I respect this type of music and I’m sure it’s good to people who can understand the lyrics but like, no enjoyment unfortunately. Didn’t understand a word

This is #day60 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... while I sympathize with the band's backstory and the hurdles they had to overcome before creating music, I agree that this album wouldn't have made it to the list otherwise. Generally, I don't mind blues, but this... I just can't relate to what I hear on this album. Maybe I'm numb. Sorry, this is a one-off experience for me. I'm giving it a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day61.

Oh, Album Generator, why can't you be like this more often!? Bloody fantastic! Fits right in between the mystical madness of BKO's "Djine Bora" and the folksy, more sparse side of this music on N'Gou Bagayoke's "Kulu", two other great albums I gladly discovered this year. Go listen! Totally goes into the collection (will skip "Nick" every time, though, those drums can fuck off.).

Brabos

Baller displaced refugees refusing to conform to a jihadist takeover? Say less

I've become a songhoy boy

The forms and sounds are kin to rawer records by Groups Doueh, Inerane and Bombino, and I flinch at the connotations of “World Music Idol” with the involvement of Damon Albarn, but the result often shreds. Opener “Soubour” feels like the complete deal - those circular, mellifluous guitar patterns married to fancier equipment than I’m used to hearing them from.

Musically, this is decent. I can't follow along with the vocals unfortunately but reading about this album, the story and passion behind it is fascinating. Not really sure if I'd put this in the book though.

Wow there are definitely some classic rock sounds here, even some nods to the Beatles, all overlaid by the hypnotic Malian singing. Couldn’t understand a single word. Interesting!

ЧЁРНОЕ НА БЕЛОМ КТО-ТО БЫЛ НЕ ПРАВ Я ВНЕПЛАНОВЫЙ СЫН АФРИКАНСКИХ ТРАВ

sounded like Muddy Waters went overseas

Been a fan of desert blues for awhile through artists like Bombino - but this is a whole new level. To listen to these guys and not see how all of rock and roll came from the traditional rhythms of Mali and west Africa! The blues, the rock, the funk - I know the gene is based in repeating sections, but the sound is hypnotizing in the best of ways

though I feel like blues music is really the foundation for a lot of modern musical genres, sometimes it can be difficult to hear how it can sound fresh. this is so fresh and fun to listen to and im grateful to be able to see how blues is incorporated with Mali music. fascinating to see a genre that originated in the US but with African influence make its way to Western Africa to something new

Very, very good. The kind of album this list was made for. It's music to dance to in dusty juke joints, but it's also good for a deep sit-down listen with the headphones clamped on. Really the kind of music this list was made for since it's something I would never otherwise stumble upon. Album also has a pretty cool backstory behind it (discussed extensively elsewhere I won't retread it) that makes me wish I could understand the lyrical content. Honestly there's been some really cool rock coming out of Africa this last decade or so to keep an eye on. fav tracks: Jolie, Irganda, Al Hassidi Terei, Nick

I’m instantly in love with this. Exposure to other cultures’ music has been the best benefit from working through this list, and I’ve discovered a particular affinity for rock and pop from an African lineage. There’s usually catchy melodies and rhythmic interplay, and that is 100% true here. But even more than that, what this record provides is some *truly fucking sick* guitar playing. This is probably one of the most accessible-to-Western-audiences African rock records I’ve heard. Excellent and I’m going to check out the rest of these guys’ discography. Must-listen #260.

This kind of stuff is why we're here. Did I understand a word they said? No, I did not. Is it good music? You're damned skippy it is! These guys rock! It's a 50's meets the new age kinda vibe. Rocky beats, snappy guitar riffs, lots of feeling. I'm so glad this one came up. My rating: 5/5

Loved this. It has a wonderful energy, a quiet power and some fascinating, hypnotic rhythms bringing a different flavour to the blues. Really glad to know it; can't think of anything wrong with it.

This is absolutely gorgeous

Fantastic mix of western licks and African rhythms.

Amazing and unique

Banger

What absolute banger of a recorde. Perfectly mixes an African sound with blues element. Starts kf incredibly strong and holds it till the end.

I loved this album. This album is exactly what I'm here for - Malinese sand blues. Bring it on

I loved listening to this style of music. Though I don’t speak the language, their vibe is on point!

This is wonderful

What a musical and political treat!! First suggestion of a band I’d never heard of that was worth listening to. More like these please.

Super!

Nice sound. Great for more active working , not distracting

very cool african blues

Surprisingly really enjoyed this

Great music is great music.

V happy to see this album on here, think it's fantastic

Really fun Album, loved the energy. I has reminded me of many artist that I love. A perfect album to hear at the beach, surf vibes. Type of album I would recommend to my dad.

THIS is what I'm doing this for

It makes you realise how good Dr Feelgood were

When I read "band to keep the music of their people alive" I wasn't expecting the album to be such a banger. Good mix of blues and rock with traditional Mali music, plus an interesting backstory, make this an excellent album. Excited to check out more.

Excellent blues riffs and melodies. Didn’t understand a word but didn’t need to.

I dig most desert blues, and this one is no exception. Gonna have to dig into more of their albums and give them a listen too.

ts fire bro

Fuck yeah. These guys absolutely rip. Every song repeats just enough so that you get the plot, but there is constant innovation on the theme.

Loved this! Some classic blues riffs - a little nod to some v old fleetwood Mac on track 2 or 3. Spun this twice!

More like this please!

So this list CAN choose music from outside of Europe and North America! I mean, it's once again heavily inspired by the obligatory inspirations for acceptance into the anglosphere, but I'm more forgiving of that given the nature of the bands origins. Especially because this sounds great! This is a very guitar forward album so to make 40 minutes last that guitar work needs to be good, and here it is damn good. It is really helped along by the production too, and it makes for a very consistent album that I'd really recommend listening to. I guess one could complain that it is a bit one note in spots, but given the runtime that really did not bother me like it would in an hour plus album. * On second listen I am editing this down a point, whilst I really like the sound I do think it wears out its welcome a little by all being very similar songs.

A few months ago, as I was (again) complaining about the overabundance of mediocre pop-rock on this list in a review, I wished for a bit of Malian blues for a change... Today, my wish is at last fullfilled ! I had not heard about Songhoy Blues, but as a longtime fan of Ali Farka Touré and Boubacar Traoré, I'm really stoked to see a new generation of gifted artists carry on their legacy. It's a bit sad that Traoré himself is not on the list, but these guys are good enough to make him proud. Music in Exile is a solid desert blues album, with competent musicians who bring a modern sensibility and more dynamic rythms to the genre while retaining that laid-back, bittersweet vibe I've always loved. There is also no weak song in the entire album, and it never gets boring. Considering the tragic context in which this album was first put together, it's surprisingly full of luminous moments, which somewhat makes it all the more heartbreaking (and speaks to me on a very personal level, since Timbuktu is a place I know and love). It's a bit rough around the edges, and I kind of regret that they didn't go far enough in the renewal of the genre, sticking relatively closely to the fundamentals of traditional Malian blues. However, considering it's a first album, it's quite understandable, and I'll gladly give a try to their later works. A hard choice between a 4 and a 5* for me, even after playing it thrice. I must and will listen again. 8/10

This is right up my alley. Love the beats and vocals. Made me dance. Wish I could find translations of the lyrics. Will continue trying. So good I listened to it twice.

I find when it comes to having additional context for music I'm only bothered in cases where it feels like it's a requirement. When it's albums where you can't just enjoy them on their own merits; you need to be up and aware of the artist's "lore" or whatever to fully engage with them. This sounds like I'm complaining about Taylor Swift again, but I gave a similar kind of guff to Marvin Gaye for 'Here, My Dear' as well. Normally, I **love** finding out the story behind a work; you can discover meaning and attachments you never would've found before. But it should never feel like the context is homework — that's my thing. And what's good about this album is that you don't need context in order to enjoy it. Taking it on its face, it's a very nice collection of Mali blues. A lot of good guitar playing and very nice vocals. Obviously, you won't understand a word of it unless you know the language, though it hardly matters. The material here, just on a sonic level, is strong enough that it transcends the language barrier. I wouldn't say I'm **wild** about it, but overall it's a very nice 39 minutes. Under typical circumstances, that would've been my opinion, in short. Far from an invalid one. Without reading other reviews, I just know there are plenty of other people who've taken this thing strictly on the music. That would've been that. But then, much like 'Buena Vista Social Club', I discovered that the album's liner notes were available to read on Discogs via scans. And I figured, "Hey, why not; let's see what they hafta say." And just like with 'Buena Vista Social Club', nearly my entire opinion on the album changed because of those liner notes. The music stayed the same — but the **meaning** behind it ... **that's** where this album elevated. See, here's the context: 'Music In Exile' isn't just a title. They meant it. The band was formed under civil conflict that forced them, separate at the time, to flee their homes and go down south. They were escaping the imposition of Sharia law by a jihadist group that banned cigarettes, alcohol ... and music. I'll say it again: music was banned in the north of Mali. It's something I'd read Frank Zappa speculate about in the liner notes of 'Joe's Garage', but it's not something I could imagine actually happening. Banning music? Because it's "haram" — a "sin"? How could anyone do that? If I may paraphrase one of the band members, a world without music would be a prison. So, I guess it only seemed right for these guys to form a band. Y'know, not for themselves, as a lark, but for all of the northern people who were refugees just like them. "To recreate that lost ambience of the north." And that's just ... a damn nice thing to do. I mean, sure it won't get them back home. But a world without music ... and if it can help remind them of home, and maybe just for a little while get their minds off of their troubles ... it can only be a good thing. Like I said above, the music hasn't changed. For my ears, it's good, but I'm not terribly excited by it. I could take it or leave it. But listening to this album under that context I talked about, I don't simply hear Mali blues. I can't hear it as just that anymore. I hear music of the people, by the people ... it's not music for the sake of it, nor even music as an act of rebellion. It's music for the people who needed it the most. And in my book — in my heart, that's more important. And if you don't think it is, fair, fine. Not everyone cares about context in the same way. Again, I think if it's absolutely required, it's a nuisance. You can still take this album for what it is and have a good time. I just think it's worth keeping this in mind while this record's spinning. But if you really don't care about the extra context ... well, allow me to close this review/babble with a quote from the liner notes: "The story of Songhoy Blues, and of the blues of the Songoy people, is deep, centuries old. You can try [and] read up on it and understand it. It'll take a bit of time and repay the effort. But then again, you can just listen to these tracks and let the music paint you a picture, of four sharp young guys from West Africa, who grew up by the river where the blues were born, who belong to a people that once ruled an empire, and whose home has been torn apart in recent years by conflict, arrogance, puritanism and hatred." Good stuff, you guys. Good stuff.

Songhoy Blues have a pretty interesting story that's well-encapsulated by the title of their debut album, Music in Exile. members of this band were artistic refugees, pushed out of the north of Mali by the armed conflict that began there in 2012. a jihadist group had taken over much of the region and banned music, resulting in scores of musicians fleeing to cities in the south of the country to continue practicing their craft. one such musician was Garba Touré, who took a bus down to Bamako with his guitar, forming Songhoy Blues with other northern refugee musicians in an effort to invoke the musical spirit of northern Mali, and lift the spirits of other northerners in their predicament. adding to the "exile" component, this album was recorded in London as a result of the band's interactions with artists in the Anglosphere such as Damon Albarn (who landed them a placement on an Africa Express compilation), Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the album's producer) and Julian Casablancas (whose label partnered with Atlantic to release this album in North America). the band's hypnotic blend of American and British blues and psych rock with traditional West African music is highly evocative of the desert landscapes its members originate from. it bears something of a resemblance to África Brasil, which was Jorge Ben's attempt at a similar fusion of styles, although his take is, of course, much more on the Afro-Brazilian side of things. plus, Songhoy Blues have a much longer history of rock music to draw from than Ben did! there's a lot of really intricate riffing across all these tracks, and plenty of deep pocket and exciting rhythms that you just don't hear that much in "Western" rock music. this is music which, even if I don't understand the words being said, I can still feel a lot of vitality in. it was created out of the circumstances of an ongoing crisis in Mali, one of the main aims of which seems to be to erase the freedom of artists to properly express themselves. talk about using music as a means of creating opportunities to feel empathy! light 8/10.

I don't know their language. But listening to this I could hear protest, heartbreak, confussion, happiness. Everything was genuine and compelling. I liked the music as well. This was worth the listen

Sometimes it's nice listening to musics in languages I don't know for the poetry of the sound. I found that I was able to appreciate the voice as an instrument rather than vocals since I didn't know what was being said. I thought the rest of the music was also easy to listen to and enjoy. I wasn't expecting blues music from west Africa but I can see myself coming back to this one.

Great recommendation that I would not have discovered on my own

Another hidden gem, this was great.

I really enjoyed this to begin with. Some of the riffs in the earlier songs were extremely funky, really refreshing and right up my avenue. The slower, bluesier songs later on lost me a bit, but I think that's just because I didn't understand the lyrics. Really good album regardless though!

Bridges the gap between traditional american blues rock and the more typical tuareg music. Very cool. Good for anyone wanting to dip their toes into that sound.

It’s great to hear a straight-up rock record coming out of Mali, especially one shaped so clearly by displacement and resilience. 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘹𝘪𝘭𝘦 blends desert blues with tight, modern guitar work in a way that feels both familiar and refreshing. Still, the album doesn’t hit me as hard as I hoped, and within the context of the 1001 list it feels like part of an overcompensating push to represent African music more heavily. A solid listen, but not a standout for me.

Appreciate the significance of this, and I liked hearing the blend of blues and West African sounds. Wouldn't say it for me as excited as, day, summer of the Ry Cooder stuff that came on when I let Spotify keep playing.

Solid fusion of Western African rock and the blues. Nimble guitar playing with crafty rhythmic interplay. Stomping low-end rhythms that can get groovy. Sing-along songs because they chant variations on the same thing you can’t understand the whole time. It’s a fun listen, and feels meaningful and emotional knowing their story. It also gets repetitive and doesn’t feel like the songs really go anywhere - there’s no build or major sense of tension and release. That makes a lot of it start to blend, so songs don’t pop and become memorable. The type of album I’ll enjoy any time I hear it, and then completely forget it until my memory is jogged.

There’s like three songs on here that sound like truck commercials scored by the black keys and then every other song on here is a beautiful intricate weaving of American blues with Malian music from a group of excellent musicians. It’s like biting into a new food that’s delicious but every few bites it’s nothing but cucumber in your mouth. I personally hate it even though others don’t but also like why is it here because it doesn’t mesh super well with the rest of the dish. Either way I’m glad I learned about it.

I liked this. I did myself a disservice by looking up the genre before listening. Seeing it listed as ‘desert blues’ set up wild expectations that it was not able to meet. Maybe a future album will include Brant Bjork and John Garcia.

I appreciate the addition of a record produced for and by Africans, specifically from the 21st century. So much of the western perception of African artistic practice revolves around primitivity, or is washed with a sense of underdevelopment: “stuck in the past”. That being said, this record grooves hard and plants Mali firmly in the present! After some research, I discovered that the origins of the record derive from the band’s experience living in Jihadist occupied northern Mali, where cigarettes, alcohol, and MUSIC were all banned. After moving south they all formed a band and cut a record about their collective liberation via a return to music. I wish I knew exactly what the lyrics are conveying. The motif of repetition is strong in this one and it really cements the auditory message they’re trying to send. I like this a lot! -Ruby Ditto what Ruby said. I’m not the biggest fan generally of this kind of pentatonic rock but their emphasis on groove has earned them a new fan. —Noah

I like afro beat, afro psych, afro funk. I enjoyed listening to this album and it has a lot of ferocity and speed that ive come to love in afro music, that said this was a little too guitar forward and pop for me. Serves as good background music for me but I can see the appeal for others.

An interesting album because there were some tasty grooves on here but I’d it one of the best albums of all time? No.

It wasn't bad, but I don't see why it would be in 1001 albums you must hear.

The musical imposter in me always makes me nervous on albums like this. It has quality and weight, but I don't know where to put it. There are more enjoyable and recognizable elements to this album than other world music entries, but I feel like I am missing the bigger story.

precisely one note. it's a nice note, but it's one note. "soubour" is the highlight of the album for me because not only is it a very lovely song but by virtue of it being the first track i was not exhausted with the album yet. this is SO guitar forward it's hard to think about anything else. it's practically nothing but the very bluesy electric guitar. i'm not particularly familiar with the fusion genre of desert blues (and ofc it's always anglo-fusion albums here, never anything notable on its own cultural terms, only on anglosphere terms), but the guitar work here is to me the least interesting part, so it's unfortunate that it's so dominant on this album.

A really interesting album, sonically and musically! Took me a minute to get through and maybe not one that I’ll personally return to often but very glad I listened.

Another year has ended. 2025 has come to a close. With the year now over, I can now reflect on everything. This year kinda sucked. Between all the political bullshit, personal struggles including a loss of a pet, and the fact that I was generally stressed throughout the whole year for many reasons including those two other things led to this being a year that I can't call good. It wasn't all bad, obviously, but it's not a year I'll look back on fondly. As for the album project? It went decently well this year. I do think 2024 was better, but this year had some pretty great albums. But where does my final album of the year, Music in Exile by Songhoy Blues, stack up? Well, I've actually been keeping track this whole year of my personal ranking of each album that the year has given me. In case you're wondering, first place was Remain in Light and last place was Kid Rock. Some real high highs and low lows if you ask me. I've decided to put Music in Exile at number 309, right above Trout Mask Replica. This album's okay. It's certainly one of the most obscure albums on the list seeing as it doesn't have a Wikipedia article. I wonder how the 1001 Albums guys even found this album. Apparently a few journals praised it highly, like the Guardian and NME. Of fucking course it's NME. It's always NME, isn't it? Whatever. Let's talk about the album itself. The music itself is good. I like the guitar riffs and such. That's probably the best part of the album. I will say that some of the songs, namely the opener "Soubour" do kinda give "Ford Commercial" energy in their production, which surprised me. The vocals work. Unfortunately, I have no idea what these guys are saying on account of the album being so obscure that I couldn't find the lyrics or translations for said lyrics anywhere on the internet. I'm sure they're saying things that are good and all, but the lack of available lyrics makes it harder for me to appreciate the themes of the album, you know? Maybe if I could find more info on this thing I'd be able to appreciate it more. Who knows? I do have respect for these guys. Apparently they came from a somewhat difficult background, so it's nice to see them earn some level of success for their efforts. But still, I can't really say that this is the kind of music that I see myself revisiting in the future. It's good, but not for me. 3/5. See you in 2026, everybody!

Solid, often inspired guitar work with a unique blues-rock-by-way-of-Mali sound. Am I being too close-minded when I say that I’d like this album better if it was just instrumentals? Probably!

Was sceptical at first but it quickly grew on me. Need more african stuff here. Ended up doing a deep dive into the Western African Jazz scene after. Also i rlly want to see the studio when they worked w iggy pop lmao

the beat is great, but i wish i knew what they were yapping about… that’s my fault tho not theirs

Looks at cover. *ugh*. Look at name. *ugh*. Expects white boy critics trying to be street. Reads wiki article. Oh, hold on: this could be interesting. Listens to album it’s not bad at all. It is not the absolute best west African album I’ve heard, but it’s a solid example. Does it belong here? More so than 5 elvis costello or Neil young. Less than other but it’s here. I suppose we should thank Julian casablancas for promoting the cause. Music alone can’t change the world. But it can make it more tolerable. I hope these guys feel they’ve improved things.

Whilst I enjoyed this album, I can't help but think that its inclusion is entirely down to the Julian Casablancas link. I have a few African albums in my collection, but there's no way I'm an expert on the music of the continent just because I know who King Sunny Ade is. If there was a separate 1001 African Albums list, I'd like to see it, but it would have to be compiled by people that know and love the subject. In the meantime, the dozen or so albums in this list that aren't from the Anglosphere feel a little tokenistic, however great they are.

interesting, groovy, good guitar. I think this would be better live.

Very interesting album. Even though I don't speak the language, the emotions came through very clearly and intensely. This is the fist album from the list that feels like the emotions take over the lyrics and even the music itself.

A bit African for my taste. They are undoubtedly talented musicians. There was also a homogeneity in the material

I am all for expanding my horizons when it comes to music. It's easy to get caught in the trap of only listening to music from a select few countries, but there are so many unique scenes in other parts of the world that add some new flavor to what one might be used to. I wish I could say that more so about Music in Exile, and while it certainly has a unique sound, I lost interest in that sound pretty quickly. The call-and-response style vocals combined with the groovy percussion works pretty well, but for this album in particular I think it gets old fast, mostly due to the lack of variation. I am glad that Music in Exile is at least represented on this list, it gave me something to listen to that I've never heard of before. Soubour is a great opener and a fun song to get you into their sound. Obviously I don't speak the language, so I can't really analyze this lyrically, but from what I could experience it lacked depth overall. Nonetheless special in its own way, at least for a little bit.