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]
| Eyes Open | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Studio | Xippi | |||
| Genre | Mbalax[1] | |||
| Label | 40 Acres and a Mule Musicworks/Columbia | |||
| Producer | Youssou N'Dour | |||
| Youssou N'Dour chronology | ||||
| ||||
Production edit
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 edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Calgary Herald | B+[14] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[15] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [16] |
| MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide |  [17] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [18] |
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 edit
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 edit
- ^ a b "Eyes Open Review by Bob Tarte". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ Andrews, Jon (July 1992). "Record & CD Reviews — Eyes Open by Youssou N'Dour". DownBeat. 59 (7): 46.
- ^ Garbarini, Vic (June 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.
- ^ a b Rule, Sheila (5 September 1992). "An African Superstar Sings Out to the World". The New York Times. p. 1.11.
- ^ Feist, Daniel (6 November 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. 27 June 1992.
- ^ Randall, Neil (16 July 1992). "Eyes Open Youssou N'Dour". The Kitchener-Waterloo Record. p. C17.
- ^ Harrison, Tom (27 November 1992). "Duty, pop in balance: The music of Senegal". The Province. p. C24.
- ^ Jennings, Nicholas (5 November 1992). "N'Dour set to take on world". Toronto Star. p. E9.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (9 November 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.
- ^ a b Tremblay, Mark (28 June 1992). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. D4.
- ^ a b "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. June 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.