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CD Review
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The Guardian, CD Review >>
It's hard enough for a son to follow a musically-gifted father and make a mark of his own. But what if your father was the most famous guitarist in the whole country, maybe the entire continent, and you play guitar too; now what?
Inevitably, Vieux Farka Toure is not in the same league as his father. But he has still managed to make a very impressive and enjoyable debut album, with the help of a few useful allies, including not only Ali himself on two tracks but Toumani Diabate playing sublime kora on two more.
Toumani may never have played better than on 'Touré de Niafunké', dedicated to the town's late mayor, Ali himself. Taken at a slightly faster tempo than Toumani normally plays, it rocks along, driven by Vieux's guitar, and demands to be played over and over again. Or it would do if it were not followed by the equally addictive 'Diallo', which doesn't simply feature Ali Farka Toure, it's effectively his track, a showcase for his electric guitar and again taken at a faster tempo than usual. If Vieux had done no more than stimulate these masters into excelling themselves, he would have earned his keep. But the next track, 'Wosoubour', is his alone and it keeps the intensity flowing.
Those tracks form the backbone of the album, and are followed by the extraordinary 'Courage', declaimed by Issa Bamba over a marvellous backing track of guitar, ngoni and njarka (Mali's version of the violin). Just enough time left to close the album with 'Diabaté', another vehicle for Toumani, slow and thoughtful for over nine minutes, prodded and soothed by Vieux's acoustic guitar. Sheer perfection.
If there are any weaknesses, they are at the start of the album, which takes a little while to settle down and declare itself, after a couple of uneasy dalliances with reggae rhythms and blues cliches. Everything seems to fall into place on 'Ma Hine Cocore', where Vieux and Seckou Touré implore their brothers and sisters to stop fighting and swindling over a surging backing track of guitars and percussion, stirred into flight by Mamadou Fofana's restless desert flute.
It's reported that Ali Farka Toure wasn't comfortable with the decision of his son to move to Bamako. But that was where Vieux was taken under the wing of Toumani Diabate, and where he attracted the attention of American producer Eric Herman, who has done a fine job of pulling the disparate pieces into shape. It would still be a good record even if that famous name was not on the cover.
Download: 'Touré de Niafunké'; 'Diallo' 01/21/07 >> go there
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