The Source

1	Goye Kur 6:24
2	Inchana Massina 5:13
3	Roucky 8:18
4	Dofana 7:31
5	Karaw 6:28
6	Hawa Dolo 5:47
7	Cinquante Six 5:31
8	I Go Ka 3:59
9	Yenna 5:54
10	Mahini Me 5:24

Barnes & Noble

Talking Timbuktu may have won the Malian guitarist a Grammy Award, but its predecessor is even better. The Source bridges the deeply traditional hypno-grooves of his early records (well documented on the Radio Mali album) with his later Ry Cooder-ized output. From the opening twang of "Goye Kur," through the sweet nostalgia of "Hawa Dolo," to the smoky funk of "Mahini Me," The Source is a thrill ride through Mali's ethnic and spiritual backcountry. Much fuss has been made of Toure's link to the blues, and his modal, polyrhythmic finger style -- amply flexed on "Inchana Massina" and "Dofana"-- does resemble the picking of early country blues greats like Elizabeth Cotten, Mississippi John Hurt, and Fred McDowell. The propulsive rhythms wouldn't be lost on John Lee Hooker, and The Source even features a few simmering sit-ins by roots guitarist Taj Mahal. But Toure, who draws from the Mandeng, Peul, and Tuareg peoples he lives among, cinched his intoxicating style long before he ever heard American music. And his majestic, keening voice sings the praises of Allah, selfless hard work, and family togetherness, not whiskey, bad women, or other standard blues tropes. Toure is a guitarist's guitarist and a compelling singer with the fiery intensity of a prophet. The Source is powerful soul medicine. Erik Goldman

All Music Guide

African guitarist Ali Farka Toure's previous releases were wonderful mixes of traditional language and rhythms being supported by contemporary concerns, instrumentalists, and producers. His most recent session features his working band backing Toure in a series of impassioned, animated tunes that are done in both his native tongue and English. The similarity between Toure's sparse playing and percussive writing and early blues songs has been noted. What also deserves mention is the cohesive qualities his band have and the way his electric and acoustic playing, with its light, frilly air, fills in the spaces underneath his vocals easily. Ron Wynn