"In 1982, Touré, then still in the early years of his recording career, teamed up with the brilliant percussionist Hama Sankare. Together, from a base in Ali’s home village of Niafunké, they traveled through Northern Mali refining a collection of new songs. Intent on recording, they followed the River Niger as it wound down through the desert to the capital city of Bamako. In one afternoon, the great Radio Mali house engineer Boubacar Traore captured these eight superb performances on two microphones: two voices so close it was thought they were double-tracked, one guitar (the distinctive Bulgarian acoustic model that Ali treasured), and Hama’s calabash percussion making its first appearance on record. The guitar playing is so brilliant that as a listener, you might swear you’re hearing two guitars, not just the one. The album, which includes some of Touré’s best-loved songs, was released self-titled with no sleeve notes, just a group photo on the cover. It became known as the “Red” album due to the color of its original sleeve." glidemagazine.com
TRACK LIST
SIDE ONE
LA DROGUE
ALI AOUDY
CHERIE
TIMBINDY
SIDE TWO
LALEICHE
KETINE
LAISSE LES PHASES
BALIKY LALO