Talking Timbuktu

Chill. Good while working.

It was cool when it came out. Now it seems slow..

3.4.

I’m partial to this kind of music. Soothing.

It’s good, I enjoyed it overall, it’s not as much my lane but I can appreciate the playing still.

Decent. Need to look at it again i think.

3/5. A pretty chill, mostly instrumental album, with repeated phrases and lines in some songs. I do enjoy the slide guitar as much as the next person but I think it overstayed it's welcome here. I enjoy the more bluesy style of the last album I heard from him. This one seemed more like a jam session which can be good but there was not enough diversity for the jam. I still enjoyed the album but it wasn't great, just good. Best Song: Ai Du, Soukora, Amandrai

Talking Timbuktu offers some really strong bluesy grooves, I really enjoyed Amandrai and Ai Du in a solid effort that didn't always grab me, but earned my attention when a few really well-done tracks turned up. Does go on a bit too long, both within each song and overall, vocals are more miss than hit but it gets a 3 because it's an indulgent listen from the music alone.

Pretty cool

Overall: 6/10 This is my 100th album! I found it to be a pleasant listen. There are times the solos get bluesy which is probably my favourite part, and Ali has a nice voice. I likely won't ever sit down and think "I wanna listen to Talking Timbuktu" but some stuff here might end up on a work/chill playlist. Fav Song: Diaraby Least Fav Song: Sega

I'm grateful for the World Music exposure from this project, but wish there was more info to go along with it on Wikipedia. Very interesting to hear specific Malian music and learn more about its international representative and guitar great.

December 24, 2024 It's been 800 albums and over two years since the last Toure- yet I put on Savane earlier this year so I don't need much to refresh my memory. Hark! Thou cursed generator, why dost thou punish me with summer music before the feast of St. Nicholas 🎄 There was a day last summer that I recharged in the shade, and I swear my soul left my body for a minute (I missed the show I was walking to see for that reason). Listening to Talking Timbuktu feels a little like that: woozy, not sure how long it’s been since you sat down/pressed play. Good guitar tho 👍 HL: “Soukoura”, “Banga”, “Diaraby”

Enjoyable folk album from Mali, Africa - admittedly I don't know much about music from this country but I found this pleasant and it is always good to listen to something different from the rest of the (mostly very) England/North American-oriented albums.

Never heard of this, very enjoyable though. 3/5

It's fine but I need to be on a desert highway or someplace warm rather than icy cold Canada near Christmas with snow flying overhead to listen to this.

It's solidly alright. The first couple of tracks are really interesting, and then the rest of it is fine. Some songs go on for a little too long, and others just don't do enough interesting things to keep me engaged. Nothing particularly wrong with it, but not something that I want to really dig into. Favorite Song(s): Soukora

Some nice music

This was fine but wouldn't say it's a must listen before you die. 2.5 stars.

Es un solido 3.5, no es algo que escucharía normalmente, así que definitivamente me sorprendió y tuvo canciones que me gustaron 👍

I remember this when it came out. Ty coder had done his Cuban album, then shifted to Northern Africa for this collab. I do like the playing here, but it gets repetitive quickly. I like later, more orchestrated AfroPop that integrates elements of this guitar style into a bigger soundscape.

If this album has given me one thing, it’s helped me realize world music is just not for me. I’ve heard over half a dozen different records at this point, and I don’t know if I can continue to hold out hope I’ll find something I really enjoy. They have all either been okay at best and borderline unenjoyable at worst. This album falls into the former category. What piqued my interest about this in particular was the presence of Ry Cooder. A name I did not recognize, whose music I was already familiar with. Being apart of Buena Vista Social Club and the Captain Beefheart band means he is no stranger to potentially foreign instrumentation. It reminds me of those Fela Kuti live performances with Ginger Baker. The amount of contributions he actually made to this is quite impressive, with a wide variety of unusual instruments that create the records unique sound. I cannot speak on Ali Farka Touré, but from what I read, he was one of Africa’s most respected musicians. This album blends different genres to make a very warm and chilled out acoustic blues sound. Because of the language barrier, I don’t feel much of a connection with the lyricism, but I don’t hold that against him. I feel this album simply overstays its welcome, with many songs that are probably longer than necessary. This is mostly caused by the instrumentals generally meandering around the same ideas, and not being all that varied. This means the music ends up turning into background noise for me, where I’m not very focused on what I’m hearing. Which is maybe what it’s best for in small samples. But as a full album experience, it’s a little lackluster. Rating: 5/10

Collaboration between Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure and American guitarist Ry Cooder Cool album, interesting sounds. A bit boring overall

Cool brand of African blues, very chill and nice

Beau et mélodieux dans son assurance tranquille.

This was definitely an interesting album. I loved the groove. I don't know that it's something I would actively listen to, but as background music while I work it was perfect. The vocals fit well with the instruments, and though I didn't understand them, they worked their way into the melody perfectly

Each song sounds like it's own jam session. Similar to ones I would have with my band where we keep the same rhythm and just allow each person to have a solo. I guess when it's described that way and the more I listen to it, it's very blues influenced, and I can hear. Which to me is strange but cool at the same time, I like when artists blend all their influences into their own sound. It's an interesting album and I enjoyed my time with it. 3/5

herrat osaa repskt 3 star

Great album, I really enjoyed listening to it. Never heard it before and I'm not very familiar with west African music so I don't have a lot of experience but the beats are great and it has a nice chill vibe. I would listen to this again at work or as a chilled out background.

Really enjoyable. Nice and calming, many of the songs were almost straight up blues. 3.5 stars.

A nice, chill atmosphere, but not a lot of substance to grab onto

Solid album start to finish.

We’ve had a few albums of desert blues (West African folk + blues) on this list which has been a surprise but certainly a welcome one. This is a fairly calm take on the style. The guitar rhythms almost feel meditative in the way they loop and repeat. Those looping rhythms lay the groundwork for some excellent riffing on top. You get both African folk guitar soloing along with blues guitar solos. Great hybrid album, very enjoyable and relaxing.

Cool African guitar-driven jam music. I dig it! Something that I like about this African sound is that it uses a lot of major tonalities; like they are really prominent throughout not only this album but through other African / guitar music as well. We see it a lot in Mdou Moctar who is one of the bigger African popular acts right now. I wonder if they share similar simplified sentiments towards tonalities that we do, like "major = happy, minor = sad"? I find it funny to think about how I could be bopping along to one of these songs and not realize that the song isn't happy at all, it's intended to be a sad one but cultural connections to broad concepts in music make me initially perceive it as the opposite. Almost like how we Americans sing about a cold snowy scene on Christmas day while Australians are sweating in t-shirts while opening gifts from Santa Claus. Nice 3/5 and an album cover that does a good job at reflecting the music.

Pretty. Not super interesting though.

Now I do hear the grooves. I hear them for too long in most places.

10 songs, 1 hr of music. Not bad, but if you're completely unfamiliar with it and don't speak the language then it might be more than what you're ready to take on in one sitting these days. Nice that you can drop in at just about any song and have the vibe feel right and true. This record is solidly itself throughout.

Teilweise tolle Gitarrenmelodien bei, aber nichts was ich mir einfach so auf dem Weg zur Arbeit oder so anhören würde. Leider sind viele Lieder auch zu lang

Enjoyed this one.

I had so much good will towards this and I usually love African rhythms but this kinda bored me. They should have either gone more African or more Cooder style guitar-tastic. Felt like they compromised and it ended up a bit bland

A pretty chill hour of West African tunes with blues flourishes.

fun and flutey.

Only got about 66% of the album in. Very interesting album- a big mix of styles. Very good music for exploring a city. 3.5/5, not quite a 4

It was okay.

Lacks evolution of sound, it does the folksy, mellow, hopeful sound well. However, it fails to venture into anything deeper. Enjoyable, but only on a song by song basis.

An interesting album

I’ve never heard of this album or artist before, but I’ve heard of Ry Cooder before, although I wouldn’t say that I’m familiar with his music. I’ve had mixed reactions to a lot of the world music on this list, but I tend to favor African music, so I’m excited to see what this album is all about. I really enjoyed listening to this. The musical sound was in line with what I expected, and I thought the guitar playing was great. Even with what felt like minimal instruments, the songs on this album were pretty varied and unique, and even with some longer songs and a longer runtime, I never felt bored by this. I enjoyed that these songs used really accessible melodies, but with an overall structure that was freer and more open. Overall, this was a really good album and a fun and unique experience.

Started off ok. Some nice laid back vibes. Seemed to get too laid back as the album went on and started to border on dull. Perhaps a bit too long and repetitive.

Inoffensive, but not as exotic as I was expecting.

Nothing to it

Really enjoyable.

Enjoyed this a lot more than expected!

I love Malian music and I've enjoyed Toure before. This was relaxing and enjoyable as the rest of it, but I fail to understand why Ry Cooder is needed (ever). He seems to be one of those dudes that only Boomer music critics and record store owners like and they all fawn over him. I would have been happy for him to have produced this, but don't need to hear his schmoopsy poopsy guitar tone added to this otherwise beautiful music. That said, this is the most I've knowingly enjoyed anything from Ry Cooder, yet I'm not sure why Toure needs two albums on this list when there are countless other musicians from Mali that fit the bill. It's good and I like his music, but, at least to my ear, his albums are all quite similar to each other, so we get the point after the first one.

Just circled back to it - Ali F. Toure is a talented player.....

Decent, if not a bit too monntone and lowkey

Groovy at times

Mhm kind of interesting but nothing very memorable

Warabeee chiri so corasaaa! Having one riff for the entire song gets a bit repetitive, but I like the mood.

Western African music was different, but a nice change of pace. Ali is a great guitarist. Ai Du is an awesome track.

Husker d så vidt

It’s fine but all kind of blends together

Now that's interesting - quite the mix of styles and genres. Enjoyed this as a whole piece - not sure it hit me as individual songs though.

Kinda fun.

Feels like Ry Cooder has filed off some of the more interesting edges

Interesting, but, so smooth it is easy to ignore.

Mixed feelings. Great instruments, so-so vocals

3. Individual songs are good but a whole album is a bit much for my tastes.

Nice background music

It's Ali Farka Touré, nothing offensive here. And get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy.

I understand the need to get more world music in this book and this is certainly different from the other music I have been listening to on here. I am a music and lyrics type of person, so not knowing exactly what Ali Farka Toure is singing does inhibit my connection to the music. Nice album and I am trying to determine when exactly I would listen to this. The songs, especially Amandrai had a very interesting bluesey feel to them. Probably not something I expected coming into hearing the album. As background music, this isn't a bad listen. I'm not sure if that is a compliment but it is intended to be.

I had to listen to this a second time, it didn't really stick with me in the one listen. The guitar work was pretty good, but I honestly did not care for the vocals. That kinda put me out of it. Top tracks: "Amandrai," "Bonde"

It's pleasant and all, with some cool African sounds and the hint of Cooder's slide guitar (sometimes you can really hear it, sometimes barely at all). It's a solid 3 but it all kind of blended together for me. For example, Bonde and Ai Du had the same opening guitar plucking, even though the latter was one of my favorite songs overall from this album. Sega and Banga also sounded very similar. Soukora was perhaps my favorite song on the album. Amandrai stood out too. Easy listening, just not enough that stood out on its own.

Very interesting. Worth a listen through but not one I’ll return to in all likelyhood. It’s like a different take on music with a focus on driving and repetitive refrains over really lively rhythm sections. It’s entrancing.

I like it but it's difficult to rate against other African musicians though?

Ok but nothing special, not really mby thing Background music, nothing more

Never listened to African music before so wasnt sure what to expect. Not what I would normally listen to but thats the beauty of this project. Listening to things you havent heard before. This was really nice to listen to when working. Just had it on in the background and went through it in no time. Probably wouldnt listen to it again but really enjoyed it.

Still a nice Ali Farka Toure album, it is perhaps a bit too long for me.

Not bad to have on in the background, an interesting combination of sound from the two guitarists. Never really turned it up a notch though, would have been better with some tracks with higher energy. Would listen again but I probably won't.

I noticed that Ry Cooder helped out with this record - his work with the Buena Vista Social Club is exceptional, and I can't wait for that album to appear on this list. But to this one - seems like Ry has a penchant for supporting relatively niche folk/regional music and translating it for a larger audience. This is a really, really decent album. Lasidan was my favourite track, but they do blend together somewhat, and it is a bit of a long album. I have a soft spot for world music.

Wasn't sold at the start but it kinda grew on me. Quite bluesy sounding in parts with the Malian influence making it more interesting. Likely won't be back but yeah not bad

It's very pleasant for the most part, with some nice technical guitar.

There’s a song on here called Sega and he didn’t mention Altered Beast even ONCE

Starts good but the trails off

Liked this less than the other Ali Farka Touré album on the list but it was still enjoyable.

This was pretty relaxing music to work to. Would I listen again? Probably not. Was it exciting? No. Did I enjoy it? Yeah, I guess so.

Thoughts before listening: Guitar led African folk music is what I believe this will be. I know Ry Cooder was behind the Buena Vista Social Club album so I'd assume this is a similar concept of a modern recording for very traditional styled music. Review: This has a very cool, chill vibe with lots of interesting guitar work in these long jammed out songs. While there are certainly rhythms native to Africa this is very much blues based music with Ali Farka Toure singing in native languages. This makes for great background music, but it can get a little boring and repetitive. 3-stars

A nice little listen

Get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy

***easy listening instrumental

#305. While most of the music on this list is from the US or Europe, it probably goes without saying that there's surely good and even great music from other parts of the world that are not being represented despite being as good or better than a lot of the stuff that did make the list. That being said, who the fuck am I to judge something when I have no idea the relevance or context of it. I'm sure someone else could tell you why this is or isn't great, but I cannot. 3/5: acceptable

Lovely

Interesting. Crisp, clear sounds and good grooves in places. Other tracks drag slightly.

Vibes are immaculate, but unfortunately it gets repetitive quickly.

I think my parents had this CD when I was young. It sounds pretty familiar. Overall pretty cool. I've been listening to a lot of Ry Cooder this year, so was excited to see him on here. I'd never heard of Ali Farka Toure before though. It wasn't my thing, but I did definitely enjoy having it on. My favorite was Amandrai. I liked how they blended more classic American blues with the West African music. Album cover: C. It looks like a compilation sold at the Starbucks checkout in 2003.

I found this album to be a little boring. Lasidan was my favorite song, and I added it to a playlist. I don't think I have the palette for the West African sound, and I didn't enjoy it that much. I have no complaints and it certainly wasn't unpleasant, but I wouldn't listen to it again. 5/10

OK. Decent low 3

Favorite Track: Soukora

This list is definitely improving my knowledge of west African/western music fusion. And I’m generally loving that. I really like the fusion with blues, and this album was super chilled. Ry Cooder did a good job in adding subtle embellishment rather than taking over. For my tastes possibly a bit too laid back and one paced to listen to much again, I’m just a fan of the more up tempo fusions we’ve heard.

Nice and relaxing music but not something I’d put on to actively listen to.

Nice enough sound but didn’t really go anywhere

Very repetitive, but for a reason. It's entrancing. And it actually works on this record. On a lot of other records, it doesn't. But they could have left a couple of songs off. Favorite song: sega.

It's more like a jam session, not really any songs... Nice for background, but not for active listening...

Slightly better than the other African Blues album, 2.5 stars

A little better African music offering

2/3

Good vibes as always

3.75

Chill world chants, blues, dance.

I liked the general vibe, but nothing stood out and I won’t listen again

A good album that i don't want to listen to ever again. Good shit m8

Day 19 - June 20th, 2024 Very fun and catchy. Would make good background music.

Mellow album. If you enjoyed the Paul Simon 'Graceland' album, you have an idea of what you are in for here. The guitar work is sublime... crisp and elegant in its execution.

Good bluesy vibes. Due to the language difference, not sure how often I will pick this up, but enjoyed it. 3/5!

Música africana. Ni fu ni fa.

Bueno, si lo pones ahí bajito, de fondo, como música de ambiente, pero es bastante rollo.

This was pretty cool and relaxing.

Enjoyed the African rythm

It’s interesting the sort of smattering of world music that appears on the list… two from west Africa… I liked this ok but not sure I fully appreciated it but there were several songs I quite enjoyed, and several that were sort of lost on me. Not sure if it is because it is the second time around for this artist, my current context and disposition, or something else, but I didn’t enjoy this as much as Savane, the other album from this artist.

agradable mezcla afroamericana

Pretty calming even if it’s a little monotonous (2.5/5)

Blues sounding

I found the songs to be too long. It was fine for the good ones, but not the bad ones. Stand-out: Lasidan

Some excellent guitar work, but an hour of it felt a little repetitive.

Somehow this went: Mali blues is kinda like American blues. Ry Cooder can kinda play American blues. Let's make a record.

This settled into a nice smooth groove. Soukora was kind of a banger! Also Ry Cooder is a pretty sick name

Alright, yeah. You can tell me more about Timbuktu. I’m into it.

zeker niet slecht... maar misschien iets te kabbelend om echt brokken te maken voor mij...

Great background working music, but nothing that in my case is going to lift it above a three stars. Nothing against the music or the playing which are both great, just personal taste.

It's OK. The nine minute long plodding blues number in the middle of the record bums me out.

I received the Songhoy Blues - Music in Exile album two days ago so I am going to compare the two. Talking Timbuktu has better production, tones, and they are probably "better" musicians, but MIE had much better song writing, song structure, and I found it more more enjoyable to listen to. The songs on Talking Timbuktu tend to drone on one riff for 5ish minutes without really going anywhere. That is fine if that is what you are into, but I just found the other album more interesting. Overall I did enjoy this album, I just thought it dragged on a little long in some parts.

Jiggaboosted!

This was going to be a solid two because the first few songs all blend into one and I began to tune it out, but then Amandrai came on and bumped it up. A 9 Min long blues song yes please!

I was impressed to see Ry Cooder featured but most of the tracks sounded very similar. Pleasant enough to listen to though, 2/3*

Nou, dit is tenminste echt een ander album dan de meeste! Het is een soort Afrikaans jazzy album, laat het de Havermelkelite niet horen! Want dit is toch eigenlijk de echte Ethiopian Jazz ipv dat spul van Spotify. Heel erg relaxed, heel erg vibey, ik kan dit eigenlijk altijd wel waarderen. De zang versta ik natuurlijk helemaal niets van, maar loopt eigenlijk continue volgens het kenmerkende vraag-antwoord wat je vaak ziet/hoort in meer Afrikaanse muziek. Daarbij gepaard en instrumenten die natuurlijk totaal niet westers zijn, tot je de gitaar hoort die erbij zit. Maar eigenlijk past het perfect zo, het is een beetje zomers, het is heel erg vibey en ik vind het eigenlijk gewoon best wel lekker om te luisteren. Met 1 uur duurt het me net ff te lang, maar de nummers die me pakken zijn wel echt leuk! Alles bij elkaar is het gewoon een prima album wat echt eens wat anders is, het is niet wereld schokkend en ik heb het idee dat ik leukere albums in dit genre ken, maar misschien is dat mijn onwetendheid! FAVO: Bonde, Gomni

Alsof je op de Afrikaanse savanne voor je glampingtent zit te chillen bij een knisperend haardvuurtje nadat je eerder die dag triomfantelijk een olifant aan gort hebt weten te knallen dankzij prima voorwerk van je duurbetaalde gids, die je voornaam continu net verkeerd, maar vol gepast ontzag uitspreekt. In mijn geval 'Andrew'. Een verrassend aangenaam album. Deze kun je gerust op de achtergrond aanzetten terwijl je onder je Hollandse overkapping aan een Hoegaarden Wit zit te nippen, terwijl een vervelende, abusievelijk geïmporteerde tijgermug (uit Azië, maar dichterbij malaria en knokkelkoorts gaan we hier niet komen) je misschien heel even laat realiseren dat Mali een gevaarlijk land is. Hoe minder er gezongen wordt, hoe lekkerder het nummer is ook bij deze wereldmuziek weer de vuistregel, als is de zang hier ook nog wel goed te doorstaan. De gitaren of aanverwante snaarinstrumenten en de trommeltjes gaan er in als zoete koekister. Een 3.5 naar 3 want uiteindelijk ben ik hier toch niet links genoeg voor.

first listen this is very nice but doesn't have any standout tracks to me

Bueno, si lo pones ahí bajito, de fondo, como música de ambiente, pero es bastante rollo.

Really enjoyed first three tracks then got a little tired of it.

Chill album, very relaxing. A little repetitive. It’s a 3 for me.

Another "world music" album which are kind of my favorites on here. While it doesn't scream masterpiece, or anything like that, I love hearing these albums because I don't know how I'd find them otherwise. And it's a Grammy winner so that's cool (if you're into that sort of thing). This was really relaxing and just a fun album to work to.

A nice collaboration fusing Blues and African rhythms, these grooves are generally enjoyable and often hypnotic if a little languid. If ‘Talking Timbuktu’ has a drawback, after a while the songs can sound like variations of the same theme, meaning things can feel repetitive, and with the whole record clocking in at an hour, it feels just a touch too long.

Nothing more than background music for me.

Pretty good album, nice guitar work from both main guys, unique sound. But that's it, 3 stars and a big handshake.

Ok!

hippie shit. I was kind of into it, but also didn't want to continue. Extra point for not being the same 60s/70s retread albums you see on this list 3

Good guitar album, not one I’ll rush back to though.

coo

I’m a little torn on this album. I like the hypnotic drums, the guitar tone and the generally chill vibe. However, it’s very similar sounding throughout and eventually just gets to be too long of an album to actively listen to. I might put it on in the background in the future, but most likely not. I’m glad to have heard this though.

African blues folk. It's very listenable. Includes Ry Cooder.

I think another time I would have enjoyed it more, but I did enjoy this. Probably a 3.5 actually.

Een echte mijmerplaat. Dus ik mijmer maar een eind op los. Voor en nadeel daarvan is dat mijmeren nergens naar toe hoeft te gaan. Ik mijmer over de zaken die verdwenen zijn. Waar is Rolf Wouters, waar zijn die Peruanen voor mijn winkelcentrum, waar zijn de strepen op de provinciale wegen? Ik mis het allemaal niet, ik merk alleen de afwezigheid op. Ik mijmer over de gelijkenissen tussen Zuid-Amerikaanse en Afrikaanse klanken. Of komt dat gewoon door de taalbarrière? Ik mijmer over de taal die ze in Mali spreken. En of mij dat voldoende uitmaakt om het te googlen. Tot ik ineens wordt opgeschrikt door een soort panfluit. Weet ik in ieder geval waar die Peruaanse geluiden naar toe zijn. De zang klinkt vaak ook net zo als voor de supermarkt, al is het nu vast in het Bambara. Weet ik ook weer dat het interessant genoeg was om op te zoeken. Ik mijmer verder op het rustige gitaartje. Het wordt nu een soort blues. En ik mijmer verder en ik mijmer verder en niets in mij heeft zin om hier een oordeel over te vellen. De straatmuziek irriteert mij wat en nodig mij tegelijk uit om lekker weg te dromen. Het is gewoon muziek waar je helemaal niets van moet vinden. Gewoon de aanwezigheid constateren is voldoende. De sterren hieronder mijn tekstvak zijn dwingender. Die eisen toch om beroerd te worden. Laat ik het maar in het midden laten.

Categorie wereldmuziek, wat typisch op zondagochtend bij de VPRO vanuit muziekgebouw t IJ op tv wordt uitgezonden. Met een interviewtje van Jan Douwe Kroeske tussen de nummers door, ongecompliceerd, maar wel lekker pretentieus. Ry Cooder verkent in dit geval niet Cuba, maar Mali. Het is wel dus meer muziek voor op een zonnige zondagochtend in juli dan een druilerige dinsdagmiddag in april. Ik voel hem nog niet helemaal wat dat betreft. De jengelige zang van Ali Farka Toure ben ik niet zo'n fan van, maar het luie gitaartje en de trommels zijn wel relaxed. Een nummer als Amandrai is eigenlijk gewoon trage blues, met dat typische bluesriffje en later in het nummer de zelfbeklag van de zanger (althans, dat denk ik, want ik versta geen Malinees). Prima 3+ waard.

A little trip to somewhere different. Nice tunes for today.

Altogether a pleasant time, though the lilting guitar has a soporific effect after a while. Perhaps that's a slightly negative way of highlighting this music's hypnotic insistence. It's not a million miles away from hill country blues. Spotify really wants you to know that Ry Cooder played on this, huh?

Beautiful compositions and guitar tones, and I'm glad to have listened to something I wouldn't have otherwise. But it also went right through me, and I'm not sure I'll revisit. Highlights: Bonde, Gomni

Не дотягивает до vista club. И очень много высоких, но жира маловато. Довольно пережаренный стейк Алкоальбом: разбавленный хайболл

Блин, так круто, что Егор рассказал этот факт, что Buena Vista должны были записываться с малийцами и не записались. И теперь мы слушаем видимо тех самых малийцев... Ну прикольно прикольно, ничего плохо наверное не скажу. Но тут пожалуй более экспериментальное наполнение, чем на буэна виста, напрямую сравнить их конечно хотелось бы, но не получается. Вайбы ещё другие совсем: не ностальгия, а какая-то нуарность, тёмная этника.

A decent album with some nice laid-back sounds. Quickly becomes repetitive though, it works best as background music.

This worked as pleasant/chill background music. I didn't get particularly hooked by any of the tracks.

Love the sound and vibe of this. And, obviously, the skill is amazing. But still manages to largely feel like very good background music.

His son’s album with Khraungbin prepared me for this. I flat out dig “world music” 3-4

Solid 3, could be a 3.5 on a good day

Bonde 3 Soukora 3.1 Gomni 3 Sega 2.8 Amandrai 3.2 Lasidan 3.2 Keito 2.9 Banga 3 Ai Du 3.4 Diaraby 3.2 Score: 3.08

Loved the guitars / percussion on this

Good, easy and enjoyable to listen to.

Enjoyable but essentially musak.

Great listen. The musicianship is on point and the African lyrics...... jamin

Das war mal wirklich etwas anderes. Mir haben die ungewöhnlichen Melodien sehr gefallen.

Good. Always liked Ry Cooder.

Talking Timbuktu is a fine album for what it is. The melodies worked in a majority of the songs and even thought they didn't work well in some of the others, those ones were the shorter ones. It does feel like another elevator album but i do think its better than the other ones (how many times am i gonna keep saying this?). It is a decent album that is worth listening to Best Song: Lasidan Worst Song: Banga (Side note: I don't know why but i find it so funny that there is a song called Sega as in the game company)

a pesar de no ser mi estilo, me pareció bastante genial para escucharlo queriendo relajarse en una tarde de domingo, no guardé ninguna canción 3/5

eh

I enjoyed this, very chill listening. A solid 3.

Ry Cooder is always great and this had flashes of what I’ve liked so much about other World music we’ve heard in this list, but Thais didn’t grab me like the others. Still pretty good, though.

Very upbeat with some French. Not my style but good for a summer party background music.

Like with most of these type of albums it was fun but overstayed

Really enjoyable rhythms with a broad variety of instruments! The lyrics aren't the main part here, but everything harmonises pretty well. It's a little boring over time though.

I generally really like the 'World' music genre in this 1001 list. On this one Ry Cooder and Ali Farka Tore join forces, first songs are nice repetitive African music and just when you think: is this it, the addictive song 'Amandrai' shows up, which could easily serve the music in an alternative US Western, riff reminds me of the riff in Little Red Rooster of Stones. But after that my attention not always there.. 3 Stars

Cool African beats and blues. Some solid guitar work.

Honestly very interesting. It mixed a sort of indie feel that I wouldn't expect from this style. The vocalist also sounds like Ozzy Osbourne sometimes and that's rad. Gomni and Amandrai were my highlights.

Not understanding any of the lyrics really limited my enjoyment of this album. Instrumentals were pretty good. Favorite song was Bonde.

Great guitar playing. 3/5

A decent listen, though my not speaking the language and the samey instrumentation makes this a bit of background music. Bonde was a solid one that I'll come back to, but I don't think this will stay on rotation often.

I like this album, it's got a cracking swing to it. On the downside, I've got no idea what the songs are about - when I searched for lyrics, they weren't available translated. Maybe the album liner notes would clarify, but I streamed the album. But still, just playing the album made me feel great. 4/5

Emh nice to hear..but it feels like background music, excellent background music

A spirited, often uplifting marriage of African and American guitar work and it is the sort of fusion that works wonders and leaves the listener entranced for almost the hour long run-time. Favorites: Bonde, Soukora, Amandrai, Lasidan, Keito, Ai Du, Diaraby.

Fine to listen to in the background. Probably wouldn't listen again though.

Cool but not exactly my kind of sound. Some are pretty relaxing though.

This was pretty good.

Not my genre but interesting and easy listening

I won't pretend and say that this music resonates with me, or that I really enjoyed listening to it. I would never seek this music out, nor would I ever listen to it again after today, but -- I'm glad to have gotten the experience of finding out about it and hearing it. The same goes for most of world music. All that being said, this is one of the more enjoyable records of this genre that I've heard. You feel the charisma and joy that went into creating it, and complementing that is a lot of grooviness brought by the guitar playing. It's particularly obvious on tracks like Soukora, Gomni, and Amandrai.

A relaxing listen, though I agree with others here that I wish Cooder had less influence over the musical stylings. The LP is at its best exploring non-Western compositions and losing itself in lyrical free-flow as Touré wails away on his guitar, and I could listen all day in the forefront or background.

Relaxing Aftican music. Easy to listen to when you need to concentrate in task at hand

#30 | I should like this and I somewhat did but maybe with a lot less trite Blues and a lot more of what makes this Malian music, I wouldn't eventually have snapped out of an ultimately bored experience thinking "Oh, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 nice!", to find the album had ended and something else was playing (N'Gou Bagayoko - Kulu, exquisite, 5/5). I am glad to, after 29 albums, see something in this compilation that acknowledges that the non-anglophone 95% of the world, too, makes music you should hear, but it's an underwhelming, and disappointingly safe pick. Familiar Enough Music To Do The Dishes To.

A bit overproduced, which is sort of a backhanded way of saying it's just not my cup of tea. Not that I didn't appreciate it or acknowledge some decent moments. It's just not anything I'll try to revisit on purpose.

Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background The downside to this approach to new music is it doesn't allow a lot of time to soak in an album that is completely new. There are albums that immediately make an impact, but those are rare at this age. This album is pleasant enough, but I think it would take several more intense listens to bump it into my active playlist.

V interesting to listen to, I liked the first half more than the second, which had quite a lot of harmonica like instruments. I think this list would be better if we had more albums like this and less classic rock.

Another solid but not too engaging desert blues record

Ok

The stark differences between the songs made this a pleasure

Iterative Repetition is king.

Chill African blues tunes, some quality chops here, perfect with a whisky on Sunday evening

From the get go I thought this may be a gem I'd love and come back to. The more I listened the more I realized I did enjoy but this didn't blow me away. Good album, glad I listened, may relisten someday but not sure. Skilled players. This joins the crew of maybe I missed something or just not the day for me when I heard it.

Very calming album of strings, drums, and light vocals. There were some cool bluesy aspects throughout. This was a nice album to listen to in the background while working. Probably wouldn't listen to it any different way though.

Really solid instrumentals but the chanting started giving me a headache after a little bit :( but still can’t stress enough how differently awesome some of these songs are

12/5/23. I'm familiar with Mdou Moctar, but this felt like a good introduction to the world of Mali Music. A lot of styles of guitar playing I'm not familiar with, but may stay with me. I also loved a lot of the blues influences toward the end. I would revisit this one.

2/10, 20%

I was hoping for a more upbeat album, but this wasn't that bad.

not my style. ok

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.

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's good. I wish there were more Ali Farka Touré and less Ry Cooder but I guess I know where to go for that.

Solid guitar work. Not too stiff, not too sloppy. I dug it.

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.

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

Melodic world folk tunes.

Ali once again bringing the chill, though this didn't get its hooks on me like Savane did.

This is fun music that really is it's own vibe. It's not really my style, but I can appreciate it.

Music was ok. No idea what the songs are about.

This was really nice.

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.

Pretty chill music. Not my favorite. But alright.

Something different at least.

Jújú, þessi var áheyrileg og fín, en ég læt eina hlustun nægja því það er áfram gakk sem gildir í dag.

Cool. Reminds me of Paul Simon’s Graceland and Rythm of the Saints.

Heard before. I kinda forgot what I was gonna say about it. I think I liked the songs in the beginning.

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.

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.

cool African guitar playing

Very world blues vibes.

Second African album. I was alive in the 90s and don't remember any of this.

3.5 Really nice!

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.

Un album que j'ai malheureusement écouté en plein récurage de WC, ce qui n'a pas aidé à le mettre en valeur. Dommage...

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.

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?

This wasn't really my thing - it sort of washed over me.

Very chill and quality, but not much diversity in the songs.

Enjoyable world music

African folk/blues. Enjoyable.

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

Good vibes, album is long without much variety but it has a natural “jam” element to it I enjoyed

Qué bien suena esto! Cuántas cosas interesantes se hicieron en los 90! Fue degenerando de más a menos pero no está mal.

Rating: 6/10

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.

West Africa meets Delta Blues. Never heard of Ali Farka Toure before but this album was a nice surprise.

Good record.

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.

I prefer Ali Farka Toure on his own.

Sounds good and fun but not something I'd listen to more than once I suppose. Maybe just not in the mood.

Another great World Music sound, with the peerless Ry Cooder backing Alli up.

Hressandi að fá eitthvað allt annað en það sem gengur og gerist í popp- og rokkheimum. Tilvalið til frekari skoðunar!

fascinating mix of middle eastern music, folk, and tribal rhythms. very hypnotic at times.

I actually really liked this.

what language is this? couldn't figure it out.

Pretty good, I especially enjoyed the instrumentals.

Washed over me, not my thing too Jazzy

it was nice

Música africana. Ni fu ni fa.

I've listened to 662 albums from this list so far and it appears that all of the good albums are behind me which is a shame. This album didn't really do much for me.

It's ok I guess nothing special.

Nothing about this was enjoyable for me. Gave me anxiety, couldn't wait to turn it off.

Grundsätzlich finde ich die Tuareg/Wüstenrock Alben die den Feuilleton erreichen cool. Das hier nimmt mich aber nicht so mit.

Track 1 5:30 ok, Track 2 6:00 naja, Track 3 7:00 ehrlich? Track 4 3:10. Cool. Track 5 9:23. Tickts denn noch sauber? Mein Ohr ist auf die sehr einförmige, teppichartige Musik nicht geeicht. Und eine Stunde mit nur 10 verschiedenen Tracks füllen, weiß ich nicht. Ne. Nicht meins. Mag Sequenzen davon sehr und super interessante Kombinationen von Instrumenten und Melodieläufen. Als Album nicht mehr als eine 2.

I ain’t listening to all that. Nothing against it, but 4 tracks in I get what I’m listening to. I have no interest in world folk music and maybe you can call that a shortcoming of mine if you like.

It's not what I usually listen to. The songs were repeating for a bit too long for my liking

African rhythms all day long!!!

- Some nice guitar playing and rhythms. - I dislike the tone of the singing voice in the higher registers - it felt strained, thin, and sharp. I definitely would have preferred this to be an instrumental album. - The songs (and album) go on too long without evolving enough. - I can't ever seeing myself be in the mood for this and reaching for it.

Some smooth and enjoyable moments but quite samey all the way through. Certain tracks did capture me, but on the whole I'm not enamoured with it.

These 2 are obviously having fun in each other's company. It doesn't really transmit to the listener where 1 song suddenly melds into the other 9 or 10. This has an audience but i would not be part of it.

Uhhh, ok, maybe? Sounds like the last one? The music Spotify started playing after this was over was great, though

One of the things I love about this website is how it exposes you to music from all over the world that you’d likely not be exposed to.

Listened to on my Bose AE2 Soundlink headphones. Talking Timbuktu is a pleasant collection of sometimes folksy, sometimes bluesy jams from Mali, and it was an album I found pleasant for my accompanying walk, but not much more than that. It has a very loose structure, really like a jam every song, so there is a strong rhythm and repetitious riffing giving way to improv soloing on guitar and occasional lyricism as these tracks reach towards the 6-8 minute mark regularly, and I just found it too unstructured to really connect with it strongly. It reminded me greatly of the jam band that would come in weekly to my local bookstore. Suprisingly, it never much disturbed the book browsing and light reading experience because of how little it demanded of my attention, outside of the volume. Talking Timbuktu takes me back there. It's quite alright but doesn't give me much to say, and I don't know how inclined I would be to revisit this one.

Not really my style

2.5

Something nice to play in the background. Thanks ❤️

i guess i would have liked it more if it was just instrumental

I have never heard of this artist. But when I saw he was from Mali - I got cautiously optimistic because I really liked the album Music in Exile by the band called Songhoy Blues who are also from there. Thoughts while listening... Ok, yeah - this has similarities to the Songhoy Blues album - which is good. It looks like this one came out 11 years before that one - so I'm guessing this guy (Ali Farka Touré) has had some influence on those guys. Or at least they are all swimming in a similar genre lake. I looked it up - Songhoy Blues was definitely influenced by Ali Farka Touré and they covered a lot of his songs when they started out. Cool connection! Never guessed that I would become an "expert" in understanding Malian music but here we are - haha. Ali is definitely more folky/acoustic sounding than Songhoy Blues and quite a bit less energetic. I like some of this, but felt it gets a little samey throughout without enough variation or energy to keep it interesting across the whole album. I ended up liking the first 3 songs - "Bonde", "Soukora", and "Gomni" - plus the last song "Diaraby". None of it is bad, just felt like these 4 stood out from the rest. Liked songs on Spotify: 4/10 Rating: 2/5

I guess this is fine

Not for me

Svag tvåa.

Ännu mer världsmusik. Egentligen är det väl rätt mycket av ett bluesalbum i västafrikanska tappning. Här finns en del fint malande blues som i Ai du och Amandrai. Eller sköna basslingor som i Soukora. Tyvärr blir det rätt enformigt i längden.

Ökenblues som släpar sig fram. Ry Cooder lyckas inte lätta upp det hela. Tvärtom är det lite mindre svängigt än vad Ali Farka Toure kan vara. Precis godkänt.

Wait, a second album from Ali Farka Toure? I didn't know he had two reps on the list. I listened to Savane around 140 albums ago and it was alright. Nothing wrong with a little African blues, though relative to what this genre is I think he might be punching above his weight. Anyways, this album was added first (Savane was added to the 2008 update of the book and much of the reason for its inclusion appears to concern Toure's death), so it evidently has the most staying power. Here goes. Yeah. Not for me, though I can commend this music for being a relaxing listen. I like the warm, mellow, distinctive African guitars. They have a nice sound and work well with the pattering percussion, though I do think the music sounds a little empty whenever they're absent. To compensate for these stretches, the percussion-based tracks typically incorporate more aggressive and layered vocals to fill the emptiness, which is another element that pushes me away. The vocals don't move me. They work well enough whenever they're in the background, but having them front and centre highlights how lackluster the melodies and performances are. There's also the matter of the runtime and how generally repetitious the music is, though these factors didn't bother me as much as they have previously. Overall, I was content with letting this music blow over my head, though I obviously didn't care too much about the particulars of this album. Book time. Won a Grammy. Farka Toure came to prominence when recordings from his early albums were circulated in Europe by DJs, musicians and critics. Apparently, the people who are into this music have gotten into slapfights over whether it's blues, though Farka Toure contends that this music belongs to a more traditional style. The World Circuit label picked him up in '88 and things went from there. Wikipedia says this album has moved 100,000 copies in Europe and 230,000 in the US. It also received middling reactions from the two music publications who reviewed it, though that's about it. I'm not tired of World music being in here just yet, though the level of variety is kind of a bummer. Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure half of the world music picks are from Africa and a quarter are from India, with the remaining nominations being from South America. East Asia is definitely sorely missing in the world music nominations, though in all fairness the East Asian music industry was pretty insular until around the mid-2010s. Anyways, we're removing this one. Two albums from Toure is definitely him punching above his weight. In place of this album, I humbly submit "I See Seaweed" by The Drones for inclusion on the list.

Some good African jazz vibes. Didn’t blow me away.

Day860 - super talented musicians making super boring album

2/5

I was excited about this one because of Ry Cooder but between the repetition and the awful early 90’s guitar tone, I couldn’t take it

i personally think we should smack the person who came up with the "world music" genre upside the head because i've heard folk music from every continent and somehow all of them are just classified as world music in the west. it's frankly insulting anyway i agree with what most people seem to think about this. it's pleasant listening. really beautiful at times. but does get repetitive quickly. i don't think i'll ever return but i had a good time while i was listening to it fave track: soukura

They should probably start talking about something else ...

Cool instruments, no English. I want to be able to sing the songs I listen to if I like them. I guess this has its place but 🤷 don’t feel like listening to the whole thing. Especially with 7 minute songs, it’s a long listen.

Jeg synes, det er rigtig kedeligt. 1.8

not really my taste. good music, but not something i'd really choose to listen to

This guy again? Really? The first one I reviewed was so bad I blocked his music from being played on my Spotify account. I had to unlock him to get to play this album, then I reblocked him so he never comes up in my mix. Cooder adds some clout but the music is still SO boring and wandering. His guitar work is an afterthought. The listener counts were high, likely because it's tied to Cooder. 33M oplayed "Ai Du", 11M listened to "Bonde" and 9M enjoyed "Soukora", which was the only decent tune on the album. No hits, can't sing along or understand, not into the vibe or instrumentation, nearly every song was utterly boring, the vocals suck. Grab a pillow and enjoy this snoozer. 2 stars.

Some beautiful sounds on here, and each track taken in isolation has plenty to offer. But as an album there’s not enough variety to keep you going for an hour.

It’s great at putting you in a trance, very easy to focus on other thoughts/tasks with it on in the background. Even though I didn’t save many individual tracks, I still enjoyed the whole thing. It just feels like one cohesive piece rather than individual songs. I quite like the desert blues. Whatever he does, something about it does give it more of a “soul” than a lot of Western music. Rating: 2.5

Just so so boring

Just not my thing. The vocals are irritating musically and I connect even less because I don’t understand them. The music is uninspiring to me.

Dnf

I really tried with this one, but it felt annoyingly repetitive.

This is fine, but he didn’t need a second album.