Salif Keita's latest incarnation--as an acoustic music maestro--has been long awaited, especially by fans smitten with his soulful voice, but impatient with his various forays into dance pop and progressive rock. Keita always takes his time with recording projects; it's been over three years since his rockin' Papa, co-produced with Vernon Reid. But the time he takes with things definitely pays off. Moffou is very close to a perfect record: understated, varied, and imbued with all the delicious complexities of this brilliant, inscrutable African maverick.

Keita opens with the rich, warm, rolling, romantic "Yamore," featuring beautiful guest vocals from Cesaria Evora. The two West African icons manage to tune their voices so closely to each other, that you can almost be tricked as to which one is singing. It's one of the most successful collaborative songs Afropop has heard in years. "Madan," an uptempo number with strong overtones of wassolou music, is also a standout, rising through plateaus of emotion to a rollicking crescendo. "Koukou" also has a great groove, a little reminiscent of Keita's 1995 hit, "Tekere," and his vocal here is gentle and sweet.

Most of these songs are more reserved. Three feature only Keita and his guitar, a spare, searing combination. "Ananaming (It's Been Too Long)," a remake of a song from Papa, is probably the best of these, featuring an absolutely heart-breaking vocal, but all three solo numbers are gorgeous. If there is any misstep here at all, it might be the rather syrupy female backing vocals on "Katolon," otherwise an inspired re-working of a griot melody. Keita favors minor keys and there's a profound melancholy that runs through even his most party-hardy music. On this album, he is free to delve into that soft, vulnerable side of his musical persona, never losing that sense of personal power that makes his so voice so complex and so satisfying. This sets a new standard in the current trend of West African acoustic albums.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org