In review--Malian blues
Vieux Farka Toure The Secret Six Degrees Records This gem of a Malian blues CD has been sitting in my CD basket for a week. It’s not that I don’t appreciate hearing the blues, but that up until now the rain and trying to keep my spirits up, kept me away from listening to a blues recording. But we’ve had a week of sunny days so I popped Vieux Farka Toure’s The Secret into my player. I realize that it’s a cliché to call it snaky desert blues, except that’s exactly what you get with this recording. Tough, Malian blues riffs and what other journalists call chunky. You’ll recognize the blues chord progressions, but if you’ve not heard the Malian blues yet, the vocals will sound more Arabic than like American blues, plus they're sung in French and Malian dialects. And on Gido , featuring John Scofield, sounds Arabic-Andalusian. The album features several guitarists and any guitarist worth his or her salt will gravitate t...