Here's the Baaba Maal we've been missing for the past ten years! Many old time fans first knew the Senegalese superstar as an acoustic act, singing and playing guitar alongside his friend Mansour Seck, both from the northern, riverside town of Podor. Once he broke internationally, Maal's concerts and releases have mostly featured his hard-hitting electric band, Dande Lenol. But this session, beautifully recorded in Senegal with a few overdubs done at Real World studio in England, gets back to the acoustic ensemble sound Maal featured on Baayo (Mango 1991).

The opener "Yoolelle Maman" and also "Fanta" play like sweet, Senegalese folk songs, rich with kora, xalam, and acoustic guitar. Two love songs, "Jamma Jenngii" and "Kowoni Maayo (mi weewnii)," deliver the sensuous swing of Guinean Manding music adding balafon and hand percussion to the mix. Maal's grasp of pan-West African traditional music has always been impressive and that shines through once again here.

The set is full of messages honoring parents, women, the old culture of Podor, and in "Miyaabele" ("Unite"), the concept of African unity. Dueling acoustic guitars and balafon introduce a restless, undulating three-four rhythm. Maal sings in a low voice, "The sun has risen. The cockerel is crowing. Let's rise!" The refrain is rich with Maal's and Seck's high, buzzing vocal harmonies--deeply satisfying. Another vocal standout is the slow, moody "Senegaale Ngummee" a celebration of Podor's "intellectual" traditions and people featuring Maal and Seck singing together at their soaring, keening best. The final track, "Allah Addu Jam," is a prayer for peace that begins with just Maal singing with xalam accompaniment, but shifts dramatically when drums thunder in for a blowout ending. When the song finishes, you just want to start the CD all over again.

Is this as good as Baayo (Mango 1991)? Hard to say, that being one of the great African records of all time. Ask again in a couple of years, for this is certainly a record to live with for awhile. This much is sure. Missing You is a long overdue break from Maal's high-concept, electric, studio albums of the mid and late '90s. It reminds us why we loved him so much in the first place.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org