La voix de la Révolution, vol. 2 / La voix de la Revolution, vol. 2

Though other West African singers have found more fame abroad, few have proven as influential and stylistically versatile as Guinean singer Sory Kandia Kouyaté. Kouyaté possessed a keening, effortlessly nimble voice, and he was as comfortable performing the Mande praise songs of his ancestors as he was singing sprightly, Latin-influenced love ballads. His ability to inhabit the dual roles of griot and pop singer, and to blend elements of each in his performances, had a profound influence on the development of West African pop in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The second volume of La voix de la Revolucion focuses largely on his recordings of traditional Mande ballads. The Mande material consists of extended vocal workouts with kora and balofon accompaniment. The soaring “Toutou Diara” and the meditative “Douga” are among the best of these. Kouyaté’s talents as a pop singer shouldn't be overlooked, however; they're amply demonstrated by “Nina," a lovelorn acoustic shuffle that stands as one of Kouyaté’s most popular early recordings.