Reviews (page 3 of 7)
Some fun non-English-language music.
muy bueno, muy chill
El sonido general no está nada mal; rescato bastante el ensamble instrumental. El gran problema es que me resultó imposible conectar porque la barrera del idioma es total, dejándome completamente afuera de las letras. Si a eso le sumamos que cada tema dura más de 6 minutos, la escucha se vuelve demasiado densa.
Cool. Something I've never heard of. Admittedly, the WTF album artwork isn't giving me high hopes, but I want to find something new I can love. It's fine. Never need to hear it again.
There’s something rather enjoyable about this - it’s upbeat, joyful and altogether fun, and it’s hard not to want to do a little bop whilst you listen. My main criticism is it goes on a bit too long, nearing a full hour so it’s perhaps a bit much. Realistically I wouldn’t return to this but doesn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy a listen.
Crazy album art. Top 10 worst album arts so far. Anyways, I hope I'm not the first person to ever hear Koweït and hear the Never Meant riff in it. Where's the mashup? Dude's a gross human being awful pedophile piece of shit but the music is danceable and fun. Am I insane or is this whole album in C Major? Conte I think is technically in Am, at least in the beginning, I wonder if there's a reason culturally since all the songs are played on western instruments. Anywho, it's not something I see myself returning to but there is definite value here. It's far too samey/repeating itself to be considered a 4 or even high three, but hitting it with a two feels disingenuous.
not my jam but easy to listen to.
not my usual but a vibe
I enjoyed this and found it diverting enough. Don't know that I'll seek out more like it, but good enough.
One of my very favourite songs ever- Nothing But Flowers by Talking Heads - sounds like it was ripped directly off one of the tracks on this album. Good to hear the OG I guess.
If you like curaçao, you’ll like this.
Vibey Congolese music it is today.
I really cannot judge if this is good music, as I personally just don't like this genre. But within the genre it could be good.
Trevlans
3 mysigt
1001?!
What’s not to like
2.5 stars At first I thought it was a 2 star album. But it’s a bit of a bias against albums in an unfamiliar language. I gave it a little more space as I listened and I was grooving along to it. Some of the repeating bits throughout were working for me. I don’t know if I’d listen again but I appreciated it.
Not sure who this Koffi dude is but so far this is pretty jammin. It seems to fluctuate between cheesy and jammin. Overall not a bad album but not really my taste. I'd say I liked about half of the album mostly the more upbeat songs.
Not really having a chance at understanding the lyrics, I enjoyed the beat and flow and mood of the music.
Going in I knew this was going to be something different. Tried to keep an open mind as I tootled through the tracks. Started OK but wore me down towards the end. Recordings are good. The musicians are talented.
Fine, just not my cup of tea.
Dançante
It was pretty samey, but the musicianship was top notch.
African
Afro-jazz
Strange. I like it but don’t know how to classify
There ought to be *so* much more world music in this project. I’m not entirely sure, though, why this particular album found its way here. It’s pleasant enough. 3.5?
*I can appreciate the musicianship and positive vibes of this sound, but it doesn't have too much variation on album
fun
first listen beautiful but not much variety
Island time! 100% okay.
Papa bonheur 3.5 Désespoir 3.3 Koweït, rive gauche 3.3 Qui cherche trouve 3.4 Elixir 3.1 Porte-monnaie 3.3 Conte de fées 3.4 Obrigado 3.5 Dit Jeannot 3.1 3. Score: 322222222
I am in no way qualified to review this album. This is just a standard average review
This list needs more world music.
Chilled n noice Not really my thing but not unpleasant
Pretty chill world music album. It's got a samba feel to it, and makes me think of like idk Carribean music too.
Sounded like a low budget Disney soundtrack.
Nice music but I don't think I'll be returning to it too often. Glad it was something different.
Don’t need to understand all the words to get the vibe. And I kinda dug his vibe. But because of the language barrier, I did find it hard to differentiate between some tracks. Rounding down from 3.5*, but that’s more my fault than his.
I’m not mad at the algorithm for giving me a break from the dad rock. This album was unexpected. I take that over another Elvis Costello or Bob Dylan album.
This was fun until it wasn’t. I was at work while listening so I’d have to stop and pick it back up over the course of 3 hours which made the album feel like it was 3 hours. It makes you feel like you’re at a Disney resort in the tropics but the specifically want an African vibe, so you’re stuck in this upbeat purgatory. This music was tight though
This was interesting but didn’t save anything. Above average working music though. Strong 3.
I appreciate that I got to listen to this, but it doesn't resonate too much with me and a lot of people claim it's one of the signs that the book isn't that good at showcasing African music, mostly sticking to what they claim waters things down for Western perspectives. I've certainly heard more exciting albums in my life, even coming from Africa.
German Caribbean music?
I want to like African music more than I seem to based on the albums in this project so far, each of them starts “oh this is great, I like this” and then about twenty minutes in, my ears become overstimulated by something in the notes or rhythm and I want it to stop. I get the same thing with piano music. Heigh ho.
Not bad
I would have preferred Franco to be on this list
not my thing but i kinda liked it :)
It was pleasant enough for the first couple of songs but then got way too repetitive. And the songs are really long. I don't know how to rate this genre though so I'll give it a safe 3.
I'm trying to figure out how many African albums (not "Afrobeat," not Graceland) are on this list--10? 12? and determine whether this is really in the top 10 or 12 African albums. I'm guessing the answer is no--there appears to be no Angelique Kidjo?? Perfectly nice to listen to, I guess
Fun listen.
I couldn't understand a word of this.
Another nice, relaxing listen. Good time vibes.
Not exactly my taste but not terrible.
Fun peaceful vibes
I know I’m hitting 3s pretty often but I’m not wowed by this. Can’t rate above a 3 on principle because this man’s a sex criminal
I don’t have much of a critical take on this album beyond the simple fact that it’s a pleasure to listen to. I don’t understand French or Lingala, so the lyrical content is lost on me, but the energy is unmistakably buoyant and good-natured. That, honestly, feels like the point. What this music does conjure is a very specific cinematic image. It sounds like the closing theme of a late-1980s rom-com adventure: the villain has been defeated in a third-act showdown, the long-lost jewels have been recovered, and our two protagonists are finally free to enjoy their victory. They’re snorkeling off the coast of Madagascar, luxuriating aboard a newly “acquired” private yacht (formerly owned by the bad guy, naturally). As the credits roll, a helicopter shot pulls farther and farther back. The heroes meet in the water one last time, share a long, triumphant kiss, and the image freezes before slowly fading to black.
No idea what is being said, but as always, music with a Latin or Caribbean vibe is always an enjoyable listen.
Reminded me of Bhundu Boys in places.
I don’t really have any frame of reference from which to accurately critique or praise this album. It’s from a genre and culture so far removed from anything I’m familiar with that any attempts to do so feels incorrect somehow. With that said I did find it to be both a fun and very interesting record to listen to. The Congolese rhythms are certainly groovy. I fear I don’t have a whole lot more to say about this one. Fun to listen to, won’t be seeking it out again though. 3*
omg so tropical, I like it I wish I understood what he's saying
Solid, enjoyable, forgettable
While Soukous, or the very specific version of Congolese dance music (or any dance music for that matter) on this record may not be my particular style, you can definitely feel the rhythm here. There is no denying that vibes are soaring through this. On a day like today with the forecast projecting snow and freezing temps across a huge swath of the country and anxiety everywhere, maybe we needed some bright uplifting tones. There is dense musicality in this record led by Olomidé and his passionate vocals.
Não percebi nada do que o Koffi cantou, mas gostei de tudo que cantou. Que vibe. Quem me dera estar em Punta Cana, na praia, a ouvir este álbum. É um forte 3/5 e se ouvisse na República Dominicana tinha sido 5/5, quase de certeza.
Not bad, not amazing. Cool dance vibes. Not sure if they've got spanish influences or if they influenced latin music. Regardless, there wasn't anything bad here, besides Koffi.
Attention : enfin un album d'Afrique ! Il m'aura fallu 50 jours pour enfin en avoir un. Jusqu'à présent, je n'ai eu que des albums d'Amérique du Nord (en comptant Cuba) et d'Europe. Encore rien d'Amérique du sud ou d'Asie. Pour l'Océanie, je ne m'inquiète pas trop, il y aura bien un petit AC/DC, voire un bon Dead Can Dance. Et pour commencer à parler des musiques d'Afrique, on a du soukous ! Alors, je n'y connais rien et Koffi Olomidé est inconnu au bataillon pour moi, donc comme je le dis souvent, je serai pas forcément ultra pertinent dans mon avis. Je suis juste un peu étonné, mais d'après Rate Your Music, il y a beaucoup d'autres albums du genre qui sont mieux notés et plus populaires et plus anciens (donc à priori plus fondateurs). Bon, on va pas encore parler des choix de la liste, sinon on y est encore demain et j'ai pas encore parlé de la musique en elle-même. Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche est un album bien kitsch dans ses arrangements, mais qui est aussi franchement fun à écouter. C'est un petit peu long (58 minutes, quand même), mais c'est agréable à écouter et je retrouve enfin ce qui fait le charme d'une liste de 1001 albums à écouter : je me penche sur des trucs que j'écouterais probablement jamais de moi-même (ça change de David Bowie !!!). Koffi Olomidé a l'air de s'amuser, il lance des "c'est bon, ça" une fois tous les deux titres. Et si la prod a un peu vieilli, y'a un charme unique dans cet album. 3/5, à mon avis. Mais mais mais, qu'est-ce qu'on me dit dans l'oreillette ? Le monsieur a eu des affaires judiciaires pour des histoires douteuses avec une mineure et en plus il frappe des gens ? Hé, finalement, avec Bowie et Michael Jackson il est bien dans la lignée de la liste qui aime bien glisser des personnages problématiques.
chill tropical vibes but not my thing
Kinda groovy.
A lovely voice and a fun vibe.
#829. I really don't have anything positive or negative to say about this album. It was there, I listened to it. That's about it, I guess. I do have to say the album cover is creepy and I hate it. 3/5: acceptable
I am not qualified to rate this up or down. And man, my music-suggestion algorithm is really getting fucked.
I like Afropop, so I'm always happy to be exposed to another corner of it. There are a couple of tracks on here I didn't like but mostly enjoyed the ride minus the in-your-face 80s production touches that didn't age super well.
3/5 - Aside from a few spots where it sounds like a Casio keyboard sing-along, this was enjoyable. Bright and upbeat.
Papa loves mambo
Interesting: another world music artist of whom I'd never heard. It's emininently listenable, although I wonder about the authenticity; whether it's adjusted to suit modern European tastes.
Love the instrumentals and energy with them but they get a bit repetitive especially for the seven-minute songs. The vocals and pretty fun and there are a few songs I would come back to, but overall not the best I’ve heard like this before
glossy modern afrobeat - a bit canned, but good.
Banger of an album cover. Top 100 Congolese artist of all time, that's for sure.
A fun bouncing around type of album but a bit long to listen to an album where I could not understand the words. Some of the guitar parts were really cool
Kongolaista rumbaa taas tähän väliin. Ihan hyvän mielen musiikkia vaikka en ihan kohderyhmää välttämättä ole. Hauska tuo syna mikä tuo tähän sellaista ysärikasari fiilistä. Parhaat: Qui cherche trouve, Conte de fees
Cool beats. Joyful upbeat music
interesting listen 3.5
This is cool, not much replay-ability
I like the kwassa kwassa elements of Olomidé’s style but the synths make it sound like cheesy Michael Bolton mall karaoke versions of African music. It’s never downright bad but it would not make my list of 1001 albums to hear before you die.
I really enjoyed this!
It's nice to get a stop in the Congo along this project's musical tourism itinerary (apparently the only Congolese artist and album in the "1001 Albums" collection), but I always feel at a disadvantage with the Asian- or African-based albums in this collection, and this is no exception. At times he sounds an awful lot like the Barry White of the DRC, and the unfortunate choice of a 90s album lends a karoake style to the backing music. Interesting to read, though, that "'Papa Bonheur' was listed among the '100 Greatest African Songs of All Time' by the Kenyan weekly magazine 'Daily Nation'" (from the Wikpedia entry for Koffi Alomide). I suspect my surprise at this factoid reveals much more of my ignorance about what goes into a great African song than anything else.
enjoyed it and probably unable to appreciate it fully due to my own cultural limitations
We've got to realise that music of a shithouse can still be appreciated despite the shithouse being a shithouse.
Ágætis bakgrunns tónlist, ekkert leiðinlegt lag en heldur ekkert sem stendur upp úr
Grípandi taktur ... en í 58 mínútur. Of langdregið.
I have no reference point for this kind of music as I’ve never barely even heard any before, so it’s surprisingly hard to give an opinion about it. Doesn’t help that I’m listening to it in the middle of the darkest and coldest winter and not while laying on a Senegalese beach. That said, I think this is exactly the kind of music this list SHOULD have more instead of, what, seven Bob Dylan albums. More interesting and remarkable music from every corner of the world, please. I’ll give it a three just for actually being on the list.
Pretty cool and funky
Upbeat world music is always fun. Here, we've got what I assume is Congolese rumba, but it sounds very similar to Latin music in terms of structure. Can't really speak on the lyrical themes, but the rhythmic guitar and drums really lay the groundwork for a lot of these tracks and make you wanna move your hips. Gets repetitive and drags a bit near the end, though.
Ok some of the music is catchy
jamming
Not my kind of music
340/1089 - I'd like this more if every song was around 2 minutes shorter and half the songs were in something other than C major. I'm not against long songs at all (I'm a huge classical music fan) and I bet it's really fun to hear this group live but I don't think jammy music translates well to recordings. Between a 3 and a 4, this is very 80s sounding and feels somewhat New-Wave-ized and inauthentic. I like New Wave but this got to the point where it sounded like a bunch of flip-phone ringtones.
Koffi...I'm sure there is a time and place for this album but the time is not 20:26 CEST and the place is not Woluwe Saint Lambert. Boom...roasted! Hey Koffi...the track list of this album reads like a list of Brussels Metro stations. Boom...roasted!
Not a bad album. Unfortunate about who the artist is as a person, but I’m not going to dock points because that would be hypocritical, because of how I will be rating future Beatles/Michael Jackson/name any artist with a controversy. Anyways, the album features laid back but still upbeat African beats and rhythms. Unfortunately, I don’t speak French, so I can’t evaluate lyrical content.
Oh boy, this one is tough. To be completely honest, I think I don’t have enough exposure to this style of Central African music to really lock into it. Really, the only song that I was 100% into was “Désespoir.” I think it’s well-played, and I do groove to it and enjoy it, but it rarely stood out like other African albums included on this list have, which I have similarly less worldly-exposure to speak on. I think I not only need to sit with Olomidé and this record more, but maybe even explore more of his discography. From what I can gather, this might not even be his best record. That doesn’t mean I hate this, though. It’s good, just maybe not for me. Which is fine, obviously, but also hard to talk about, because I also don’t have anything negative to say here. Just not fully clicking for my white girl ass, which, like…duh.
Always down for some interesting world music.
Pretty fun, but can be repetitive.
Very fun and upbeat album. 3/5
Initially pretty into this. However, it did wear out its welcome over the course of an hour. All the songs feel like they should be half as long. I guess this makes sense if you're dancing to it though. It's still a fun album, and I like it more on a track-by-track basis than as a full album. 3/5
A Koffi le conocimos gracias a Papa Wemba y sus Viva la Música. Yo prefiero a Papa Wemba, o a Youssou N'Dour , pero el éxito de Koffí es indudable. Al margen de la portada, su música animada y bien tocada, es agradable e invita al baile.
Hmmm, slipknot to this one. This is a terrible album cover. Guessing it’s African pop music. No - more Caribbean for sure. Ah from Congo and yes they speak French. Sounds like hot, hot, hot. It’s well produced but not my bag, man. And it’s toooo long.
Liked the vibe, added to my library.
I know i listened to it on my commute but i don't really remember it.
Delightful, but about 18 mins too long. Good but 58 mins for this kinda thing is insane. Cut the second song and the last song and you got a stew going
Not surprisingly, I'd never heard this. It's danceable and groovy -- but a bit on the repetitive side. I thought the suggestions that came after the album finished (at least on Qobuz) were more interesting.
Hate to be that guy but I had no clue what I was listening to. Impossible to rate since I literally do not believe I understood one word. I could not rate as good or bad so I gave it a 3.
Several of these songs started and made me think the production was dated and bad, but then each one of them warmed up and won me over, mainly because of Olomide's voice and the repetitive rhythm. I enjoyed this quite a lot, though it could have perhaps done with being 15 minutes shorter. Solid three..
Afro-Pop Lite. Definite African elements, but it's so damned bland.
I really appreciate that this generator occasionally throws up some obscure artists from other countries representing styles of music that I know nothing about this. Browsing Olomide's Wikipedia page, I see a slew of genres that I know nothing about including soukous, Congolese rumba, tcha tcho, kwassa kwassa, and ndombolo. I don't even know where to begin trying to unpick all of this and I'm sure it could lead down a very big rabbit hole of exploring music I know nothing about. And one day I might. I actually quite liked some of this, particularly the opening track, although I can't put into words why exactly. A bit further down the Wikipedia page, we learn some unsavory things about Olomide unfortunately, particularly infidelity, assault, and alleged statutory rape. Now look, the history of recorded music is filled with people like that who got away with their crimes and continue to be celebrated. I do find it hard to completely separate the art from the artist. I might have given a generous 4 stars because I love being exposed to something totally different, but as with some other artists, I'm knocking off a point because the personal history makes it harder to listen to them. If the generator was going to give us a Congolese artist, I really wish they could have found someone a bit less creepy, as it reflects poorly on all of those genres that most people won't know much about. Konono No.1 would have been my pick for this list.
Kind of interesting, but it just wasn’t my vibe. Sort of felt like the music in the background of a cheesy cop movie in the mid eighties.
= The Beatles
Kinda fire
The vocals are nice and there's some interesting instrumentation, strings I didn't recognize. Pleasant listening.
I love getting music selections that I would otherwise in my life, probably never hear. This album was pleasant to hear, something different and idyllic with songs longer than the western pop music for something seemingly accessible from Central Africa. That's all I can really say about it because that's what it sounds. For an hour. It's completely cromulent. I'm more of a fan of Afrobeat/that Nigeran West African scene as a percussion lover. I don't know, listen to this album on a beach in good weather I guess.
Har veldig lyst til å gi dette en høyere score. Det er veldig mye kult her. Men som et album er det litt for svakt. Det er for langt og litt for repetetivt. Det er mye kul musikk her og denne skiva tenker jeg funker fett på en rolig fest, men som album er det ikke spennende nok.
Nothing I can be too analytical about here since this is so out of my wheelhouse and in a language I don’t know anything about (which I’m thankful for, more non-English albums pls). But I enjoyed my listening experience. Much like the album cover, some of the production is a bit dated but that’s the only gripe I can come up with. 3/5
A Congolese singer singing Latin. That's an interesting mix. While I can't understand a single word he's saying, Koffi Olomide croons his way through 'Haut de gamme/koweït rive gauche' in a comfortable fashion. This is the kind of music that would be a great soundtrack on your tropical island adventure somewhere. Makes me wanna chill in a hammock with a straw hat, Hawaiian shirt and a beverage out of a coconut. It's a quaint record. Best songs: Conte De Fees, Desespoir
I was primed to really like this one, as I've enjoyed the other albums by African artists on this list. And this isn't bad at all - there are just a couple of things keeping me from completely enjoying this. The repetition paired up with the song length really bothers me - these songs *should* run 3 to 4 minutes at most, and instead they recycle themselves for 6-7. There just isn't that much music here. The highlight to me is the second track, which is gloriously early-90s. It's incredible. Also the cover art looks like they spent about 5 dollars on it, and I kind of love that. Koffi's voice is great, and the musicianship is nice. But the songs themselves wear on you. THREE STARS
Didn’t understand a damn word but still grooved to it. Upbeat tunes. Danceable. Good shot of balky.
It was chill and nice. I don’t know if its the pinnacle of this type of music.
I cannot give this a 2 or 1 because some songs are good. But I would if I could. 3/5
A great example that understanding the language is not a requirement to enjoy music. This is a ton of fun, but I’m just not sure I’d go back to it in a hurry. Best Track: Papa Bohnheur
This was fun, sunny, upbeat and well done. Some forays into slower and more keyboard based stiff didnt work, but it was a pleasant hour
A pleasant change. My french isn't good enough to understand most of what is said, and the instrumentation is very '80s standard MIDI', but the rhythms and vibes make for a stark contrast from the lumpen 70s rock that makes up most of this list. I can't honestly recommend it as I didnt 'get' most of it, but it was a pleasant diversion and I'd happily listen again.
I enjoyed discovering this genre of music. Need to explore more Ethiopian music.
Sounds vibrant and full of sunshine, some digital '90s sounds and productionstuffs on a bunch of bright, bouncy tracks Fun listen
Probably the best non English album I have listened to so far. It has great rhythms and I liked the upbeat atmosphere it provided. The language barrier definitely was a setback as I couldn't understand one song but that didn't make the album unlistenable. I will give it a 3
Good, not great. Without knowing his entire catalog, the 90s production value makes me wonder how much of his success was driven by the local music industry. The Casio style keys, accompanied by the electric drums, gets in the way of some beautiful music.
A very strong entry in the non-English set of albums from this project. This album is bursting with life, very fun to listen to. The songs are too long for my taste, and the non-English lyrics do limit my ability to fully connect with anything here.
Good but maybe not my thing. Give it another go maybe.
Fun enough. I can't say I was floored, though this was very new to me. As a Talking Heads fan I found it interesting to hear so many guitar riffs here which have similar sounds to what they were exploring. Obviously they were influenced by Afro-beat and not vice versa, but always to see your favourites' influences. Happy to see some world music on the list, this was the first artist I've gotten who had never even heard of and likely never would have listened to.
It's fun to get some different global representation. This was catchy and easy to have on without devoting my full attention. Was I blown away? No. But I also didn't dislike it.
This is one of the weirdest picks on the list lol. This guy kinda seems like a khia, the 2.53 rating on RYM and 6-7 minute long songs scared me off a bit, but I did actually kind of like this. It's just pleasant.
Obviously did not understand a word. The energy was upbeat and his voice is great, but it's a little too soft for my tastes.
Something very different to the usual UK/US sounds - really enjoyed would listen again/explore other stuff by Koffi Olomidé
Pretty forgettable, definitely some nice instrumentation on here though so it's not bad
Perfectly fine, inoffensive, happy stuff
One of the more unique albums listened to so far.. the percussion rocks throughout, and i love how Afropop acts often use instruments like the electric guitar in a much different way to rock or western styles. Its a breezy, airy sound thats more about the rhythm, with repetitive but joyful and bouncy little riffs and noodling. But then on the other hand, this record has some songs that repeat the same phrase for like five mins that wasnt that interesting to begin with. On the songs that I was feeling the groove, i really enjoyed listening, but others dragged
Would never have listened to this otherwise! I enjoyed the vibe, a couple songs were very Luther Vandross
According to Wikipedia, he is one of Africa’s most prominent musicians, but I had never heard of him before. After listening to the album, it sounded exactly like what many people would imagine as “African music.” If he was the one who helped shape or popularize that image, that’s quite an achievement. Personally, though, it’s not really my taste.
Don't know anything about this; found it a very enjoyable listen
Solid but just not exactly my main groove. Some great songs while others were just okay
uplifting, joyful, healing
Sucks this guy’s a sex offender. T’was some happy shoulder shakin music.
Very funky, not sure if good, but it made me dance
Aight
Interesting.
This was nice. I found the mix of (what I assume are) traditional acoustic instruments and full on 80s production a little bit jarring. There is some good funky electric guitar to like. Awesome rhythms
Cool to see the DR of Congo represented! This was a pleasant listen. Some sweet percussion and a nice groove. I got a kick out of the fact that he was often singing in French. 7/10.
Cool to hear something quite different. Apparently Koffi is also quite influential to Congolese people pushing what was done in music at the time.
Im not sure I have much to say on this one, but what I do have to say is that the album art is honestly kinda fuckin great in some kind of way, idk. The music? I think it was good overall, a nice listen through. Id be interested to do a deeper dive into music from Africa, as I dont have a lot else to compare him to. Id give it like a 6/10??
Fun island vibes. Not being a speaker of Portuguese, I have no clue what any of the songs were about, but they were definitely a solid vibe. Good for listening in a beach or at a pool.
Nice. Good in the way that West African pop rock is always enjoyable. That irrepressible guitar sound over lovely melodies and great vocals telling a story that sounds interesting, even though it’s in a language you don’t understand. Unfortunately, this album is a little too poppy and not so creative (it becomes redundant at times). There’s definitely better Afro-Pop in the world. It’s a 3.
It's fine. Pretty pleasant for background "world" music.
I really have a blindspot with non-western music.
groovin, boppin, and I'm not sure how they did it...but its also jimblin.
Bop after Bop. There was a song in a minor key, which threw me off guard, but otherwise this is what people think of when they think African Pop.
Weird
The music is fun and lively. Some of the reviews here have cracked me up. It is very much made in the 90’s and in turn, sounds very much of the 90’s. I think the album would have benefited from a bit of editing. Taking some of the six minute plus songs down to three or four would have improved the pacing. 3/ 5
6.5 to a 7
This one really depends on what I’m doing while listening. 2.7
Highlight Song/s: Desespoir This one has a really cool tropical sound to it. But my god, does this album really seems to last. That may be because this is completely out of my norm.
Very fun! Upbeat and buoyant. Some of the production reminds me a lot of Graceland era Paul Simon, especially on Despoiré. ✨
Wouldn’t be the first album I’d choose but I did appreciate it. It’s a great big world out there with all kinds of music. Duh. This reads familiar.
I don't really know enough about Congolese music to judge this properly, but I found parts of it pretty danceable and uplifting. I don't think I'd listen to it again, but glad to get something different from the generator for a change!
Decent, slightly 50s vibe to this. Makes your head want to bop.
Groovy, feelgood music. Don't really have any competence to say anything about this. Kind of enjoyable music on the background and most probably great stuff live.
This is a perfectly nice little album, but I don't feel like I needed to hear it before I died.
C’est cool mais rien d’exceptionnel. Ça va
I gave this two listens. It didn't really rise above background music for me, but it was fine. I'm vaguely curious about some of his other music just because there's SO much of it spanning so many decades. Might be interesting to see what other kind of styles he picked up. Glad I listened to it.
This is a fun and upbeat album, the groovy percussion gives it a good rhythm and you could imagine this guy puts on a party The long tracks wore a bit thin for me by the end, I wouldn't revisit but enjoyable enough
Nice and cheerful
probably better than I give it credit for but could just not get into it.
91/1001. I'm surprised how little world music, especially African music, is on this list. I think this my 2nd album in both categories so far. (This also means that there hasn't been any Brazilian, Jamaican, Columbian, Cuban or any other Latin brilliance, no Indenesian / Balian music, no Siberian throat singing, no mysterious voices from Bulgaria, etc...at least yet). As far as this album goes, a few things: firstly, there always will be a new African superstar, who I've never heard of (and I've tried to listen to quite a lot of African music). Secondly almost all African music I hear is interesting: full of polyphonic melodies and rhythms, call and responses, groovy jamming and excellent musicians. Still, for me at least, Soukos, Highlife, Sungura and many other clean guitar picking music genres lack a sense of danger. The most well known artists kind of sound like they are tailored for western audiences, although that is probably not true. But this is what happened listening this album. I can imagine it being played at a world music festival with a culturally conscious, upper middle class whiteys drinking prosecco and dancing their fat and guilt off. Nothing wrong with that I guess? Groovy music - danger = 3
I liked this and enjoyed having it in the whole time. Hard to judge beyond that given how unfamiliar I am with the genre.
This album is just totally okay. Not at all bad, quite enjoyable, but also not very attention grabbing at all. It's just there
Good
I wish I had been in the right headspace for this. I think there are some solid jams on here, but the day I had nothing but doom would do.
I’m really on the fence about this album. On one hand, I’m super stoked to finally have a non-Western album on this list. Non-English and non-Western music in general are so dramatically underrepresented that I feel they should get an automatic 4 or 5* just for existing and allowing people to broaden their horizon. On the other hand... I don’t really like Koffi Olomide, and I think it’s a really weird pick. It’s not that he’s "tailored for Western audiences" as some reviewers have suggested – he’s a HUGE deal in Africa, a legendary singer in his own country. But he’s also very far from being the most interesting or original African artist in my opinion. Musically speaking, it’s very uneven. He has a fantastic voice, no doubt about it. I always enjoy his singing. But the conga instrumentation is awfully basic, and the songs tend to be very repetitive. From a strictly musical point of view, I’d probably have rated this album a 2*. Taking all factors into consideration, I’ll go for a generous 3*. But I wish this list would have picked Malian blues or Ethio-jazz instead of a modern mainstream artist.
Interesting….
The first 2 songs were great, then it kinda fell off. Always a treat to discover new non Western artists though! Tracks to Track: Papa bonheur, Desespoir
First time listen. Enjoyed.
Very fun.
It was alright, quite an upbeat album. Which helped set Monday morning on a good track, but won't be back for another listen
Pretty groovy, but each track starts to feel extremely repetitive.
Good vibe
first congalese album
Breezy, uplifting melodies for sun-drenched days. Calypso vibes to me, which is probably not right, but there's an obvious African connection there. Désespoir and Conte De Fees shine the brightest, but there's nothing really had here, albeit the runtime is maybe too long. Doesn't feel like music I should have listened to alone indoors would headphones on.
Bij wereldmuziek is het altijd even wennen aan de stijl van muziek maken en met name zingen. En dan bedoel ik niet de stem van Koffi, want die is zoetgevooisd, maar dat gejammer of gemekker, maaahhhhaaaahaaaa, dat het Arabisch ook wel kent. Als je er eenmaal een beetje aan gewend bent, dan vallen me meer de ritmes op, die het tempo er lekker in houden (al zit er weinig variatie in de variatie). Een speels gitaartje erbij stemt de boel vrolijk. Het is misschien niet suitable for work, maar ik heb dit met plezier geluisterd. Ik zal het niet nog eens uit mezelf opzetten, maar ik vind het ook niet erg om opnieuw te horen. Het liefst dan wel in de buitenlucht op een zonnig vakantieadres. Ik kan me niks voorstellen bij een concert van zo'n man in januari in een bedompt zaaltje, dat zou de sfeer en mijn beoordeling compleet anders maken. Voor nu een dikke 3 sterren.
A lot of this ran together. It’s not bad but the songs are long (which is understandable if you’re dancing to it live and you don’t want the song to end)
Cool grooves
Skönt gung. Kanske tom kan bli en fyra med lite tid. Lite samma känsla som i Paul Simons Graceland ibland.
This albums ok, probably would give it 2 stars but it actually made me super curious to check out more Congolese music because it seems he has better received records besides this one and I dug the general sound.
Very feelgood throughout. Great uplifting licks and beats on every track. Shame I have to listen to these cars because it's very dance-worthy. Shame about him being a p.o.s.
Really enjoyed the music. Wish I hadn’t read the reviews about the artist’s behaviour
Fine
Some really beautiful melodies and rhythms, but even they couldn't the album from late 80s cheese effects.
Honestly, kind of a little escape for me, especially, on a Monday in America in June 2025. Has some definite haut de gamme vibes: dude is serving some engaging poussa and poussez energy…on repeat ….on multiple tracks (I throughly thought he was saying pussy over and over). His voice is pretty cool, kind of that raspy “I woke up like this” kind of way. While this is would not be my go-to, it was enjoyable…one-off sort of listen for me. One gripe is the long track lengths; they started to blur together with similar beats and phrases. Did I accidentally press the repeat button? No, I had not. That said, the sound is bright and explosive and rooted in something original and authentic, which I believe is where Talking Heads found some of their magic (looking at you, “Help Me Somebody”).
I love African music, it just sounds so joyous even though I have no idea what’s being said in this case. Either way, great for a Sunday morning…
Len Houmous once borrowed one of Koffi’s jackets for a night out during Houmous & Chutneys famous Congolese Tour in 87. He’s actually what led to him meeting his 11th wife, Nzuzi! 3.4
nice enough album. Not sure why is in the list but I am sure it broke some ground somewhere
Nice for a change but didn’t blow my mind
Wish I didnt know about the thing
Not really my thing. Nice background music at a bar in Benidorm or something though I reckon. Thst boosts it to 3/5
Good album, too jovial for me
Some fun moments. Catching up so probably didn’t give it as close a listen.
Interesting choice of an album and something completely different. Some interesting melodies and rhythms. Not too fond of the vocal delivery and there is, of course, language barrier for me to really appreciate it.
His voice is great and the music is really fun. I don't know what he's talking about but I'm happy to be with him. Solid album. Best song: Desespoir
It appears that my voyage across the ocean of a thousand albums has gone awry as I am now shipwrecked on a vast tropical paradise. The locals are nice - we've spent time splitting coconuts on the shore together. I might check out the no-doubt boobytrapped temple that is peeking out above the treeline. I could also pay tribute to the volcano god and mess about with the cheeky macaques that are all throughout the tropical rainforest. I do have an hour to kill here, after all. It's nice. A pleasing enough listen throughout, even if the songs are way, way longer than they ever needed to be. While the instrumentals are very samey and minimal they have enough of energy to where it keeps the listening experience fresh. I enjoy the "plucky" instruments on the songs - particularly on "Qui Cherche Trouve". I think the instrument is some variety of guitar, though I'm really not sure. I also quite like the marine ambience that hangs in the back of these songs. I have beyond-zero clue what the exact instrument is, but you get me right, right? I've got to check out the only map that I have of this place as I have no idea how I wound up here. I'm talking about the 1001 Albums book. Let's see. Most commercially successful artist in Africa. "The songs have a typically Congolese structure". They really weren't lying on that one - very formulaic. "His lyrics [...] are clearly the work of a poet". I wouldn't go that far, but then again I don't understand a lick of this album. Despite being stranded in the dead center of bumblefuck nowhere, I'm reluctant to bust out the "nowhere album" moniker for this album. I think world music occupies an important niche on this list and I enjoy the "exotic feel" of this album. That being said, I feel like there is probably a better showing from this genre, even if Koffi Olomide earns his stripes by being the most commercially successful African musician.
Decent listen, cool to listen to stuff worldwide and not just sung in English. This is an album rating website and not an artist rating platform, so I won't comment on the artist.
Nice to see this kind of music in this list.
Pretty chill, pleasant music. Kind of "backgroundy" to me, though.
I don't know what he was saying most of the time, but it was fun and dancy. It made me want to dance in my chair and be at a club or beach and enjoy the day into the evening. It would have fit into a lot of 80's soundtracks for a beach setting.
This had a fun sparkle to it. Cool upbeat jams to vibe out to. It got a little samesy as it went on, but an enjoyable listen!
Very nice.
Good.
I’ve grown to like some world music over the years. Can’t say I know enough about the style to give a wordy review, but I can say I liked this one.
interesting
Joyful and upbeat.
Sounds like a foreign establishing shot in a movie. Groovy and polished, but more atmosphere than engagement.
5/9/25. New sound that I'm not familiar with, but that's why I'm on the 1001 album journey!
Happy music. 3
pleasant
As always, I have no idea what he is singing about. The second track, Desepoir, sounds initially like an 80's ballad. I expected to hear Peabo Bryson start singing. This is the kind of music I could hear while hanging out at the pool or in the elevator while visiting a tropic environment. This music definitely gets my butt shaking, and though I would probably not intentionally turn the album on, I did enjoy the music...even if some of the songs were a bit long. I am not smart enough about world music to know how this differs from other world/dance music, but I do know I enjoyed what I heard.
This one just didn’t hit for me. It’s fine, but nothing jumped out
Nice album.
Veldig gøy, kom i godt humør:) (av musikken, ikke artisten når jeg fant ut..)
I do like the afrobeat sound, I have done since I first heard Graceland. What Graceland has that this is lacking somewhat is a western structural songwriting style - whilst this all sounds good it is very repetitive, with songs consisting of a single rhythm pattern repeated and repeated with no bridge, verse / chorus or middle eight for variety. It’s fine, but it hangs around too long.
I like how this has African music in it. It being different is much of the reason to listen to this album but it doesn’t keep your attention because after a while it sounds like music at a tropical themed bar
Vacation vibes but didn't finish the album
This was fun!
Kind of funny that I’ve gotten several African albums in the past couple weeks! I usually enjoy them, but this felt the weakest out of those I’ve listened to recently - a little too bland, formulaic maybe. I can’t say I actively enjoyed it much.
This was fun to jam to on an island
This was a fun listen. Didn't pay super close attention but it was solid
Didn’t hate it
Not really my thing but I appreciate it.
This was nice, good vibes, made enjoyable background music. Language barrier and what I assume are Congolese traditional melodies meant I struggled to pick out differences, blended into one a bit. That said, do like when these African artists I wouldn't otherwise hear come up on the list.
Was quite on board with this initially, but it's pretty long and without me understanding the lyrics it started to drag a bit. It's nice and jolly though, not offensive. 2.5
Absolutely no idea how I feel, since, like I said last time I got an album like this, I don’t exactly speak the language, so I can’t appreciate it, so I’m just going to give it an average score because giving it a one Star just because I don’t speak the language is petty. Rating: Average (Decent ☆☆☆) Favorite Tracks: N/A Can’t help much mention it, but this guy is a POS, I try not to let that kinda stuff effect my ratings so I view stuff from an objective pov, but that shit is fucked.
Upbeat vibes. The bright, clean, and smooth guitar lines were the highlight of the album. The sound soured upon learning more about the artist while finishing out the album.
Digg
feels kind of weightless compared to other central african music I'm familiar with but it's pleasant enough
6.5/10
Generally a pleasant listen
Favorite Track: Qui cherche trouve
Fun at first, and good to move to but mundane after awhile.
Lmao at this cover, don’t know much about African music but this was a fun time
This was a fun shake your bottom around the house listen.
3-
"Haut de gamme/Koweit, rive gauche" is the ninth solo album by Congolese singer-songwriter, dancer and producer Koffi Olomidé. The music is a blend of Congolese rumba, Tcha Tcho (slower style of soukos which is dance music) and kwassa kwassa (a dance). This album propelled Koffi to stardom in Africa and Europe. The first song and single "Papa bonheur" begins with that Congolese rumba beat. Cheery female backing vocals. There's acoustic guitar and a rattle. Catchy! It's about a romantic relationship. "Kuweit rive gauche" slows things down a bit. Koffi is singing and talking softly. The beats are in the background. Heartfelt vocals as he sings about the loss of a person he loved, Angie. Poppy high-pitched guitars and percussion musically anchor "Porte-monnaie." Koffi and the female backing vocals are singing and laughing. The pace picks up. Porte-monnaie is a small bag for holding money. The closing song "Dit Jeannot" has multiple lead vocalists and a more serious tone. It's a song commenting on social injustices, poverty and struggles of everyday life. This is an album with mostly cheerful and danceable songs along with a few series ones. The music features polyrhythmic percussions and high-pitched guitars. Koffi's mostly deep baritone range from purposely restrained to more celebratory. The female backing vocals play a key spot. These songs are fairly long, in the five-to-seven minute range and there's a trend for the pace to gradually pick up throughout the song ending in dance mode if you will. At times and with my limited experience in these musical genres, I thought a good comp was a mix of Buster Poindexter's "Hot Hot Hot!" and Paul Simon's "Graceland." Things could be worse. Overall, a fun time and decent listen.
Enjoyed this - nice background music for a resort vacation. Or, at least that's what I was daydreaming about while at work. 3/5
nice vibe
a unique sound, and very melodic. You can hear some of the French/Belgian influences there, but this is really its own thing.
Pleasant but repetitive
I dug this. Found it curious how much it reminded me of the Malian guitar music I have listened to. Then I wondered if this was just an ignorant all African music sounds alike to me thing.
Definitely fun, but I don’t understand a word of it.
I really enjoyed his vocal delivery and the blending of Congolese and Latin rhythms is very easy to listen to. The production I found at times a bit jarring and very early nineties. Often the intros gave way to beautiful pieces.
As soon as he answered the telephone mid-song on the first track I knew this was going to be a fun album. A little repetitive, but fun.
this was fine. it started out a lot of fun but got repetitive pretty quickly
Good but a little dated around the edges
Reminds me of lady smith black Mombasa sometimes. Reminds me of some classic 80s city pop. A little cheesy. Very fun/well played and produced. Makes me think of vapor wave 90’s commercials showing off tropical vacations
Never heard of this artist. Should be interesting. Definitely respect all types of music, especially international music. Just not for my ears. Very interesting.
OK but nothing special.
African rhythms, something quite foreign for me, but it was a positive experience. Just general good vibes. Probably won't remember anything about this album in a day or so.
Sounds like the music that would play during the VHS tapes about the history of Africa you would watch in middle school. Tbh it's hard for me to really appreciate albums that aren't in English or at least Spanish
fun stuff. probably fun to workout/dance to.
Really good, but not my style. I'd definitely listen to it in a playlist, but I don't see myself listening to the album on it's own.
This was really nice to listen to. Upbeat and pretty.
Day386 - here’s a joke for you. what does a french seal sound like?
I appreciated this as an introduction to a new genre of music. Maybe they should have picked something else, but I'm still glad to be more familiar with Congolese music now.
It's a fine album with quite varied instrumentation. I don't mind not being able to understand the lyrics. I love African melody and best choices from this era and maybe even a bit earlier. Still, kinda leaves me wanting a touch on several levels. Feels unbalanced in some way on most tracks.
Grooved to this.
Neat album, shame the guy seems to be a dirtbag
I had fun with this one, lots of dancing around the house
Fun vibe
It’s calypso. Would work for a beach party. Not bad. Not my favorite style.
This was nice background music. No idea what the fella was singing about but it sounded alright.
Pretty cool
Was super charming at the beginning, but the songs and the album ended up feeling a bit too long
It’s sounds exactly like the album cover looks
It was good it just felt like every other song had the same sound
5/10
Toe-tappingly catchy
It's not bad, I don't mind stuff like this coming up on the list as it provides and interesting change of pace and stuff I wouldn't otherwise seek out. Alright in the background, feels a bit like tourist trap music.
Another enjoyable album this region
Reading about the guy completely killed the vibe on this.
Liked this album. Reminds me of some music from Soweto that I enjoy and was being made around the same time. 3.5/5 Will listen again
Kind of sounded like resort music :/
Very enjoyable.
Alright as background music but got a bit samey after a while. Nonetheless it was tuneful. 3*
Thought this was really good. I enjoyed it probably a 4 but also not sure I would ever choose to listen to it (or remember).
nice melodies and instrumentals
Enjoyably breezy afro beats with lovely smooth vocals. A little dated / cheezy around the edges but a very nice listen that washed over me in a good way (as have no idea what any of the songs are about).
I don't really know much Afro pop, and I know nothing of Olomide or Congolese music, but this album was a pleasant surprise overall. I found the production to be a bit sterile and almost every song started out with a very saccharine poppy sound that really turned me off, but surprisingly, each song morphed into a satisfying grove, no matter how rocky the start. I didn't love it, but I did really enjoy it.