Nothing's in Vain (Coono du Réér)

Senegalese vocalist Youssou N'Dour has a knack for combining the traditional sounds of his homeland with the modern forms and structures of Western music, and this album—a pared-down, mostly acoustic Afro-pop masterpiece—may be the best example. African percussion and strings carry a relentlessly catchy melody on "Tan Bi (Heat, Breeze, Tenderness)," while a splendid conflagration of instruments propel the sweet "Yaru (The Makings of Respect)" so eagerly, the electricity is hardly missed.