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! 🗣️

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

This was very pleasant. Reminded me of Tinariwen.

SO - Armandri, Gomni, Diaraby

Sooo good

Remek djelo

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.

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

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.

This is beautiful music

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

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

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.

Very good listening!

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

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

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

Real cool vibes. Perfect music to work to.

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

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

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.

Superb

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...

Miłe brzmienia gitarki bębny i inne kołatki Afrykańskie śpiewy Świetna muza

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.

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.

Brilliant. 5 stars.

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.

5/5

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.

Very soulful and great musically. Enjoyed this listen!

Enjoyed every track!

So good. Easy 5. The playing is unreal.

Afrika meets Blues

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

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

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

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

Absolutely loved this! Listened straight through twice. 4.5

..... YES!!

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.

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

This is just bliss!

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

Loved this one!

Just really relaxing and peaceful. Melodic and entertaining. Would totally listen to this again.

Loved it getting ready in the morning! Listened to it twice by the time I got to work 👀

I'm glad this album made the list. It's legendary in audiophile circles but I had never taken the time to listen to it. It has some absolutely beautiful moments. The arrangements are interesting and always tasteful and at times quite dramatic. The recording is of course clean and clear and dynamic as is the music. This albums is a journey of discovery for meone I think I'll return to often. 4 stars

Wikipedia tells me this is "desert blues". It definitely sounds like the Mississippi Delta's cousin from a different country. I enjoyed it. Feels like traveling music. Favorite tracks: "Ai Du", "Diaraby"

This guy seems like a guitarist's guitarist. I liked the jam sessions better than the attempts at doing blues. Best track: Soukora

interesting guitar album, pretty chill and relaxed. enjoyed it.

Ali is a folk guitarist from Mali, and Ry is a guitarist from America. This is classed as Malian folk. Interested to see what this is all about. This album was fantastic! The classic African folk music coupled with some phenomenal fiddle work (notably on Sega) was awesome! Favourite songs: Bonde, Amandrai, Soukora, Gomni, Ai Du, Sega, Banga, Lasidan Least favourite songs: if forced to pick, Diaraby 4/5

This was pretty terrific, great guitar work! I really wish I had more to say, just enjoyed it a lot. Sometimes repetition can get boring (see most of the house music on the list), and sometimes like with this album, it builds up an interesting groove that you can just swim in.

while i wish more music from around the world was included, typically we get some of the best music from countries i wouldn't listen to otherwise. talking timbuktu by ali farka touré and ry cooder is beautiful, blues-y, and (as i suspect/hope) representative of the republic of mali. with this album a collaboration between a malian and an american, i was concerned it wouldn't be as unique, like touré would be too confined by western music to his detriment. but cooder is a respectful musician and producer, and the result is an album that is unrestrained and reverent.

I really enjoyed this album; it's just downright pleasant! This album is incredibly smooth and easy to listen to, without being boring. The guitar work here is beautiful, and all of the accompanying music gives what I only know how to describe as a "desert-y, country-esque flamenco vibe", but African style! In that vein, this music is very clearly folk-oriented, and I feel like it does a good job of conveying that; I feel as if I've heard something regionally unique, something that I can assume is regionally well-representative of Mali. Anyway, I thought this was beautiful and well done, and it apparently hit just right on this sunny Friday morning.

4/5. Easy to listen to. Some songs had a really great blues vibe.

Excellent African blues. Repetitive at times, but there was also some nice variation between songs. Favorite tune was Soulora

Neat stuff

Enjoyable and interesting listening experience. Starts strong but towards the end the songs start to feel a bit repetitive. Happy to have this album on the list.

My second Ali Farka Touré album for this project. Enjoyed it just as much as the first, was great to have on while working. Comforting yet engaging. 4/5

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.

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

Very nice African style music. Hypnotic beats, chill guitar, great basslines

Talking Timbuktu is the second album from Ali Farka Touré that I have reviewed for this list. In general, I like Farka Touré, and it felt like a bonus that Ry Cooder is included on the album. I like the rolling notes of Farka Touré's music ("Gomni") and I thought I could hear some of Ry Cooder's contributions on "Amandrai", but my favourite track was "Soukora" which sounded like a song I would have picked to sing as a lullaby to my kids. "Soukora" has a good mix of vocals and instruments - neither are too complex, but both have something to pay attention to. When I got to the last track ("Diaraby"), I realized that this was the one track that I recognized, if only from the opening music from PRI's the World radio program. There weren't any tracks that I wanted to skip. I could come back to this album again.

Thoroughly enjoyed, Ali Farka Toure's playing style is hard to beat. Could listen all day.

Seriously hypnotic, absorbing and stirring blues from two extraordinary guitarists; the production values are excellent and the music soars.

Really good

Toffe muziek. Heel werelds, maar toch wat Westers

Different and enjoyable

Just a really chill album, with great musicianship from both parties. A few songs are more afrobeat/traditional African sounding and a few are more westernized blues style. The singing on particularly the African sounding tracks is a really good listen and could almost always put me in a great mood. 8/10

Really interesting album.

Really liked the sound overall, especially how the guitar sounds!

Pretty cool, not a genre I really have any frame of reference for. Blending with blues made for a pretty unique sound

This is great. Somewhere I read a comparison of Ali Farka Touré to John Lee Hooker, and I can definitely hear the similarities. That's a good thing for me, as I love John Lee. This is a really nice collaboration and blend of musical styles. 4 stars.

good, different from much of this list. if you are a guitarist the stuff that sounds like it would be simple to play is a wonderful learning experience. you will embarrass yourself and possibly learn something nice about the instrument music: appreciated. (⌐□_□)

A great soothing record, although I think it misses something that the other Ali Farka Touré album had that pumped it up for me.

Experimental and improvised sounding. Nice as background droning, but it doesn't really hit me.

Independently rediscovered this one a couple of months ago. Really interested in West African blues as a genre, guess this is the jumping off point.

Super goede muziek, maar af en toe wat saai

Have never heard this and it’s really good. Sublime guitar tone.

I enjoy the vibe, keep on listening to it while cooking

A nice collection of arab-ish tunes with lovely strums of a string instrument and guitar solos that work more similarly to western pop(ish?) music than expected. Lovely sounds.

Love actually getting some variety from this book. This was a fun one love hearing music from other countries beside America and England

Blues. Africana. Interesante.

Beautiful album