Specialist in All Styles

Recorded over 10 days in London, Specialist in All Styles was produced by Nick Gold and Youssou N'Dour; ironically, N'Dour's rise in popularity in the 1980s led in part to Orchestra Baobab's disbandment.[10][11][12][13] Among the returning members were singers Balla Sidibe and Rudy Gomis, guitarist Barthelemy Atisso, and saxophonist Issa Cissoko.[14] Attiso had barely played guitar in 15 years, and had to relearn after Gold and the band's singers sent one to him.[15] A new singer, Assane Mboup, contributed to the album.[16] Like previous Baobab albums, Specialist was influenced by Cuban music; it also made use of mbalax and reggae sounds.[17][18]

Ibrahim Ferrer and N'Dour sang on "Hommage à Tonton Ferrer".[19][20] Many songs are remakes of the band's earlier hits, although "Bul Ma Miin" was written for the album.[7][21] "Ndongoy Daara", about malfeasance in Qur'anic educational institutions, was written by the band's first singer, Laye Mboup.[22][23] The vocals are in Wolof, Mandinka, Spanish, and French.[24]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[25]
Robert Christgau	A[26]
Detroit Free Press	[13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[27]
New Internationalist	[22]
Philadelphia Daily News	B+[2]
The Province	[28]
Rolling Stone	[16]

Robert Christgau called the album "the ideal introduction to Baobab's relaxed mastery of American instruments, Cuban rhythms, and Senegalese form-and-content."[26] The Guardian deemed it "one of the great comeback albums," writing that "many of the songs offer a relaxed, rolling blend of Cuban salsa, African rhythms and boisterous pop melodies, dressed up with uplifting harmony singing and strong saxophone work."[29] The Toronto Star labeled it "a rich and groovy brew of African salsa, with lyrics that track mostly familiar social concerns."[20] Rolling Stone wrote that "this is groove music at once relaxed and unyielding, insistent enough for the dance floor, trance-y enough to lull an infant."[16]

Financial Times stated that "Attiso is on fine, fluid form, throwing out rippling, jazzy solos against Issa Cissokho's saxophone."[30] Newsweek determined that "though the music retains its unique fusion of Latin and African sounds, the new album is blessed with the added benefit of state-of-the-art production quality and professional sound engineering."[31] The New York Times concluded that "the great surprise on Specialist is Mr. Attiso's haunted, expressive performance."[7] The San Diego Union-Tribune opined: "More nuanced and sophisticated than its predecessor, Specialist features nine intoxicating songs that showcase the group's ebullient call-and-response vocals, swaying rhythms and pinpoint instrumental work."[32]

AllMusic wrote that "Attisso is all over this record, offering beautiful, inventive solos and playing whose fluidity, especially on 'Gnawe' and 'Dee Moo Wor', is wonderfully atmospheric."[25] The Chicago Tribune listed Specialist in All Styles as the 16th best album of 2002; the Los Angeles Daily News considered it the 4th best.[33][34]