For those who have seen her live, I'm envious. For the time being, I'll just play and replay "Senamou". I've always found her voice to be amazingly powerful, and yet just barely above a whisper. What kept me from giving five stars was "Pearls" -I would have preferred to have heard Carlos and Angelique separately, and Josh and Angelique on a song by themselves. However, this CD still gets my highest recommendation!
From the Artist
...And on "
Gimme Shelter," Kidjo transforms the Stones classic into an exuberant pan-national performance that nonetheless translates into a warning.
"This song means a lot to me," she says. "Look at what's going on: Fire is burning in our streets. Terrorists, in the name of
God, are coming to destroy what we've worked for. If you don't give shelter to the people who most need it, if you don't treat them as your brothers and sisters, then what hope do we have?"
The contributions of stellar guest artists illuminate Kidjo's concept. By finding a place for their distinctive talents within the marriage of African and Western influences,
DJIN DJIN celebrates the beauty of diversity as well as the unity of cultures that Kidjo achieves through her music.
These giants include
Peter Gabriel on "Salala" ("He's done so much for African music; in fact, there's something African in his way of singing, moving, and writing his songs"); Alicia Keys on "Djin Djin" ("When she heard the Beninese drums in the studio, she said, `Wow, this is hip-hop!' She understood it perfectly - and she sang so beautifully"); Joss Stone on "Gimme Shelter" ("We're friends, so when I played her what we were doing in the studio, and she insisted on being a part of it, I was so happy that we could make this happen"); Josh Groban on "Pearls" ("He sings so effortlessly," Kidjo says, "and yet you know that it isn't easy to sing at that level of virtuosity");
Ziggy Marley on "Sedjedo" ("He understands so well the connections between the music of Jamaica and the rhythm of Africa - especially the gogbahoun rhythm that comes from my village"), Carlos Santana on "Pearls" ("He's not only a guitar player: With his guitar he sings, he dances, he swings, he cries - and he has huge respect for Africa"); Branford Marsalis on "Djin Djin" ("He's my brother! When he plays, you never know what you're going to hear or where his wonderful ideas will take the music"); and Amadou and Mariam on "Senamou" ("We go so far back as friends; it was a special blessing and a gift to have them on the album.")
I love this movies +/-
