Track Listing

1. Timbarma
2. Singya
3. Nawiye
4. Bakoytereye
5. Tchigi Fo
6. Amanddrai
7. Kadi Kadi
8. Yulli
9. Bakoye
10. Amandrai Live

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27534 in Music
• Released on: 2000-09-07
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
This self-titled debut is an amazing collection, spotlighting the Malian guitarist in his full solo acoustic glory for a beautiful, intimate music that recalls American blues. The beauty of Ali Farka Toure lives in Toure's light, nimble touch on the strings as well as his flexible, reedy voice, which both perfectly complement his gentle, ambling rhythmic style. Tastier highlights include the cantering "Tchigi Fo", with haunting call-and-response sung in Songhai, and the oddly pastoral "Kadi Kadi", a sweet folk song about an encounter with a young woman and her gift of a gold chain. The Arabic praise song "Bakoye" is a comely love song that pulses with Ali's low, bubbling fingerpicking over which his voice soars in a lovely bucolic melody. "Amandrai", in both a studio and live version, is the kind of bluesy tune that's made Toure famous and earned him comparisons to Lightnin' Hopkins and John Lee Hooker. And in later releases, we indeed witness the Malian master collaborating with such Western artists as the Chieftains and Taj Mahal, but this loner of a debut features the guitarist's talents in a quietly understated, purely African light. --Karen Karleski

CD Description
This late '80s release brought Ali Farka Toure to the attention of the world music community. Toure plays spare, beautiful music by weaving elegantly simple blues-based rhythmic patterns on acoustic guitar. His stylistic preference has earned him comparisons with John Lee Hooker, but Toure's music is all his own. Ghostly melodies sung in the Malian languageentwine with the subtle accompaniment of calabash and bongos, creating a unique, distinctly African blues.
While notas well known as TALKING TIMBUKTU (Toure's collaboration with Ry Cooder and other Western musicians--awarded the 1995 Grammy for Best World Music Album), this self-titled disc is arguably the superior effort. ALI FARKA TOURE distills the musician's magic into its purest, most basic elements--guitar, voice, and light percussion. The result approximates a lovely, ethereal commune with the spirits. An essential addition to any world music collection.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful sparse blues
This early album contains very simple gentle African Blues. It is quieter and gentler than the wonderful "Savane" - but I thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for the roots of the Blues.

Ali Farka Toure has a tremendous "lived-in" voice - and his guitar playing is a perfect accompaniment to his blues.

So this is where "Rock'n'Roll" came from...

If you like blues guitar and African music...
This album is definitely worth a listem if you like blues guitar and have an interest in African music, although its not particularly difficult to appreciate the subtle simple and at times hypnotic blues guitar that fills this album. Surprisingly, despite the fact that he is working with just a handful of very simple traditional african acoustic instruments and has limited himself to a particular mood of music (i.e. blues) Toure manages to put fresh and interesting emotions into each of the tracks on this album. I would say that is due to his skills as a musician and a vocalist - a combination that - if you think about it - is very rare in the English speaking music scene. Imagine the guitar work of Eric Clapton or John Lee Hooker (with whom Toure is very often compared) with the spine-tinglingly emotional voice of Peter Gabriel on something like "Don't Give Up", and you'll get an idea of what Toure achieves in this album, and you might understand why the locals loved him so much that he went on to become Mayor in his home town in Mali