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

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

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.

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

Impeccable vibes

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

Album 710 of 1001 Ali Farka Touré w/ Ry Cooder - Talking Timbuktu (1994) Rating : 2.5 / 5 Often called "desert blues", the album blends Malian folk traditions with the soulful essence of American blues. I enjoyed it for the experiencing of hearing something I wouldn't normally listen to, though not likely to come back to it.

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

I had the gravel wheels on my bike, so I went for an off-road course and got a bit lost and scratched up. It was a nice day. I had this as my soundtrack and it was perfect. I should probably get a job, but for now this feels like it's what life is about. Why can't we just do shit like this all day, every day.

Never heard of this or listened to it, love it! 5 bagger!

I never appreciated Blues and jazz but since this 1,0001 album journey, I am starting to enjoy both.

I’m sad that for pretty much all of my youth I was lead to believe discussions about the greatest guitarists had to be limited to who I heard on classic rock stations. Because of that, I’m only hearing this for the first time now.

I didnt like it becau4e it wasnt the type of music i like

When young Ali was growing up in a small village in a remote region of Mali he earned the nickname Farka, which means donkey, because of his stubbornness. He wasn’t allowed to play music for cultural reasons, but he went ahead and made himself an improvised one string guitar from a tin can and a bit of string anyway. He quickly picked up the distinctive sound of the region and earned a reputation as a guitarist of note, learning how to sing in seven different languages too. Some time in the 60s he heard the music of John Lee Hooker for the first time and wondered how this American musician was playing tunes that sounded like the ones he’d grown up with. He quickly realised that the blues must have been an evolution of the much older traditions that he knew. The instruments and languages may have changed, but the feelings were still the same. I remember hearing this music on the radio sometime in the 80s on a late night show and was charmed by it, even if I couldn’t understand the words. The American musician Ry Cooder was similarly enchanted and tracked down Touré to make an album with him, bringing the best of both worlds together. Apparently Touré wasn’t happy with his time in America, calling it a ‘spiritual car park’, and some of that sadness and longing for home can be felt here. It’s still a good place to start listening though and will hopefully lead on to people listening to other albums from this truly remarkable musician. When I was a child Timbuktu was always a mythical place, as far away from home as it’s possible to be. Perhaps we’ve always had it wrong, and it’s Timbuktu that’s home and we are the ones who are lost?

Beautiful, complex, moving, juicy music. The artists are masters, fully in command of the sound and their audience. I could listen to this all day! A 5.

Great sounds, great for working

Excellent

Great african rythym forward guitar music with Ry Cooder

I have loved this album since I first heard it. Beautiful guitar work, flavours of Africa and blues music throughout. Absolute master class.

This was cool

Loved it.

One Touré to rule them all, what a great record!

Touré’s greatest album until his later collaborations with the brilliant Toumani Diabaté. Talking Timbuktu is a journey through a wide variety of languages and cultures - and even though Ry Cooder probably deserves a lot of praise for this, Ali Farka Touré is the true star of this record.

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.

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.

Really nice Malian music. There may be better out there, and there is (Tinariwen are definitely worth a listen) but they're not on this list, and this is. Strongly associated forever in my mind with a very middle-class holiday, staying in a Tuscan villa; didn't have much music downloaded to my phone, but did have this album, so we listened to it while driving from hill town to hill town in our Mercedes. Nice.

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

muito bom o som, um bgl mais indiano bem agradável pra deixar de ambiente

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.

Have never heard of this artist and didn’t realise who Ry Cooder was but damn this was a treat.

I know Ry Cooder mainly from his work producing the blockbuster project Buena Vista Social Club, which was essentially a supergroup of mostly retired legendary Cuban musicians. This album predates that by a couple years and sees him lending his guitar playing in addition to producing. That's one of the main differences I hear between this and Savane, the Ali Farka Touré album we reviewed last week. As was the case with Buena Vista, the production is crisp and clean and showcases the musicianship and unique textures of Touré's desert blues. I also notice the influence of Delta blues, especially on "Amandrai" and "Ai Du," which adds some nice fiddle accents.

I like Toure, though would not go out of my way to find one of his albums as I find there are a lot of other desert blues artists out there that I simply prefer more. I like Cooder, though would not go out of my way to find one of his albums as I find there are a lot of other guitarists out there that I simply prefer more. But I own this album. Because together, they made something great (not unlike Cooder's contributions to 'Buena Vista Social Club'.) Some artists are best as the main course. Others are better as ingredients mixed together. As for the recording, it's has a wonderful live room sound. Sounds great. And the track 'Soukora' is simply heartwarming.

Great writing, excellent musicianship.

Cool

A step and a half down from Ziggy Stardust, both in song writing and performance, but still...I gotta give it 4 stars, which may tell you more about how highly I rate ZS. I think we have to admit that at this point of his life and his fame, David was pretty fucked up. Don't do drugs, kids. The album is a portrait of a disordered mind, but his musicianship drags some of the material to a higher plane. My favorites are Jean Genie and Panic in Detroit. Drive-In Saturday is good too. The cover art is iconic and worth half a star alone. So, 3.5 stars for the content, .5 stars for the album art? Yeah, whatever.

I like this guy a lot, this is a really cool twist on the blues. Perfect for when the sun is beating down.

This fucks! First album so far that has some syncopation to it and I'm here for it. I don't speak Afrikaans but damn he spittin.

I have NEVER heard music like this and I really enjoyed it. He is an amazing guitar player, and I've had Bonde stuck in my head for the last day or so. It's the first album in this challenge that actually made me feel something when listening, and I have also learned a bit about Malian culture through this album, so it's a win for culture.

Based

Absolutely no clue what they're singing about, but loved this.

very enjoyable

rye cooter

Ali Farka Toure was a West African guitarist that was often described as the African John Lee Hooker. He found some - but limited - success with his solo albums in the 80s. Talking Timbuktu was a 90s collaboration with Ry Cooder, which helped Toure gather international recognition, including the Grammy for Best World Music Album. Toure's music is an example of Malian folk, and is often grouped in an indistinct net of "world music." On some tracks, Toure's guitar playing sounds like that of Delta Blues, supporting the repeated comparisons to John Lee Hooker. On most songs, Toure plays in faster rhythms - at the pace of bluegrass - in uplifting, danceable songs.

Nice and soulful, can't believe this is from 94... this is my 1089 album revealed. I'm still pending 3 albums to rate but I left those for the end. I'm really closing in now.

African beats, African jams and African rhythm to sooth the soul.

I liked it more than the previous album. It was something I had never listened to before or that much of. It was a nice change. I liked how the music focused more on the instruments than the singing. 4/5