Ali Farka Touré

• Artist: Ali Farka Touré
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1988
• Total Time: 58:16
• Genre: World

Review

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, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Timbarma	Ali Farka Touré	Ali Farka Touré	(5:05)
Singya	Ali Farka Touré	Ali Farka Touré	(5:23)
Nawiye	Ali Farka Touré	Ali Farka Touré	(5:38)
Bakoytereye	Ali Farka Touré	Ali Farka Touré	(5:00)
Tchigi Fo	Ali Farka Touré	Ali Farka Touré	(4:30)
Amandrai	Ali Farka Touré	Ali Farka Touré	(8:14)
Kadi Kadi	Ali Farka Touré	Ali Farka Touré	(5:23)
Yulli	Ali Farka Touré	Ali Farka Touré	(5:17)
Bakoye	Ali Farka Touré	Ali Farka Touré	(4:06)
Amandrai [*]	Ali Farka Touré	Ali Farka Touré	(9:40)

Credits

Ali Farka Touré (Guitar), Ali Farka Touré (Percussion), Ali Farka Touré (Bongos), Ali Farka Touré (Composer), Ali Farka Touré (Vocals), Ali Farka Touré (Main Performer), Ali Farka Touré (?), Ali Farka Touré (Calabash), Dave Peabody (Photography), Songhai (Percussion), Philippe Bertrand (Recording Technician), Nick Gold (Producer), Nick Gold (Executive Producer), John Hadden (Post Production), Michael Campbell (Mixing), David Stevens (Recording Technician), Anne Hunt (Executive Producer), Jak Kilby (Photography)

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