Spin (p.61) - Ranked #33 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "Keening voices cling to West African roots against the drift of Chao's skittish lite-reggae lilt."
Uncut (p.105) - 3 stars out of 5 - "Manu Chao, here helps them paint their Malian pop in global colours..."
Dirty Linen (p.58) - "[L]ush, multi-facetted....[They] have a well-developed pop sensibility..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.58) - Ranked #9 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2005" - "Amadou & Mariam mixed Malian rhythms and Memphis grooves. And crossed right over."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 - "African Mod soul house funk album of the year so far."
Amadou & Mariam: Amadou Bagayoko (vocals, guitar); Mariam Doumbia (vocals).
Personnel include: Manu Chao (vocals, guitar, programming); Tiken Jah Fakoly (vocals); Roy Paci (trumpet); Francois Regis Matuszenski (keyboards); Laurent Griffon (bass guitar).
Produced by and featuring world-music star Manu Chao, DIMANCHE A BAMAKO showcases the talents of married couple Amadou Bagayoko (vocals, guitar) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals), who met at a Malian institute for the blind. While Amadou & Mariam have been making music together for decades, this album is their first high-profile international release, and they take full advantage of the attention with a buoyant set of French-language tunes mixing traditional Malian sounds with Latin rhythms, folk, blues, and reggae.