Ali Farka Toure & Ry Cooder, "Talking Timbuktu," 1st UK Press, Ultrasonic, Mint
$
65
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Description
Dr. John's Spin Factory brings you an album that opened many an ear to the music of Western Africa, mine included. And what joyous music this album is! Up for sale is the 1st UK pressing of Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder, Talking Timbuktu. This version, which was mastered by Bernie Grundman and was pressed using the process called DMM, Direct Metal Mastering, is the version any lover of top tier world music should have in their library. There is much to appreciate about the unique music held on this album as well as its special method of manufacture. First, here's what to know about the method manufacture, DMM:
Direct Metal Mastering (DMM) is a high-fidelity vinyl record mastering technique where audio is engraved directly onto a copper-plated master disc rather than a soft lacquer disc. Developed in the 1980s by Teldec and Neumann, it streamlines production by skipping the "father" plating step, resulting in less surface noise, better high-frequency reproduction, and the elimination of pre-echo.
The record surfaces of this album are indeed very quiet. As noted, this disc plays like, if not better than new, notably after thorough ultrasonic cleaning with the Kirmuss Audio cleaning system. This hunk of wax is truly a treat for the ears.
Next, the music itself. Here is what the Los Angeles Times published about this album when it was first released in 1994:
World-music aficionado Ry Cooder just picked up a Grammy Award for his collaboration with Indian musician V.M. Bhatt, “A Meeting by the River.” Expect to see this, Cooder’s meeting across the ocean with West African guitarist Toure, deservedly nominated next year.
The Mali musician has long woven together traditional West African rhythms, North African vocal melisma and good old Mississippi Delta blues. But if this pairing with Cooder, whose music also is founded upon American roots styles, seems less conceptually surprising than “A Meeting by the River,” that doesn’t mean it’s any less remarkable. Take “Soukora.” It’s a love song sung by Toure in Bambara--one of 11 languages he speaks--so all most English-speaking listeners will get of the story is the skeletal synopsis in the liner notes. The music, however, speaks more eloquently than words ever could. Toure opens with one of his signature edgy electric Afro-blues guitar riffs, then Cooder arrives with a delicate acoustic guitar line that floats above the tune with the airy sweetness of a Hawaiian lullaby.
Other musical guests include blues veteran Clarence (Gatemouth) Brown, who adds a haunting viola to “Ai Du,” while jazz bassist John Patitucci and drummer Jim Keltner make up the rhythm section. Later, Toure features the njarka, a one-string lute, and his own Groupe Asco in “Banga,” whose spare melody wends and surges like “the river spirit” it is meant to conjure. It’s projects like this that give the Global Village a good name.
To be sure, when Ry Cooder is the producer (and especially when he's one of the performers), it should come as no surprise to anyone who knows his work that the recorded results will plow fabulously deep, fresh. musical ground. FWIW, it would be three years after Timbuktu was released that Mr. Cooder gave the world, Buena Vista Social Club, another tremendous, out-of-the-norm, non-western, musical experience.
Finally, here is what Ali Farka Toure himself said about the title of this album:
For many people when you say Timbuktu, it's like the end of the world, but that is not true. I am from Timbuktu, and I can tell you, we are at the heart of the world.
Perfectly stated...Good luck! May you discover and come to love all manner of soul-satisfying musics that, once upon a time, you never even knew existed. All The Best In Music, Dr. John
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