Edith Lefel - Mèci (1992)

Lefel's Big One is big indeed. It's not just that she's one of zouk's finest and most varied singers or that it's staggeringly long for a pop CD. It's that everybody's here on one cut or another, from neo-trad banjoist Kali and harmonica-man Pier Rosier to Malavoi's string section to just about all the reigning pop-zouk names (Rubinel is musical director). The results are an odd mix. There's lots of splendid stuff: memories of pre-zouk Antillo-salsa, and Martiniquan string-band music, and solos ranging from Kali's banjo to Rubinel's fine acoustic piano. And lots of mega-pop lover's zouk. The splendid stuff is -- well, splendid.~© John Storm Roberts, Original Music /TiVo