Eyes Open (Youssou N'Dour album)
1992 studio album by Youssou N'Dour
Eyes Open | |||
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Studio album by | |||
Released | 1992 | ||
Studio | Xippie | ||
Genre | Mbalax [1] | ||
Label | 40 Acres and a Mule Musicworks/ Columbia | ||
Producer | Youssou N'Dour | ||
Youssou N'Dour chronology | |||
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Eyes Open is an album by the Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour , released in 1992 via Spike Lee 's 40 Acres and a Mule Musicworks label. [2] [3] [4] A video was shot for "Africa Remembers". [5] N'Dour supported the album with a North American tour. [6] Eyes Open was nominated for a Grammy Award , in the "Best World Music Album" category. [7]
Production
Recorded at N'Dour's studio in Dakar, Senegal, the album was produced by the musician. [5] [8] The majority of the songs were sung in Wolof . [9] N'Dour contributed liner notes that described the references in his songs. [10] "Hope" is a paean to N'Dour's grandmother. [11] "Country Boy" is about leaving rural life for an urban existence. [12] Assane Thiam contributed on talking drum . [13]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic |
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Calgary Herald | B+ [14] |
Robert Christgau | B+ [15] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |
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MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide |
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The Rolling Stone Album Guide |
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Newsday deemed the album "an annoying yet informative dispatch, a disappointing example of the new cultural multinationalism hovering on the upmarket fringes of so-called world music (so-called, because the marketing term smacks of a western ethnocentrism that assumes we are not the world)." [19] Stereo Review wrote that "N'Dour continues to pump out a propulsive sound that's dazzling in its rich combination of rhythms and irresistible in its melodic urgency." [20] The Christian Science Monitor noted that "N'Dour continues to temper his artful confabulation of African sensibility and American funk." [21]
The Calgary Herald determined that "his band's lopingly propulsive rhythms will remind newcomers to soukous more of reggae's hypnotic sway than rock's straight-ahead rush." [14] Trouser Press stated that "the percussion is downplayed in favor of swooping fretless bass and rock-influenced guitars." [22] Robert Christgau opined that the "mbalax commitments mitigate any conceptual link to studio-rock." [15]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "New Africa" | |
2. | "Live Television" | |
3. | "No More" | |
4. | "Country Boy" | |
5. | "Hope" | |
6. | "Africa Remembers" | |
7. | "Couple's Choice" | |
8. | "Yo Lé Lé (Fulani Groove)" | |
9. | "Survie" | |
10. | "Am Am" | |
11. | "Marie-Madeleine La Saint-Louisienne" | |
12. | "Useless Weapons" | |
13. | "The Same" | |
14. | "Things Unspoken" |
References
- 1 2 "Eyes Open Review by Bob Tarte" . AllMusic . Retrieved 8 July 2023 .
- ↑ Andrews, Jon (Jul 1992). "Record & CD Reviews — Eyes Open by Youssou N'Dour". DownBeat . 59 (7): 46.
- ↑ Garbarini, Vic (Jun 1992). "Music — Eyes Open by Youssou N'Dour and Super Etoile". Playboy . 39 (6): 21.
- ↑ Gonzalez, Fernando (12 July 1992). "Out of Africa New Visions of Pop Possibilities". The Boston Globe . p. B25.
- 1 2 Rule, Sheila (5 Sep 1992). "An African Superstar Sings Out to the World". The New York Times . p. 1.11.
- ↑ Feist, Daniel (6 Nov 1992). "N'Dour brings worldbeat vision to the Spectrum". The Gazette . Montreal. p. D8.
- ↑ "Youssou N'Dour" . Recording Academy . Retrieved 8 July 2023 .
- ↑ "Album Reviews — Eyes Open by Youssou N'Dour". Billboard . 104 (26): 46. Jun 27, 1992.
- ↑ Randall, Neil (16 July 1992). "Eyes Open Youssou N'Dour". The Kitchener-Waterloo Record . p. C17.
- ↑ Harrison, Tom (27 Nov 1992). "Duty, pop in balance: The music of Senegal". The Province . p. C24.
- ↑ Jennings, Nicholas (5 Nov 1992). "N'Dour set to take on world". Toronto Star . p. E9.
- ↑ Pareles, Jon (9 Nov 1992). "A Singer from Senegal By Way of the World". The New York Times . p. C11.
- ↑ Birnbaum, Larry (May 1992). "Spins". Spin . 8 (2): 83.
- 1 2 Tremblay, Mark (28 June 1992). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald . p. D4.
- 1 2 "Youssou N'Dour" . Robert Christgau . Retrieved 8 July 2023 .
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music . Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 134.
- ↑ MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide . Visible Ink Press. 2000. p. 554.
- ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide . Random House. 1992. pp. 497, 498.
- ↑ Gehr, Richard (31 May 1992). "N'Dour and the New World Music Order". Fanfare. Newsday . p. 15.
- ↑ "Popular Music — Eyes Open by Youssou N'Dour". Stereo Review . 57 (6): 88. Jun 1992.
- ↑ Wheeler, Drew (22 June 1992). "Youssou N'Dour Eyes Open". The Arts. The Christian Science Monitor . p. 12.
- ↑ "Youssou N'Dour" . Trouser Press . Retrieved 8 July 2023 .