Radio Mali

1	Njarka 0:43
2	Yer Mali Gakoyoyo 4:47
3	Soko 5:06
4	Bandalabourou 6:41
5	Machengoidi 2:41
6	Samariya 5:27
7	Hani 4:20
8	Gambari 6:24
9	(Njarka) Gambari 3:21
10	Biennal 5:09
11	Arsani 5:16
12	Amadinin 7:08
13	Seygalare 5:10
14	Terei Kongo 6:08
15	Radio Mali 2:43
16	Njarka 1:02

Barnes & Noble

The legendary tapes made by Ali Farka Touré for Radio Mali, like Woody Guthrie's Asch Recordings, are as much testimony the folk genius of a people as they are to an individual artist's brilliance. Never before released in the States, RADIO MALI captures Touré between 1973 and '78, during his ascent to fame in his home country, and long before he was an enigmatic six-string stinger linked in popular imagination with John Lee Hooker and country blues-growlers. RADIO MALI finds Touré an avid, instinctive student of Mali's many ethnic songstyles. Sure, he could roll out the high-desert moan of a Tamashek tune like "Amadinin," but he also mastered the supple rhythms of the Peul, Mopti, Bambara, and Sonrai people. These recordings -- among the first ever pressed commercially in Mali -- were broadcast the length and breadth of the country. Many bear civic booster themes, celebrating the Niger River, cultural festivals, and Radio Mali itself. Gentle, loping, and primarily acoustic, Touré's performances stray from the searing, electric African blues of '99's excellent NIAFUNKE. Despite the period photos showing Touré looking sharp atop a red motorcycle, these are elemental, consoling songs that move at the pace of Mali some 25 years hence, quickened only by river floods and the arrival of too-infrequent rain, slowly insinuating themselves like rivulets into cracked, brown earth. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Ali Farka Toure's Radio Mali features Malian radio appearances from 1970 to 1978, which were among the first performances to bring the West African guitarist/singer's work to the attention of his countrymen. Though it was available for a time as an import CD, Rykodisc's release of Radio Mali marks its debut as a domestically available title. Tracks like "Njarka," "Samarya," and "Biennial" provide insight into Toure's talent from before he was discovered by the world music community at large. Heather Phares