African Soul Revolutionary

Every slick studio release Baaba Maal puts on the market tends to prompt someone to release some unmixed, live or early Maal, to remind us that there's a rumbling, rootsy or acoustic side to this Senegalese pop star. This double album is the latest of those attempts. It features three of his 80s albums – Wango, Taara and Jombaajo. If you're a die-hard Baaba fan, you will have bought these records a long time ago. And if you're not, you don't really need to own them – a few selected tracks will do.

That said, there are some fine gems on here, such as ‘Laguiya’, with its jolty xalam lute patterns, or ‘Baydikacce’, where he experiments with a funky horn sound. In true 80s style, the second CD features plenty of instrumental indulgence and synthesized sounds, all experimentally combined with Senegalese beats and Baaba's wailing voice.

The three albums compiled here lie neatly between Baaba's most successful early releases and showcase beautifully how he moved from a purely acoustic sound to the imaginative pop productions that marked most of his later works. They show an artist's fascinating progress, but not necessarily his best work.