Christgau Consumer Guide

“Les Ambassadeurs” (Rounder) Though it’s billed as “dance music from West Africa” (these folkie labels, anything for a buck), what you notice is more for the ears than the feet—the emotional range of Mali tenor Salif Keita, a far more stirring singer than the renowned Rochereau, and the way Kante Manfila’s guitar anchors synth here and horns there.