Lam Toro

Though the album didn’t resonate with me, I found some of the rhythms alien and infectious. Joyful, no doubt.

Als ik dit vorig jaar tijdens Brew @ The Zoo live had aangetroffen op het plein bij de olifanten na 3 uur bierdrinkend rondwandelen + nog een uur lang bierdrinkend wachten op 2 schalen minisnacks dan had ik er zeker de pracht van ingezien. Het is voor zover ik kan beoordelen niet slecht. Maar ik merk dat ik met m'n CKV petje op zit te zoeken naar een manier waarop ik dit 3 sterren kan geven, uit een soort combinatie van respect en opluchting dat het meer is meegevallen dan ik vooraf had verwacht. Ik denk dat 2 sterren de meest realistische beoordeling is.

.....

I am completely ambivalent about this. Rating 2 stars to avoid being too harshly dismissive of something I just couldn’t get it up for.

I could say a lot of things about this, but I think the biggest takeaway is that it’s just not for me.

The cover photo and choice of fonts together are quite arresting. Taking the album for a spin, though, the actual music is only great here and there, quite a few tracks are surprisingly quotidian. I tend to be a sucker for this kind of music so maybe my expectations were unreasonable, but these are supposed to be the 1001 most interesting albums right? Lam Toro is perfectly nice, but I'm not sure it belongs on the list.

Good sound here but I don't think I would seek it out.

extra point as it's different, but just not something i can listen to

Het is op zich prima om naar te luisteren en vast erg goed, maar voor mij toch een beetje te ver van mn bed show. Ik hou er toch meer van als de zang enigszins te begrijpen en mee te zingen is. 2 sterren.

I didn't mind listening to this, but it failed to grab my interest. Having said that, this album is my second favourite Senegalese album that I've ever listened to, after Maal's other album on this list. Rating: 2/5 Playlist track: Hamady Boiro Date listened: 02/02/23

Dunno not speaking to me

Lam Toro is the third album by Senegalese singer and guitarist Baaba Maal. This worldbeat album is a mixture of ragga, salsa, and traditional Senegalese chants & music. It was interesting because it's not music I normally hear in my daily life, and I could appreciate the talent behind it. However, I don't think I'd listen to it again or try to find similar music.

Not my cup of tea

Not my thing.

Not my thing

Some good rhythms.

This was the least accessible of this style. The higher points are where it picks up and stays with a constant rhythm. Those with many changes were off putting.

At its best when it commits to the trance-like hypnotic stuff; at its worst when it strives towards its pop sensibilities. The more western influenced stuff is really very bland, with the songs not really going anywhere. The repetitive nature of the songs becomes boring instead of meditative

Interesting album some songs feel a bit long. Vocals are interesting but not for me. It’s fine but the 80s synth influence that creeps in I do not like.

A reviewer mentioned a 2nd album by this fellow. Unbelievable

Mixture of 90 synth sounds and African music (think "The Lion King", albeit a few years earlier). Not too bad, but I'm not a big fan of this kind of world music. (which, in any case it has been done better by the likes of Peter Gabriel.) It would take a few more years before the integration of African and more western music would become somewhat more authentic - here, it sounds like an experiment. 2/5

It’s somewhat enjoyable but I really,really don’t like world music and I’am having a shitty day so that doesn’t help but hey you can tell that this guy is having fun and it’s better than Ladysmith Black Mazambo having absolutely no instrumentation. I think to be fair on it it’s a 2/5 for me personally but if you like this kinda thing it’s great.

My dad would have loved this.

Pretty interesting. Doubt I'll listen to it again though

Happy vibes

Note to self: Give this another go the next time you trip on shrooms. Or as the kids say, Microdose. Without my mind expanded, this didn't do anything. Fuckers.

That's a lot of synth.

I don't think I'm cultured enough to fully enjoy this. Unique, kept me on my toes, but ultimately not my jam.

This could have an interesting deviation from the generally bland and uninspiring albums brought forth by this list. Alas, I couldn’t find much of interest in this particular album. I’m sure worthier representatives of world music are out there in greater numbers.

World music just takes longer to appreciate when it is so different from what you are used to. This one, is like that for me. I can appreciate it, but not totally get it - for now. I am sure as i become more familiar with it, i will enjoy it more. For now it is a 2/5.

Not bad if to my ears a bit backgroundy (as often happens when singers sing in another language than English), two or three very strong tracks.

Fine record, not really my thing, but it sounds okay

Few decent tunes, some really bad ones too. I liked more of the classic worldbeat style then the straight forward pop songs. Enjoyed more of his guitar playing than his vocals as well.

Dated production techniques have marred what could have been a much more interesting album. I want to like it but the out-of-the-box synth tones and the all too crisp and clean recording style make it sound like it was created in a vacuum.

Dit voelt te veel als een andere wereld waar ik niet helemaal bijhoor.

Nee, dit is niet echt iets waar ik warm voor loop.

Mwa.

This was totally not my thing.

I didn't dislike this. It just wasn't for me. I really do try and experiment with different genres. But this didn't have any connection to me. There's some decent rhythms and a nice groove going off. Two stars for that, but I'm struggling I'm afraid.

I think I get the appeal of this music, but not the culture or insightfulness to fully appreciate it. His voice sounds incredible, and the album itself sounds great.

I tried just not for me

Ok, it's African world music now.

First time of listening to this Album, I can see it's merits in world/African music terms but not a great fan to be honest. Quite liked "Toro" and "Daande Lenol" with some interesting guitar licks. But not a stitch on my favourite African Band "The Bhundu Boys" with their up-tempo African-rock/Jazz fusions. can see the credit but not to my taste to be honest.

From Senegal. African music.

Very cool. Some songs got me groovin' But it's not that interesting. 2

Didn’t listen super closely, but it sounded like a million other things

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2.9

overcrisp 90s world music production

the jazzier songs were the best in my opinion

Kiikunkaakunkakkonen

It worked as background noise, but I guess I'm not really into this type of music.

Not familiar with much world music, this has good beats and very upbeat. But not for me, I’m probably just not cultured enough to appreciate this fully. Wouldn’t listen again but can see why it’s on the list.

“When you make music and write songs, you have to know about the messages. From the messages, you know what the instruments are and how to put them together.”

5/10

Amanda said I wouldn't like so did not listen to.

I enjoyed listening to this, it was interesting. Researching the artist also led me to learn a few things about Senegal along the way. Probably won't listen to this again but enjoyed being exposed to it!

I can see how this led to Afro Beat Sound System. I think the fusion there was more successfully realized but this is still entertaining.

I was excited, then I was bored.

Öde.

Polyrhythms and afrobeats. Pretty good, but not my thing.

Rustgevende afrikaanse muziek. Leuk voor op de achtergrond maar ook niet veel meer dan dat. Het is mij iets te exotisch om echt van te genieten. Muziekaal zit het allemaal wel goed in elkaar hoor.

Didn't do much for me but was still interesting. Last track is like a bad 80s ballad but African

Ficou um pouco a abaixo da expectativa em relação as referências de músicas africanas do Toureg.

Overproduced 90s snoozefest.

Not my cup of tea at all.

Yea just wasn’t a huge fan of this type of world music. Thought Miriam Makena did it much better

Bummer. This was not my thing at all. The instrumentation was super boring.

at last!!! a shit album!!!! wtf is this music, why on earth do i have to listen to ts before i die

Tja, we hebben echt deze maand nog het andere album gehad van deze knaap. Ik vond er toen al geen klap aan. Ik zal deze nog even een paar nummers luisteren voor de vorm, maar als het hetzelfde laken een pak is, dan druk ik op de 1-ster knop en gaan we weer over tot de orde van de dag. Ja hoor, het begint al gelijk met allemegallie. Ik ben na 1 seconde al klaar. Doei!

Perdón no pude

What the heck?

The sort of album you hear constantly in your head while having motion sickness after being on a boat all day in the sunshine. 1/5

No thank you

Much like Africa, underdeveloped and primitive.

Very atmospheric. Does sound a lot like tuneless shouting. No requirement for a 2nd listen for this listener

Rhythmic African chanting is not my jam.

An obviously talented man but I just can't relate to anything about this album. The songs tend to sound the same to me and the main thing it made me feel was relief when it finally ended.

не моє

ni a palo escucho esta poronga, ya con la primer cancion me liquido 0/5

I saw old mate at a Womad in the late 90's and it was a fun gig. Is this essential "tell Laura I love her" listening? Ah no.

Not for me

ni me gaste

no

I'm not in the mood for this. I already listened to another album by Baaba Maal just two days ago and honestly it was interesting then, but it feels boring now.

Just cruising down the road listening to some tribal tunes - really? Does anyone do that?

15/03/26 - dropei dps da segunda faixa é bastante cultural e forte, inclusive na voz - o instrumental também é interessantemente cultural (até meio repetitivo, quando se pega a diversidade musical br de exemplo) mas não gostei de como o baaba canta, e as faixas sempre duram demais, metade do tempo seria melhor

would’ve voted 0

Meh

Boring country

Not for me. Didn't give me much of anything

Not my jam

I like me some African shit, but this ain’t it.

maybe the language barrier, maybe the style or the instrumentalization. not my taste at all.

I enjoyed the first track Yela, but it appears this created misplaced optimism. The rest of the album just feels too synthy/poppy (or even worse too Glockenspiely) for my taste in world music.

It's just not my thing. Did not enjoy it.

Fun and funky, but I prefer singing in English.

1001 Albums Generator 186 (12/18/2025) Lam Toro is an album that I absolutely did not need to hear before I die. Not only is it not very good; I can't even find anything that explains what its supposed impact on the wider music world even was. It doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. I find the production on Minuit quite dated, but the guitar solo is actually pretty good and really took me by surprise. That was kind of the only notable moment to me, and I didn't even like that song that much. The album is way way too long and unfortunately has nothing that really sticks out. 1/5. Favs: Daande Lenol Gidelam Ndelorel Least Fav: Olel

i bet it's reallly great but i cannot connect to that musicstyle

Imma gonna pass

Nej det här går inte hem

Shut the fuck up

Not everything is for everyone.

What the hell

Second album proposé par le générateur après 'Djam Leelii' que je n'avais pas aimé du tout (noté 1/5). Ce second album n'est pas mieux que le premier ... =>1/5

Not my jam. On a positive note, I have listened to all of Baaba's stuff on here and will never have to hear this again.

The world music selections are not my favorites. This is no different. Ladysmith Black Mambazo did the African singing over 80s African music best. Daande Lenol sounds like the music behind a montage of an African scientist and a white scientist working in the lab tirelessly to discover the cure to the epidemic that started as something they saw in one boy in a village and is now threatening to wipeout humanity. Hamady Boiro has a similar feel to Caught Stealing by Jane's Addiction. Everything sounds like Graceland. This is so foreign as to be boring because it all sounds the same.

I don’t get it. African chanting, he doesn’t have a good voice and there is no musical ability demonstrated. A real slog

Interesting, but it's a no for me. His voice at the beginning was pretty annoying. It got a little better, but I'm not a fan of this.

Nope

I do not know the language

Not my cup of tea

Nope

I hated this but I also don’t have any cultural context for this type of music. It was a struggle for me.

No!

Brutal.

this unfortunately really wasn’t my thing. i could not get past the vocals. i really wanna like stuff like this, i wish this project had a different singer. i can see the appeal but it couldn’t be less my thing

Why

I have trouble engaging with music that's this devoid of any actual consistent musical ideas. Occasionally Baaba Maal will strike gold with a particular vocal melodic lick or (very rarely) a guitar riff, but in every single case he just discards the lick as soon as it's played. Because of this, the album comes across as 58 minutes of uncertain noodling where none of the instrumentalists really know what they're doing. Even if the guitarists and percussionists are skilled, it absolutely does not sound that way on this record. "Theme and variation", the tried-and-true method of hooking your audience into music and keeping them interested with a balance of familiarity and innovation, is completely thrown out the window, with essentially all musical elements being repeated with no variation whatsoever (à la hip-hop backbeats) or played once then never again. The xylophone part is great – or would be great if it were consistent. My three chosen key tracks are the closest to resembling something musically engaging (to me). Toro is actually a pretty solid track, with a psychedelic guitar part that doesn't drag out at all. At that point in the album I was expecting to give out a 3-star rating. Gidelam almost sounds like a Western funk track that's a little out of place in this context, but enjoyable nonetheless. Hamady Boiro is similar and incorporates some 80s-esque synth lines. On the other hand, songs like Daande Lenol, Lem Gi, and Sy Sawande just don't have that much sonic content. There are periods of complete silence in some of these that, rather than being tasteful, feel as though the band forgot what comes next. 1/5 Key tracks: Toro, Hamady Boiro, Gidelam

Not for me. Had a hard time finishing the album. Some nice call/response-chant in the first track, but it was never revisited. One track had nice harmonies, none of the other tracks had that. Some driving group chanting at the end of one track. Not anywhere else. Didn’t like the instrumentation, and none of the tracks were memorable

Oh wooowww list, you are sooo interesting and thoughtful to include this, list - benevolent even. What a sophisticated list you are. So worldly and intelligent. You’re a very good list.

we in wakanda? described as an epic storyteller but idk what he sayin. feel like i gotta have some connection to the culture to enjoy this

Appreciate some sounds but the album overall just did nothing for me. I really struggled to get through it.

This was terrible. I don’t know how it made the list. Only got as far as I did because I listened while mowing the lawns. The only reason I’d put it on again would be to try and scare cats away.

This did not work for me. I didn't make it all the way through a single song. I want to enjoy music, not be irritated by it.

Not for me

I'd rather die than have to listen to this all over again once more.

Not for me

Son cursis y pedantes esos que al oír música étnica, dizque se sienten en el nirvana y son casi monjes. ¡Hipócritas!, yo vivo en una región multipluricultural ridícula y su música solo es y debe ser disfrutada por cada cultura

ziemlich Arsch der erste war am kosten insgesamt Ned meins

Not for me.

This is my real experience with African music. Some of the instrumentation sounds inspired by 1980s synth pop rock/ soft rock. The vocals to me are the biggest difference. The cadence seems a bit sporadic at times and the melody contains semi tones and vibratos that don't entirely fit the accompanying music. Overall, the music is strange enough to dissuade me from listening again and not unique enough to warrant praise.

Nah

Odd but ok

Not for me, but it's interesting. The guitar in Minuit is cool.

Nope.

Awful! I don’t think it was necessary for me to ever listen to this album.

Senegalin Phil Collins

no es mi para mi

dont wanna sound racist but this kinda sucks

Urrrgh I think I wanted to like this more than I did, but I just found it dragged and did not draw me in at all

I just can't get a grip of this stuff.

Interesting. Not something I'd listen to often

This is #day94 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... please excuse me, but I just can't agree that this should be on the list of albums you must hear before you die. This isn't simply boring, this is also fucking irritating. I was like 80% through, and I had to stop. It's a 1 out of 5, of course. Looking forward to #day95.

Not for me

This was not for me at all. Some moments of nice music though

not today, sorry

some cool African drumming and melodies, nothing grabbed me as outstanding

I'm not averse to world music, in fact this would have scored a lot higher and would probably have been in the may buy it category. If only it was an instrumental album. I understand and fully realise it was in a foreign language, but his voice was SO caustic that most of the time it rendered anything that may have been intended as actual words into indecipherable wailing. And meant that what would have been a solid 3 pushing up to a possible 4 for the music is relegated to 1, but only because 0 isn't available.

Nah just not my bag

i couldn’t listen to this album, i just really disliked it. would not listen to it again.

I'm glad they put some foreign-language stuff on the list as some of it has been good or at least interesting. This one still qualifies as "interesting," but I can't call it good. Not my jam.

no basta pq me revolendas musica tribal africana

It’s a 1. there’s no other way to spell it out besides give this a 1 and never talk about it again. at least Ben had a good review

Remind me of holiday but not my thing

Ethnic music.

not my vibe. at all.

I didn’t really hear anything special in this.

Not my style

Seriously...

Respect the diversity but no I didn’t like this album.

Probably the first world album this site has suggested that didn't stick with me. The voice is a little grating to me after awhile. Instrumentation/production is generally good and his voice isn't bad I just think it's not for me. Just doesn't connect .

trash

Repetitive.

Too much wailing for me to be able to enjoy it. I like this album cover though.

Jeg er slet ikke world nok til det her - blev nødt til at slukke ved track 4 og den funk-agtige tilgang. Jeg troede vi havde rock og punk-kategorier. Totalt miss her

Didn’t listen to but a few sec. Not my style of music.

Not my vibe

ew.

Not for me

1. yela - 1.5 2. toro - 1 3. lenol - 1 4. hamady - 0 5. danibe - 0 6. gidelam - 0 7. ollel - 0 8. zauuande - 1 9. ndelorel - 0 10. lem gi - 0 11. minuit - 1

I made sure to listen to at least a minute of each song and I'm sorry but not only could this be less relatable to me but it just wasnt even allat. It's not anything pleasurable to listen to, and for a project collection of exclusivity western music it's already lied including this

Not for me

Couldn’t get down with it

This guy's voice is piercing. It's a "no" from me.

I would need a meme of an old man with an odd dentured smile, sitting at a table with a coffee mug and laptop, to accurately describe my thoughts on this album's inclusion.

This gave me a headache. Bl. Bm. Bs. Bad length. Bad music. Bad sound.

It's like wearing the championship shirt of the team that lost last year.

African rhythms, couldn't get into it at all

Couldn't listen cos couldn't get alexa to understand album title or artist name

no

Not for me.

I'm very glad that we got a different Baaba Maal album first: This one leaves an entirely unfair impression. Cynical and tedious, there's at least some variety, but the gap in quality erases any lingering goodwill for this LP.

Not my thing

Why is this on the list? It's not even an interesting listening....

Listened Before? N Sorry, not English and not a style I care for. I'll pass. I'm sure it's great if you speak whatever language its in. Not for me. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Gidelam

Background music for a log flume, wasn't feeling it at all

Not my bag baby 2 out of 10

Dated as soon as it hit shelves.

No.

not for me

Boring to me but idk

I can’t act like I know what I’m listening for here to enjoy it. I’m sure its influential

This one was tough for me. Glad to be exposed to African music, as I don't really know any. But this wasn't my favorite. Voice was shrill and so wiggly. Music all over the place and songs too long.

The album was interesting. It was a mix of what seemed to be tribal music and reggae. It was not really memorable. I did not skip any songs. It is better than a one, but not really a two. I will round down.

It was annoying and it wouldn't end. Simply awful. It made my eye twitch. Sounds like the kind of crap that people would pretend to like to try and impress other simpletons. Never again.

I honestly don't know if i just listened to the same song on repeat for an hour. There was so little difference between the songs. Skip this album.

Call me an ugly American, but I have a strong, strong preference to music that's in English. So something that isn't in English has to REALLY grab my attention if I'm going to enjoy it at all. Well, this grabbed my attention, but in all the wrong ways. The vocals are super annoying, and the entire album is repetitive. Maybe it's amazing and I just don't have the musical vocabulary to enjoy it. But to say I did not enjoy it would be an understatement.

no

Nicht mein Ding. Der geleierte Gesang gefällt mir nicht. Und viel mehr ist da auch nicht. Ein Trostpunkt.

Vittu mitä paskaa

No

Strange. Blend is smooth. Earth music is catchy and fun but not really my things. The tracks tend to run together a little. It was fine, but sounded more like Nandos background music than a powerful album. The Good - Olel.

Have zero idea what the appeal to this album was. Didn’t really know how to enjoy it. For me it’s just a big miss. 1.0/10

not my cup of tea.

I didn’t care for this album.