Ali Farka Toure (CD - 1988)

Personnel: Ali Farka Touré (vocals, guitar, bongos, percussion); Songhai (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Michael Campbell.

Recording information: Fire House Studio, London, England (10/04/1987).

Photographers: Dave Peabody; Jak Kilby.

Unknown Contributor Role: Ali Farka Touré.

Internationally feted at the age of 50, Ali Farka Touré's life was not always so easy. Up till the release of this, his first album, he was virtually unknown in West Africa and a non-entity in the world music community. Before this album bought him fame, if not fortune, Touré's life resembled Amos Tutuola's in Palm Wine Drunkard, a mixture of hard times and legend. What made Touré stand out from the crowd was his mixture of these two elements, a blues-based singing style close to John Lee Hooker and a particularly African choice of subject matter, often rooted in West African myth and folktale. On this release, Touré performs most often unaccompanied relying entirely on the magnetism of his beautiful voice and the counterpoint of his rhythmic guitar. Occasionally, Touré is accompanied by traditional instruments such as calabash or bongos, which he also plays, but the real strength of this album lies in his magnificent voice. While he sings in several different languages, including English, the power and genius of Touré's compositions easily carry through the language barrier. This album inaugurated a new marriage of American blues and African musical traditions of which Touré is the best practitioner. ~ Brian Whitener

This late '80s release brought Ali Farka Toure to the attention of the world music community. Toure plays spare, beautiful music by weaving elegantly simple blues-based rhythmic patterns on acoustic guitar. His stylistic preference has earned him comparisons with John Lee Hooker, but Toure's music is all his own. Ghostly melodies sung in the Malian language entwine with the subtle accompaniment of calabash and bongos, creating a unique, distinctly African blues.

While not as well known as TALKING TIMBUKTU (Toure's collaboration with Ry Cooder and other Western musicians--awarded the 1995 Grammy for Best World Music Album), this self-titled disc is arguably the superior effort. ALI FARKA TOURE distills the musician's magic into its purest, most basic elements--guitar, voice, and light percussion. The result approximates a lovely, ethereal commune with the spirits. An essential addition to any world music collection. minimize