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CD Review
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Blender, CD Review >>
-by Erik Davis
Sahara Desert nomads who’ve been praised by Thom Yorke, Robert Plant and Carlso Santana.
Like the late Ali Farka Toure, Tinariwen is a guitar-driven act from Mali whose traditionally styled tunes also resonate with rootsy Americana. But in place of Toure’s Delta blues, the Tinariwen crew-who belong to a nomadic Berber desert folk called the Tuareg-recall a swampy-blues-rock combo from the early ‘70s. The vocals are raw, the groove just lopes along, and the songs boil down to variations on a simple theme. What opens the golden vistas in your brain are the guitars: Earthly and exotic, light-fingered and funky, they flutter alongside Eyadou Ag Leche’s restless and propulsive bass like tent flaps in a warm breeze. You won’t understand what these guys and gals are singing about-unless you’re fluent in Tamashek-but it sounds like the sweet spot between joy and suffering. 05/01/07
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