Ali Toure "Farka" - Ali Toure "Farka" [LP]

Fantastic early work from Ali Farka Toure – the kind of sounds that were soon to make him a legend all over the world – but served up here in a beautifully unadorned style that really blows away some of his more widely-circulated records! The mixture of vocal and guitar is amazingly resonant throughout – served up on longish tracks that have the strings of the instrument echoing amazingly over its wooden body – almost as if one microphone was tucked way down inside the guitar, while another was used to capture Ali's vocals and all of their amazing inflections! The quality of the music is wonderful – a strong testament to the unique tradition he unlocked – and titles include "Soko", "Harsani", "Gambari", and "Bandalobourou".