Talking Timbuktu | Loppylugs

Submitted by Richard Norbury on 14 February 2013 - 10:43pm

Cover:

Artist:

Ali Farka Toure

album-ID:

a_14

Nationality:

Mali

Year:

1 994

Release-year:

0000

Num-of-tracks:

Track-listing:

Bonde*Soukora*Gomni*Sega*Amandrai*Lasidan*Keito*Banga*Ai Du*Diaraby

Length-in-mins:

Nominator:

Bean

meeting-ID:

m_7

Now-num:

Spotify-URL:

4H6MYWzpBJJ4uTOtFkdC5I

Grooveshark-URL:

Talking+Timbuktu/212735

Short-title:

timbuktu

nominator-ID:

u_14

Meeting-date:

Tuesday, 11 December 2007

MusicBrainz-URL:

a5a7a716-a039-3815-aee3-88ac135721c5

Wikipedia-URL:

Talking_Timbuktu

Spotify-link-type:

album

Discogs-URL:

Ali-Farka-Toure-With-Ry-Cooder-Talking-Timbuktu/master/54235

Allmusic-URL:

talking-timbuktu-mw0000623661

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reviewers-IDs data

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96

reviewed by

Richard Norbury
84

reviewed by

Glyn Lewis

Hypnotic repetition that could play forever

2-5-6-9

4-8

It's a difficult challenge to pinpoint what makes this album special, above and beyond other albums I've heard by Ali Farka Toure and other music that could be broadly placed in the same category. Personally, I find an obvious western influence helps to make any 'world music' album more easy to comprehend; to see it as a pop record with an ethnic twist rather than the other way round, however I'm not sure this really applies here as the Ry Cooder stylings and touches seem so unobtrusive. Whatever the reason, this is an album that really comes alive; wonderful, hypnotic, blues-tinged grooves that are full of energy and musicality. Very simple chord progressions but endless invention on top.

Depending which way you see it, you could say there's little in terms of variety of sound or pace or you could say that if you're onto a good thing you don't never wanna stop it. My only real reservations are the couple of occasions where Ali gets his njarka out - a kind of off tune whiney bowed instrument - that is just way too far off the beaten track for my tastes. Otherwise a lovely, vibrant offering.
65

reviewed by

Jon Taylor

Nice enough, but I had hoped for more

A pleasant African soundscape, but possibly less than the sum of its parts.
48

reviewed by

Neil Hornsey

This album never quite raises itself from the bottom line

This music just doesn't hit the spot for me. Being a fan of certain types of repetitive, ambient, progressive music styles, I've maintained an open mind to this, but it just doesn't inspire. Tracks seems endless, and later when a new track starts I'm sure I've heard it already. If you're going to repeat a rhythm or riff that long, it has to be worth the repetition in the first place, and I don't believe much of it is. If you want to lie back and let repetitive music wash over you, there are better options out there.