Consumer Guide Album

Angelique Kidjo: Ayé [Mango, 1994]
The queen of world music isn't merely a big voice--she's also a compact body. Plus, terrific Afro-Parisian clothes sense. And to top it all off, a crew cut. In short (five-one, maybe five-two), she's a disco queen with a gimmick--earthier than Ya Kid K, maybe, but less grounded. And the follow-up doesn't even have "Batonga"'s synth riff to jolly you past the guitar solos. (Well, actually it does--it just doesn't have another one.) C+