Egypt
African music heads have done a bit of grumbling over the years about Youssou N'Dour. They take issue with the great singer's choice to record high-energy mbalax music, which mixes African and Cuban rhythms, for his Senegal homeland fans while recording (lesser to some) modern global pop for his European and American releases. N'Dour continues to do the crossover thing onEgypt, but rather than draw upon Western pop song constructs, he dives into Arabian and Egyptian orchestra music complete with strings, flutes, and percussion. In the past, the singer's voice often had a keening quality that allowed him to soar over his working band, the great Super Etoile, but here N'Dour smoothes over the rough edges to render some of his most delicate and subtle singing to date. Providing strong support, the orchestra sounds lush and dynamic throughout. The only real complaint here is the relatively short 41-minute running time of the album, but there's still plenty music for purists and popsters. --Tad Hendrickson