Putumayo Presents: Women of the World: Acoustic

From France to Brazil, Cape Verde to Cameroon, Women of the World: Acoustic will take you on a whistle-stop tour around the globe. 13 women (10 solo artists and a trio) are your travelling companions, each of whom has taken up acoustic instruments for their leg of the journey.

We set off in the company of French film star Sandrine Kiberlain whose wistful ''M'envoyer des Fleurs (I Send Myself Flowers)'' carries the hint of a big smile in her voice. Marta Topferova, Czech Republic-born, but now a leading light of Latin America's nueva cancion movement, contributes a ringingly forceful song that's sure to carry the listener along in its wake. Although brought up outside Reykjavik, Emiliana Torrini sounds more like Norway's Hanne Hukkelberg than Iceland's most famous vocal export, Bjork.

Lura first visited her parent's homeland, Cape Verde, at the age of 21, but she's since become a star there. Her proud and mournful song, ''Bida Mariadu'', with its rich, breathy vocals shows why. ''Paula Ausente (Absent Paula)'' by Colombian Marta Gómez is a beautiful, fleet-footed lament inspired by Isabel Allende's book, Paula. The collection concludes in fitting style with The Wailin' Jennys' ''One Voice'': 'This is the sound of one voice / A song for every one of us'.

Timed to coincide with the celebration of International Women's Day, Women Of The World: Acoustic is a gently varied selection. The more or less subtle differences in musical styles, inevitable in such a diverse range of artists, are smoothed over by their acoustic focus. Reading through the potted artist biographies in the CD booklet, it's striking that the vast majority have migrated from their birthplace to other countries to pursue their careers: a reflection of our cosmopolitan world. Here are songs of sorrow, generosity and gentle affirmation.