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  KG Omulo: Ayah Ye!: Moving Train
  
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• 
  Various Artists: Chief Boima Presents: Lone Stars - Hipco and Gbema
  
  
• 
  Mamadou Diabaté: Courage
  
  Mamadou Diabate, the kora master, takes a fresh look at Mali instrumental music with his new CD Courage.
• 
  Various Artists: The Kankobela of the Batonga, Vol. 2
  
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• 
  Kiran Ahluwalia: Aam Zameen: Common Ground
  
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  M.anifest: Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America
  
  
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  Sona Jobarteh: FASIYA
  
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• 
  Sia Tolno: My Life
  
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• 
  Zieti: Zemelewa
  
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• 
  Guelewar: Halleli N Dakarou
  
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• 
  Tinariwen: Tassili
  
  Touareg desert legends return with an offering that is meandering, sorrowful and proud.
• 
  Los Rakas: Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada
  
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• 
  Cheikh Lo: Jamm
  
  The unique Senegalese singer and multi-instrumentalist crafts an eclectically excellent record.
• 
  David Rudder: Random Notes
  
  Calypsonian David Rudder returns with an album that covers various styles with excellent results.

All Reviews >>

In the rough and tumble of African music, this legendary electric dance band has seen its ups and downs since it began in 1970 in Bamako, Mali, with now-superstar Salif Keita as lead singer. Against heavy odds, the Rail Band rolls on, with nine, shimmering tracks as polished and energetic as any it has recorded. The current band is slightly paired down from the lineup that last went into the studio over seven years ago. The horn section is gone leaving the focus squarely on the band's high-flown vocals--now both male and female--bubbling percussion, and dense arranging for two guitars and bass.

Central to everything is the staggering guitar artistry of the band's most longstanding member, Djelimady Tounkara. Track after track, Tounkara's blistering, crystalline lines merge a kind of manic precision with a floating, relaxed quality that has led many to dub him the greatest of all African axe men. Support for that claim is everywhere here from the racing condemnation of the pirate trade in music ("Pirates") to a brooding exploration of Mali's mystical pre-history ("Kongo Sigui") to an R&B inspired celebration of destiny ("Dakan"). There's even a tasty acoustic number, featuring guest kora player Ballaké Sissoko. Tounkara is clearly the star, but today's Rail Band has no weak links. It remains one of the most powerful and smooth-running dance music engines anywhere.
Contributed by Banning Eyre
Originally published in: Boston Phoenix