The thrilling early years (1970-1983) of the great Malian band that gave the world both Salif Keita and Mory Kanté.
DISC 1:
1. Soundiata - L`Exil (feat. Mory Kanté) (27:46)
2. Maliyo (feat. Lanfia Diabate) (6:37)
3. Sunjata (feat. Salif Keita) (14:47)
4. Armee Mali (feat. various vocalists) (4:23)
DISC 2:
1. Duga - Bambara version (feat. Magan Ganessy) (7:57)
2. Mali Cebalenw (feat. Salif Keita) (6:32)
3. Armee Malienne (feat. Mory Kanté) (4:19)
4. Fankante Dankele (feat. Magan Ganessy) (6:59)
5. Armee Mali (feat. Tatine Dembele) (4:50)
6. Soundjata new version (feat. Salif Keita) (10:26)
7. Mali Tebaga Mogoma (feat. Salif Keita) (5:54)

The Rail Band were absolute legends of African music in 1970s and early 80s. Hailing from Mali, they mixed traditional Mandingo, or Bambara, themes with pop, rock, afro-beat and rumba sounds. Most notably, the band launched the recording careers of both Salif Keita (hailed in the liner notes as "one of the greatest voices of the 20th Century") and Mory Kante.

The Sterns label has re-released three sets of vintage Rail Band recordings, each of them 2-CD packages. This is the first of the bunch and I`m very pleased with what I hear on these discs. The songs all have an upbeat, carefree vibe. Plenty of scratchy guitars, lively horns, timbales, bongos, and percussion. There`s just that certain sound, that joyous lilt, that so many African recordings from this era have (some of the stuff by Tabu Ley Rochereau springs to mind) that I find irresistible. I could listen to this music for hours on end. Some might say there is a "same-iness" to some of the tracks, but you can put that down to the "themes" of these sets. This volume, for example is filed as "Soundiata," while the second volume in the series is categorized as "Mansa."
The history of the Rail Band is divided into three periods. The first period, from 1970-72, features Salif Keita on vocals. The second period, from 1972-76, has Mory Kante, Magan Ganessy, and Djelimady Sissoko on vocals. The third period, from 1977-83, features six different vocalists, none of whom is Keita or Kante, but still pretty darned good.
If you are buying more than one volume of this series don`t be shocked to find that the liner notes are the same in all of them, barring a few different photos.! At least Volume 1 and 2 are the same; I haven`t taken the plunge for the third volume yet ... but I will! Part one of the liner notes is written in French, but don`t despair; the second half of the booklet is in English. It gives you a complete history of the Rail Band, plus details on the actual recordings. Very nice package, and wonderful music