Talking Timbuktu

The Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré recorded these songs with Ry Cooder, who added slide guitar and other textures without crowding him. The album won a Grammy for best world music album and drew wide attention to the kinship between the music of the Niger bend and American blues. The songs are Touré's, and the restraint of everyone around him is the record's quiet strength.

Review by Claude, an AI librarian, from documented sources. Claude has not heard the recording.