Despite 'Mali Music' featuring such talents as Afel Bocoum, Toumani Diabate, Lobi Traore and Neba Solo, the surprise here is that the music not only works, but actually sounds good.
Anyone who heard Radio 4's coverage of Damon Albarn's visit to Mali would be forgiven for expecting this to be a combination of intricate rhythms, melodic Koras, resonant Belafons and a chorus of appalling squeaks, courtesy of Albarn's melodica.
Albarn's stated aim in producing the album was "to get everyone into Malian music". This first radio outing was more likely to have had as significantly different outcome.
But the radio show was recorded out in the field, so to speak, while Albarn toured around tracking down the musicians who keep Mali's highly regional and intense musical traditions alive.
The album is a different proposition.
As incongruous as the melodica might have been in Africa, back in the studio you can't knock Albarn's ability to turn the raw ingredients around and re-construct the tracks to increase their cross cultural appeal.
Most of the time the melodica is kept low in the mix, but when it does appear amongst the now structured pieces it no longer jars.
In the meantime Albarn has added his own keyboard, guitar and percussion, while calling in Simon Burwell for support on keyboards, and occasional bass, and Junior Dan to dub-out a majority of the bass lines.
To be sure the idea behind the project is far from new. Paul Simon did the same thing, albeit in a different way, twenty odd years ago and French dance producer Fredric Galliano was some two years ahead of Albarn in recording with Malian musicians in much the same way that the Blur singer has.
But the simple fact this is Damon Albarn is enough to ensure Honest Jon's first release will get significant attention.
Opening with the almost classical, film score piano and string lines of 'Spoons', Albarn trawls his melodica through effects to create a musical bridge from Europe into West Africa. From here we move to the more distinctive wood chimes, plucked strings and slow rocking rhythms of Mali, underpinned by Junior Dan's subtle bass playing and Albarn and Berwell's keyboard arrangements.
Some of the best moments come when Albarn holds back. 'Nabintou Diakite' is a subtle, beautifully sung respite, featuring and named after vocalist Nabintou Diakite, who is recorded live and left un-messed with.
Conversely 'Makelekele' is a chemical beat corker, rising out of filtered keyboards and hanging off rock edged funk guitar lines, its everything 'It Began In Africa' should have been.
Fans of Nilsson will dig the laid back, Caribbean funk rhythms of 'Niger', with its 'Coconut' repetitive tongue on teeth percussive hiss.
The process of recording saw the original takes being done in Africa, while studio production took place in London before the tapes were returned for some additional contributions in Mali. But, despite this long process, and to Albarn's credit, a fair few of the tracks, such as 'Ko Kan Ko Sata Doumbia On River', survive in their original form.
Naturally the album has its down sides and it's unfourtunate that Albarn's unable to give credit to all the musicians that took part in the project - presumably because he collected so many recording (some 40 hours worth) that he couldn't remember, or maybe never knew, who was playing what, when.
But, whatever the shortcomings, this is a brave album that has been painstakingly put together, made all the more palatable by Albarn donating all his proceeds to Oxfam.
If, indeed, 'Mali Music' does introduce people to some of Mali's musicians, Albarn's efforts will have been more than worthwhile.
