BOOK REVIEW: Away From The Light of Day - Amadou & Mariam with Idrissa Keita

Despite the double-billing and familiar profile of Mali’s first couple on the cover, this slim, engaging volume (written with Idrissa Keita and translated by Ann Wright of Motorcycle Diaries repute) is in reality the Amadou Bagayogo story, with wife Mariam not appearing on the scene until chapter thirteen of seventeen.

Against the backdrop of Malian independence and subsequent political upheaval, and the ritualistic vagaries and moral underpinning of Malian tradition, Amadou tells the tale of his failing eyesight and crushingly unsuccessful operation to correct it at the age of twelve, how he turned to music to assuage the hurt of exclusion from festivals and playground games ,and with the help of an encouraging mother and well-connected bass-playing uncle (who counted the superstar Guinean guitarist Kanté Manfila amongst his acquaintances) found fame, girls, patronage, travel and of course love in a career that is now into its fifth decade.

Amadou’s no griot and it shows in the matter-of-fact conversational tone (one assumes that the book was ghosted via conversations between Bagayogo and Keita). He’s very much at the centre of the simply-told story, the many characters and incidents informing an almost disconcertingly phlegmatic narrative no matter how colourful or tragic. All are treated as fatalistic bumps in the road on the way to a role in the acclaimed Ambassadeurs band in the early ‘70s and enrolment in Mali’s first Institute for the Blind at the end of that decade, where he became a teacher and forged his partnership with Mariam Doumbia (who herself has been blind since she contracted measles aged five). The relationship was not without its hitches. The feeling amongst family members was that both would have fared better if married to a sighted person, and jealousy and workload commitments resulted in a loss of teaching focus that compromised Amadou’s relationships with his students. Through it all Amadou comes across as a normal guy dealing in a down-to-earth way with the contrasting impacts of his disability and fortune, as the pair’s early mixed success paves the way for eventual global success that led to the still-remarkable, peerless Dimanche a Bamako (the already well-documented “glory years” are briefly recounted in the final chapter).

Finally, Andy Morgan bowls a few easy balls in a recent interview with the couple, which reveals little more than that they continue to be one of the most modest and least affected of superstars.

AMADOU AND MARIAM - Welcome to Mali (Because)

The question “how on earth do they follow this?” has hung in the air almost since the very moment Amadou and Mariam released Dimanche a Bamako, their award-hoovering collaboration with Manu Chao in 2005. Although Welcome to Mali doesn't quite have the same easy charm or proliferation of hook-laden nuggets as that album, thanks to the continued involvement of Dimanche co-producers Marc-Antoine Moreau and Lauren Jais the Malian couple continue to expand their earthy rhythm and blues into pop crossover territory.
Without Manu, there is a little less of the found sounds and languid laid back grooves, and a bit more of the basic Amadou and Mariam R 'n' B template of guitar, rhythm section and those charmingly limited vocals, although the palette of sound is expanded at requisite moments – to the horns, keyboard and balafon of Dimanche are added ngoni, njarka fiddle and kora, and they even manage to pull off a couple of string arrangements on the title track and the ballad I Follow You.
However, if Welcome to Mali lacks the sense of momentum and cohesion of its predecessor, it's in part down to over-dependence on guest appearances. Clearly the couple are hot property at the moment, but there's an air of tokenism to the superfluous additions of the likes of K'Naan and Juan Rozoff to songs that would stand up perfectly well without them. An exception is Damon Albarn, who is admirably restrained in support of Ce N'Est Pas Bon and, as guest producer, infuses Sabali with a sweet sound that's mercifully closer to Gorillaz than The Good, The Bad and The Queen.
Overall then, a satisfactory and place-cementing follow-up that consolidates and expands their appealing pop-meets-roots sound.

Amadou and Mariam website

AMADOU & MARIAM Paris Bamako Because 310 9227

It’s been an incredible eighteen months or so for Amadou and Mariam. Their Dimanche à Bamako CD was the sound of 2005, and in the light of that success the Malian couple’s back catalogue has been subject to re-evaluation whilst the couple continue to exhibit their considerable charm at festivals and in concert halls around the globe.
Although it’s difficult to begrudge them this belated recognition, some might say that the line of over-exposure has long since been crossed, and I can imagine the weary sighs of many reviewers when this latest release landed on the doormat.
But it would be a pity if in years to come we had no visual record to remind ourselves of this engaging pair’s triumphant shows, given the warmth of feeling and excitement generated from their winning marriage of West African boogie and infectious pop hooks.
To that end, the sixteen-song concert that serves as the main attraction on this lengthy double-sided DVD plus live CD package works as an ideal coda to this heady period for them, and is a worthy complement to the original album. It captures the Malian husband and wife team and their funky band at the height of their powers in front of an enthusiastic crowd as the sun sets on a rainy La Goutte D’Or festival in Paris in the summer of last year.
A lively Coulibaly and sing-along soulful Beaux Dimanches are among the many highlights, as are older numbers such as the touching love song Je Pense à Toi and rocking Nangaraba, despite the latter featuring a superfluous cameo by a disinterested-looking Salif Keita.
Rappers Jacky and Mokebe don’t really add much to the rousing finale of La Réalité either, but at least you can flip to a superior version of the song on a set of eight bonus tracks (all repeats) from other summer festivals on the B-side of the DVD.
The rest of the overlong package (over four hours all told) is full of the usual padding one has come to expect from music DVDs. The ‘documentary’ of their US tour is bog-standard fare made up of clips of the couple shopping, being interviewed on radio and having their photos taken in front of various landmarks, all interspersed with footage of their gigs around the country. There are videos of some of the songs thrown in for good measure, a ‘making of’ the video to La Réalité and a passable twelve-track live CD to boot.
It’s hard to see what value is added with all this extra baggage and at the full price for a DVD it cannot be recommended without reservation. There is surely a market out there for the less-is-more-at-a-reasonable-price DVD?