Talking Timbuktu

lol how does this absolute wildcard get 2 albums? Dimery has no clue at all. Even when he's trying to diversify he still fucks it up. Like oh yeah we've got 800 albums from the UK, the Gilberto family representing Brazil 6 times and some random fella from Mali twice. Durrr, I'm Robert Dimery! 3/5 though it's not bad.

The first two songs were fantastic. The second, nearly brought a tear to my eye. It certainly brought a smile to my face. The fourth song started with a dissonant performance. I like noise and chaos but this was something I wasn't used to. In seconds, I felt my unease being replaced with trust. A trust that these musicians will make this dissonance work, all I have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride. And I did, and they did. The album was fantastic. It also opened up a door into another culture through a blend of the familiar and the exotic. I look forward to exploring more music from this artist and his peers.

perfect for the early morning before a hot day

Decent-enough. Gets quite repetitive and has a too-smooth sound throughout which almost makes it grow a bit stale after a while; nothing off-putting at all about it but it gives the feel of one long track. i.e. you could put this album on at any track and it wouldn't change the listening experience. Yet, it's a nice listen. Meant with all sincerity, this is just a pleasant album. There are few (if any) chills nor challenging listening moments, but its melodic and low-key nature make it a nice listen, probably more/mostly for background music or working/studying 6/10 3 stars

This is probably my favorite African music album. I can't believe this was almost 30 years ago. Bonde is such an excellent song to kick off the album and let’s you know where the ride will take you. The beginning riff to Soukora grabs your attention and the song settles down into a slow groovin magic with AFT's soothing vocals and then features guitar solos played over each other. Pure magic. This and the haunting Ai Du are my two faves. I could put those two songs on repeat and listen to them all day. The wiki notes say the genres are Malian Folk and Hip Hop. Hip hop? Really? Is Gomni considered a hoop hop song? Not buying that one Mr. Wiki.

In general this album was great. I really enjoyed most of it, though not a ton the few times that Ry Cooder's obvious influence seemed to take center stage. I think Ry Cooder is great, but I just love the Mali guitar stylzings on their own without him asserting himself so much. All in all a great album and strongly recommend.

I love Ry Cooder, even if his name does sound like a crude term for a yeast infection

Impeccable vibes

When Touré and Cooder are talking timbuktu you better listen! 🗣️

I like stuff like this, where I can just kind of turn off my brain and let it wash over me.

This album seems like a more toned down desert blues album. The chord progressions feel expansive and the musicianship and singing are great. I’ll give this a tentative three only because I don’t quite understand it right now and need to listen to this album and others in this style to get a better sense of how it fits in.

Toure is the seminal desert blues guitarist and produces some very fine groovy, almost jazz-like tracks. Compared to the Savane album also on this list, this one's rawer and more straightforward. It's fine with plenty of cool moments, and definitely serves its purpose in the background. Nothing that blew me away, and several forgettable tracks. The biggest weakness is 8 out of the 10 tracks are more than 5 minutes, which means the repetition can get pretty exhausting after so many tracks. Favorites: Soukara, Ai Du, Diaraby

ima neke jako dobre stvari kao prve dvije, međutim ne ostavlja neku zanimljivost do kraja, pa zato trojka, a mogla je i četvorka da je išla tim putem kao što je na početku bila, ali nije loš

An hour of Civ IV menu music. Was decent for the first 5 minutes but fell flat pretty quick

Incredibly calming music.

With Toure’s Malian sound and percussion aided by Cooder’s iconic and hypnotic slide guitar makes for an amazing album. One of my personal favorites

Unbelievable album. Loved every track. Some amazing guitar riffs.

Fabulous. Really enjoyed this - I like West African guitar music and Ali Farke Toure is top of the list.

It was so amazing. I am definitely going to listen to this album a lot. It is groovy and has bluesy and African elements which I just love.

..... YES!!

now this is my shit: i love desert blues, i love the guitar tone, i love how hypnotic and groovy and by turns lively and relaxing it is

Very soulful and great musically. Enjoyed this listen!

Relentlessly mellow, perfect in style & execution. My first African album, so to speak, and it still sounds like I’m hearing it for the first time, even after hundreds of listens.

5/5

Mellow, relaxing, upbeat. The perfect accompaniment to just about anything.

Ein eine-Welt-Musik-Album in aller bester Güte mit vielen kleinen liebevollen Zutaten. Ein akustisches Wimmelbuch sozusagen. Eine wunderbare Produktion.

In general, I quite like the sound of this kind of music, and Ry Cooder's guitar contributions on this album work quite well. It did feel a little too repetitive on the first listen, but my mind was calmer when I played it for a second time and I found it perfectly relaxing.

The very distinctive style of Ali Farka Touré - magical stuff. I especually liked "Gomni", plus the bluesy "Amandrai" and "Ai Du".

So good. Easy 5. The playing is unreal.

Bloody loved this. So good. Desert blues is such a nice genre I could listen all day. I'm glad I know about this guy now.

Afrika meets Blues

Sempre bom conhecer mais do blues do deserto. Garantia de melodias extremamente bem executadas.

Absolutely loved this! Listened straight through twice. 4.5

I really enjoyed this album today. Maybe not a big love, but definitely enough like!

So great! perfect morning listening during the dog's walk, then a quick mowing of my backyard.

Words just can’t describe this beauty. The man is a genius. This music feels like it has always existed. It is the root of all other music, throughout the entire history of the human species, around the globe. Everything begins and ends here.

This album felt like a hug. I could loop it over and over. Another top 10 find for me I'm sure. I guess I have to start listening to African music now. Loved it all, but if I had to pick top tracks I'd go with Soukora and Gomni

This is just bliss!

Ali Farka Touré's album "Savana" was one of my first albums in this project and one of my first great surprises. I didn't know there was another Touré album on the list and I couldn't have been more thrilled to find that out this morning. There's something just so captivating about Touré's performances. His voice and guitar playing are both absolutely mesmerizing and the way he builds songs, layer upon layer, is just so interesting. I find myself drawn into the songs, my ears picking apart all the layers and following the changes in a way that's absolutely compulsive. It's not great for my productivity but it's a fascinating active listening experience.

Loved this one!

This was very pleasant. Reminded me of Tinariwen.

Very fun record and for a person who has actually grown up in a similar environment , it invoked a lot of memories

*I climb onto my house’s roof, stand on its peak, arms outstretched, shouting to the heavens*: THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! THIS IS THE GOOD STUFF! I’m a big fan of both of these guys (Ali & Ry). I love this album, although it does have some weaker moments. Yes, this album has major ‘90s coffee shop vibes, but this album for me is the pinnacle of that vibe in a good way. I remember the song Diaraby being a theme song on a public radio show I listened to about 20 or so years ago, so that song is etched into my soul forever. Thankfully it’s a good song. I’d rate this album 4.5 stars if I had the option. But since I can’t, five stars feels better than four for this album.

Very enjoyable listening. I had a copy on my Tape collection decades ago, and always found it a delight infrequently found. I enjoyed. I'll continue to enjoy. Just 4 stars.

This is beautiful music

This is so different yet feel sso close to home. As someone who mostly listens to hiphop/rap/rnb/trap and dancehall music this is quite a departure from the most lxurious rap beats and even the raw emotion sometimes present in rnb and soul. Hard to pick a favourite but I know Soukora will be a listening staple going forward.

Miłe brzmienia gitarki bębny i inne kołatki Afrykańskie śpiewy Świetna muza

Superb

This hits the ground running. Great in headphones, everything is so crisp and clear. I like this. Got some blues, some country, some African beats.

Real cool vibes. Perfect music to work to.

Enjoyed every track!

Ry Cooder is great but next to Toure it's a hat on a hat. These guys are amazing.

Very good listening!

Brilliant. 5 stars.

Love love the talent

This was amazing. Full of rhythm and emotion. Slow but with a driving pulse and beauty. Dreamy but never boring. Varied but also really takes its time to explore sound-paths. I’ve listened a bit to Ali’s son Vieux Farka Toure. I especially enjoy his album Mon Pays (2013). But I never got around to any deeper dives into the discography of his legendary father Ali. Glad I finally took the plunge. Stand outs: Gomni, Amandrai, Ai Du, Diaraby

Super. Even better than his posthumous album that I heard recently.

Remek djelo

SO - Armandri, Gomni, Diaraby

Sooo good

let's fucking gooooo I find this type of blues cool but really boring and the rhythms on this spice it up the perfect amount. Creamed my knickers for this one for sure

Un super album de musique du monde avec farka toure et ry cooder. Quo8 demander de mieux. Le vibe est excellent 5

An easy 5 for me - I think this was one of the first world music albums I ever owned, around uni time - took me back to the kit crystal radio usage of my early childhood. Fave track - "Bonde" sets the tone for the whole thing and the opening chords immediately transport me, so let's say that one, but really this is about the album rather than the individual tracks...

Fantastic album. Really great find. I’m goi g to insten to his entire catalog.

Mesmerizing African sounds, with a blues twist. Very enjoyable.

Bluesy/jazzy, but based in African rhythms and feel. Cool combo

Timbuktu is actually a city in Mali, but "for some people, when you say 'Timbuktu', it is like the end of the world, but that is not true. I am from Timbuktu, and I can tell you we are at right at the heart of the world." -- Ali Farka Touré, Los Angeles, 1993 The first track lured me, the second track hooked me. I was not prepared for the beautiful onslaught of the night. The night in the music, I mean, a time when love goes right, when one can contemplate the sighs of the world. What surprises me most about this album is how no two tracks sound the same. Perhaps that's due, in part, to the fact that Touré sings in at least four different languages here. The Songhai people are not some monolithic culture, and thus their music is going to be understandably diverse. They once ruled an empire that covered most of the interior of West Africa. For this album, one track will be lush and electric, another swaggering, another strained, rusty strings, and yet another bare bones held together by sparse percussion.

4 sterne

I was really excited to see that this album included Ry Cooder. I liked the blend of "African Blues" with Ry's type of blues. It really was well done, well mixed and produced. This was a great find.

Loved it

soothing music that really touches on ethnic instrumentality and structure while still maintaining a sense of familiarity that makes it easily consumable.

These two musicians complement each other well and give each other space to excel

legends

Very interesting. It kind of gets repetitive and lengthy. 3-4 stars. I've been rounding these up, so it gets a 4.

This was some great guitar driven music. What is preventing it from being a 5 star from me is that the songs are a little too long. If they were cut down by 1-2 minutes each they've be even better.

Really enjoyed this one, most songs settle into a groove and noodle around but the layers that the two guitarists bring in really make it quite nice. Offers something for those looking to play some music for chill background vibes while simultaneously offers pretty complex depth for those that want to put on headphones and really give it full attention.

Although not my style, this was great. The musicianship is top notch. My only gripe is that it tends to be a little repetitive.

Was alright

Nostalgic soundtrack from exotic holidays

I love this challenge for discovering albums like this. Never would've listened to it and would be missing out. I've heard of Ry Cooder but Ali Farka Toure is completely new to me. The man can play the blues though; there's a general grooviness and great vibes throughout. And unlike a lot of blues albums, it feels full of joy and colour. In its best moments, it reminded me of Graceland, which is an absolutely massive compliment.

Talk to me Ali!

This was like world music/blues and I thought it was actually very good. Rating: 4

Albumi #43, 09.09.2024 Ali Farka Touré oli malilainen laulaja ja multi-instrumentalisti. Talking Timbuktu on yhteistyö kitaristi/tuottaja Ry Cooderin kanssa.

Very nice beats and riffs

Never heard any Malian music before. Rather enjoyed it, particularly the bluesy number. The blues is the blues no matter the language.

love this album - i first heard it in the 1990's - got the cd from library!

This makes me want to sit outside in the warm sun and just be. It's so smooth and relaxing and makes me want to just sleep on a beach. Soukora and Gomni are great, but I think I give the edge to Gomni for the the great jam on its backhalf. Love the communal drums and guitar throughout by Ry Cooder. Good listen.

Nice. Never would have heard this without this list. I find foreign language music very hit and miss, with a heavy skew towards miss. This was some great music where the vocals acted as another instrument almost, coming in and out of the foreground, which made it extremely enjoyable. Would listen to again.

This was a fun listen. Anytime Ry Cooder is involved with a World Music project is a blast. Ali Farka Toure is one talented musician.

Enchanting repetitive melodies, a pleasure to listen to.

Enjoyed this, reminded me a lot of Tinariwen / Imarhan. African blues / rock. A bit folky at times towards the end too / in fact Ai Du reminded me a lot of a Warsaw Village Band song, shows music can be truly global. Like Tinariwen and Imarhan, I imagine Ali Farka Toure has something else live - this reminds me of their records which are very good, but live theyre just something else. Either way, enjoyed it and will be back

Very chill, enjoyed this one a lot

This was really enjoyable today - the energy level was working with what I was doing, and it was really excellent for putting on and kind of half-listening to. A fun discovery

I loved this, the guitar was sensational.

I found this very soothing and a great relief from previous albums. I absolutely love that style of guitar. The music is so well balanced.

An awesome fusion of blues riffs with afriken music, a lot of fun, would listen again!

Very nice. The merge of blues, African music. Very dense atmosphere, hard-going bass.

One if the more accessible international albums

This album is such a vibe

A little more speculative and looser than later work (esp Savane), but still very likable. Several songs unfold beautifully, though they feel a little like (again) an exploration, and thus maybe a touch dryer and colder in the later works. The first few cuts are notably stronger and more engaging than the later. One can't speak to the deep questions about the possilbly Malian origins of the blues or validate the relative authenticity (wouldn't even know the standards to apply) but one knows the songs are mostly excellent and feel legit in the listening. One's eternally grateful to Ry Cooder to bringing this (and a good bit else) to our attention. Also, don't sleep on In the Heart of the Moon, one's personal fave by AFT.