Ali Farka Toure - The River (1990) torrent

“The River” (1990) contains "Heygana" - one of the best African blues tunes ever recorded, and a classic Ali Farka Touré moment.

As the electric guitar roars in at the opening, punctured by a darting harmonica line, "Heygana" lays out the roots and branches of the blues in its journey from West Africa to the Americas, and more importantly, back again. Sung in the Songhai language, pushed by a vaguely reggae groove and pulled along by a sometimes idiosyncratic percussion line on a calabash, it pretty well epitomizes what Toure is about.

On “The River” the sound is stripped down, with the guitar and voice working a bare minimum groove. The calabash clicks, a thick stringed ngoni adds some punch, and a few tracks feature Toure on the njarka (fiddle). In addition to Rory McLeod's harmonica, there is one piece with The Chieftains' Seane Keane and Kevin Conneff on fiddle and bodhran (Irish goatskin drum), and a marvelous duet with saxophonist Steve Williamson that adds a little sideways R&B.

“The River” is one of Toure's most straightforward recordings made in the decade after the light of his international fame had first shone.



Ali Farka Touré

The River

1990


CD / 1990 / 320Kbps


Tracklist:

1. Ai Bine (6:17)

2. Kenouna (4:58)

3. Toungere (7:28)

4. Heygana (5:55)

5. Jungou (7:21)

6. Goydiotodam (6:22)

7. Lobo (6:40)

8. Tamala (8:03)

9. Boyrei (5:18)

10. Tangambara (5:18)

11. Instrumental (2:58)


Recorded at Cold Storage Studios, Brixton, London, England


Musicians:

Ali Farka Touré (vocals; electric guitar; acoustic guitar; n'jarka)

with

Amadou Cisse (calabash; percussion; vocals)

Mamaye Kouyate (n'goni)

Rory McLeod (harmonica)

Seane Keane (fiddle; bodhran)

Kevin Conneff (fiddle;bodhran)

Steve Williamson (saxophone)


Ali Farka Touré / The River / 1990