The musical tradition of Mali is as rich as any country in the world. From the Afro-blues of Ali Farka Toure to the desert soul of Tinariwen, artists from Mali have incorporated Cuban, Arabic, Far Eastern and American technique and instrumentation into the ancient sounds of the Mande Empire. This diverse musical identity helps explain why artists like Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia, the blind Francophonic husband and wife duo from Bamako, have ascended from local fame to international stardom, writing songs with Damon Albarn and going on the road with Coldplay. Their phenomenal 2008 release, Welcome to Mali, proved that the duo has the songwriting chops to sustain a fruitful career long after the buzz surrounding them inevitably dissipates. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t capitalize on the added exposure by releasing an album like The Magic Couple, which compiles 15 old tracks from the three albums they released between 1999 and 2003.

If these songs seem slightly underwhelming at first listen, it’s only because we’ve been spoiled by the brilliance and ambition of their more recent output. Opener “Je Pense a Toi” shows that even on their earliest recordings, Amadou & Mariam were purveyors of musical globalization, bringing together Indian percussion, melancholy Arabian violin, and Amadou’s omnipresent Fender Stratocaster. “Sarama” features piano free-styling straight out of a 1920s speakeasy, and “Beki Miri” wouldn’t sound out of place at an outdoor jazz and booze fest in New Orleans. Sonically, Amadou & Mariam sound just as crisp and clear as they do on their later, more expensive recordings, and if the band ever had any rough edges to iron out, they aren’t evident here. But fortunately, one of the band’s greatest strengths is their ability to polish their songs to immaculate perfection without sounding like they were packaged in cellophane for public consumption.

Nothing on The Magic Couple matches highlights like “Sabali” or “Ce N’est Pas Bon” off of Welcome to Mali. And at the time of these recordings, the band had yet to absorb into their musical arsenal the synthesizers which were put to such great use on Welcome. But this only illustrates how much the duo have expanded their sound over the past decade. And at ages 44 and 41, respectively, Amadou & Mariam show no sign of slowing down as they continue pick up new collaborators and new fans with every successive release.
David Holmes