Talking Timbuktu is the 1994 collaboration album between Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré and American guitarist/producer Ry Cooder. The guitar riff from the song "Diaraby" was selected for the Geo-quiz segment of The World PRI-BBC radio program and was retained by popular demand when put to a vote by the listeners. In 2009, the album was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 100,000 copies throughout Europe. The album features in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and received the Grammy Award for Best World Music album of 1994.
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
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
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
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 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.
Fantastic album. Really great find. I’m goi g to insten to his entire catalog.
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...
Impeccable vibes
Un super album de musique du monde avec farka toure et ry cooder. Quo8 demander de mieux. Le vibe est excellent 5
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
Sooo good
SO - Armandri, Gomni, Diaraby
Remek djelo
Super. Even better than his posthumous album that I heard recently.
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
Love love the talent
Brilliant. 5 stars.
Very good listening!
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.
Where the hell did this come from? This was fan-fuckin-tastic!
Blues. Africana. Interesante.
Nostalgique. ca passe très bien
Really good
Ali, after a gentle start, definitely establishes himself as an elder statesman. The man and music are part of tradition, of course, and here fully developed. The Cooder lines don't ever weave; That honor's saved for late strings, with plucked instruments perfectly blending. Before the style's explosion, a volume of songs in late, abstract, comfy, and mature mode.
So relaxing and boppy at the same time. Fave track: Lasidan
Second album by this artist in close succession, by luck of the draw. I liked it even better than the first, I think. A real deep personal callback as well as I actually worked for Public Radio International a long long time back, and that guitar line in Diaraby is deeply wormed into my music brain.
Toffe muziek. Heel werelds, maar toch wat Westers
I didn’t find every song on this album to be super engaging, but there is a lot of great stuff here. Lasidan and Keito are two standouts for me.
This is really really cool. Subtle and intricate, the vibe just kind of sweeps you away. Though i can't understand any of the language, the nice part for me is that it doesn't overpower or get too emphasized to take away from the instrumentation. Thoroughly enjoyed.
Just really relaxing and peaceful. Melodic and entertaining. Would totally listen to this again.
This guy seems like a guitarist's guitarist. I liked the jam sessions better than the attempts at doing blues. Best track: Soukora
Thoroughly enjoyed, Ali Farka Toure's playing style is hard to beat. Could listen all day.
Really interesting album.
Super goede muziek, maar af en toe wat saai
7/10. Yup, good shit
Loved it getting ready in the morning! Listened to it twice by the time I got to work 👀
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.
The second Ali Farka Touré album I've listened to and the second I've really enjoyed. If this is representative of Malian music, then I like Malian music. Blues with African rhythms and melodies which lend it a great energy. I could have this on in the background all day. Rating: 4/5 Playlist track: Bonde Date listened: 13/10/23
Really liked the sound overall, especially how the guitar sounds!
Beautiful album
Yeah really good. Track 8 is a Banga. I got Savane when it came out and really enjoyed it. But otherwise haven't ventured into Ali Farka Toure's work and I probably really should. Again, an artist I spent most of the 90s reading about but didn't investigate until much later when my awareness of my tastes had widened. Extremely enjoyable listen.
A great soothing record, although I think it misses something that the other Ali Farka Touré album had that pumped it up for me.
This is not my usual music, but it's always excellent to note hidden influences in the music I listen to daily.
Neat stuff
Música africana. Ni fu ni fa.
it was nice
Washed over me, not my thing too Jazzy
Pretty good, I especially enjoyed the instrumentals.
what language is this? couldn't figure it out.
I actually really liked this.
fascinating mix of middle eastern music, folk, and tribal rhythms. very hypnotic at times.
Hressandi að fá eitthvað allt annað en það sem gengur og gerist í popp- og rokkheimum. Tilvalið til frekari skoðunar!
Another great World Music sound, with the peerless Ry Cooder backing Alli up.
Sounds good and fun but not something I'd listen to more than once I suppose. Maybe just not in the mood.
I prefer Ali Farka Toure on his own.
Great album. Definitely one of those in-the-room recordings, no doubt because it was. Ry Cooder's purist, naturalistic fingerprints are all over this one. I think presenting these "folk" or "world" artists in these stripped down studio environs could possibly imply a subtle, rarely addressed racism. Or at least classicism. But who knows.
Good record.
West Africa meets Delta Blues. Never heard of Ali Farka Toure before but this album was a nice surprise.
A 3.5 for me. The music sounds good, but it's just a bit too meandering and doesn't really go anywhere. Some more vocals and additional instrumentation would go a long way. A pleasant listen, but not enough to sustain attention.
Rating: 6/10
Qué bien suena esto! Cuántas cosas interesantes se hicieron en los 90! Fue degenerando de más a menos pero no está mal.
Not one I know…. Interesting sounds. I get those Paul Simon vibes when he collaborated with the Africans on his album. Standouts: Soukora Very Strong for a foreign album by someone I don’t know. 3/5
African folk/blues. Enjoyable.
Enjoyable world music
Very chill and quality, but not much diversity in the songs.
This wasn't really my thing - it sort of washed over me.
this is the sixth world music album i got and all of it was from Africa... not that I'm mad or something i like it a lot but what about other traditional music? Asia? India? South America? what about these?
Ces recueils d'africanaiseries me sont devenus absolument insupportables, merci Robert de m'avoir rendu moitié raciste, moi qui entretenait jusque là des rapports très cordiaux avec la culture africaine.
Un album que j'ai malheureusement écouté en plein récurage de WC, ce qui n'a pas aidé à le mettre en valeur. Dommage...
3.8 - I love the layering of bluesy guitar with plaintive chanting. It sounds like I’m listening to the genesis of American blues music. Throw in some delicate picking on the kora, and tapping on the hand drums, and you get a wonderful hour of listening. Check out “Sega” that switches things up with some Arabesque violin.
3.5 Really nice!
Second African album. I was alive in the 90s and don't remember any of this.
Very world blues vibes.
cool African guitar playing
I'm confused. There's a traditional song called "Diarabi" whose melody I'm head over heels about, and I just *know* for sure that Ali Farka Touré is part of an array of African artists who play it in their repertoire. Yet it's not the "Diaraby" (with a 'y' at the end?) that closes this album, which has a totally different music and overall melody. Can someone explain? Reading the reviews I hear there's another Ali Farka Touré record in the list, and I hope that: a) It's got the "Diarabi" song I'm looking for. b) It's as varied and adventurous as this album with Ry Cooder is, and has as many charming or enticing moments. Mixing American blues and Malian music makes so much sense. But you got tracks on this album that are far more *African*, and they sound good too Malian music is still a genre I'm not fully acquainted with, though, so I would lie if i said that I found *everything* in *Talking Timbuktu* to be striking, though. But reading the "user's reviews" on All Music (written by listeners who obviously appreciated this LP), it seems that this record is a "slow burner". So I'm gonna give it the full benefit of the doubt here and elect for a neutral grade for the purposes of his list, translating to a 8 grade for more general purposes (5+3) Number of albums left to review: 413 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 271 Albums from the list might* include in mine later on: 143 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 179.
I hadn't heard this album before and didn't know about it, and I'm very glad this project introduced me to it. It's excellent. The compositions and arrangements are so interesting, such a cool blend of styles and approaches, and the performances are superb. I'll definitely come back to this one again.
Cool. Reminds me of Paul Simon’s Graceland and Rythm of the Saints.
Something different at least.
Pretty chill music. Not my favorite. But alright.
Hey, it's another world music album that I kind of like. I'll probably never listen to it again but it definitely wasn't bad.
Music was ok. No idea what the songs are about.
This is fun music that really is it's own vibe. It's not really my style, but I can appreciate it.
Ali once again bringing the chill, though this didn't get its hooks on me like Savane did.
Melodic world folk tunes.
Ce n'est pas un style qui vient vraiment me chercher, mais c'est un album que j'ai bien apprécié tout de même. Ça faisait une bonne ambiance, il y avait de l'émotion. Les guitares étaient vraiment très bonnes. Même sans avoir été totalement charmé, ça mériterait clairement une deeuxième écoute. 7/10
Ry Cooder got his start with Captain Beefheart, also on the list, for his guitar work. He would go on to play guitar on many great albums, such as Sticky Fingers, Trio, and Crossroads. He would eventually explore music outside of America to team up with the likes of Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, The Chieftains, and Afro-Cuban All Stars to make all kinda of wonderful albums. One such collaboration was with Ali Farka Touré of the west African country Mali. Together, they would blend blues and the music of Songhai to make Talking Timbuktu. Given that the blues is traditionally derived from Songhai music, it makes sense that west African native Ali Farka Touré to explore the two genres in tandem. This is how he made a name for himself, as the incredibly soulful and roots-driven musician. His songs mosey along at a comfortable pace, giving listeners time to fully appreciate how large these songs are (not long, large). And while the album is quite long, it feels suitable to the atmosphere it creates as it invokes the traditions and landscapes of Songhai.
Solid guitar work. Not too stiff, not too sloppy. I dug it.
It's good. I wish there were more Ali Farka Touré and less Ry Cooder but I guess I know where to go for that.
Ry Cooder has done some fine collabs with \"World\" musicians, notably the Buena Vista Social Club and Ali Farka Toure. This album is pleasant enough, but as someone else mentioned with songs that average over 5 mins each and not much variety they seem to blend into each other and it becomes a bit repetitious after awhile. The blues tinge from Cooder is a nice touch though.
It just occurred to me that in western music we have a verse-chorus structure but in a African music, in this case anyway, we have verse only, which gets monotonous pretty fast. I like the playing and the singing.
not my style. ok
I was hoping for a more upbeat album, but this wasn't that bad.
Too jazzy for me
Roots blues, very very repetitive. Not enough variety to really enjoy, but well played nonetheless. Two and half stars.
This, for me, was just not able to get in to. It was interesting honestly- not necessarily awful but just something I would never find myself listening to. I neither loved nor hated it but seeing as I would never listen to it again, slightly below average.
Not my jam, again. I get it, we need music from around the world and not just the same sounds but I just wasn’t in to this one. Good for what it is, though. I guess.
Talking Timbuktu is the 1994 collaboration album between Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré and American guitarist/producer Ry Cooder. This Malian folk crossed with hip hop album was certified gold in Europe in 2009 and won a Grammy in 1994 for Best World Music album. I enjoyed the cultural music on this album and was vibing to the beats. It's a great album to hear some world music.
I'd pay £25 to see Macauley Culkin have sex with Jonah Lomu