Consumer Guide Album

Koffi Olomide: Tcha Tcho [Sterns, 1990]
Floating airy synthesizers on the quietest of Paris-Kinshasa grooves, this Papa Wemba grad is class pop right down to his haircut. A balladeer by soukous standards, he's a rhythm king nevertheless, a cafe au lait Bing Crosby with the stuff to shoot from the hips. But for all its gentle carnality, his seductive one-on-one lacks emotional detail if you don't understand the words. Fluent Francophones will swoon--especially fluent female Francophones. B+