Ali Farka Touré
Voyageur
BBC
★★★★
REAL WORLD. CD/DL/LP
Posthumous grab bag, recorded over 15 years, holds together rather well.
The late king of the Niger Delta blues has rarely had as high a profile – last year’s albums by son Vieux and pals Khruangbin prepping fans old and new for this collection of nine unreleased tracks, recorded at various stages of his lengthy career (he died in 2006). Opener Safari (which translates as “medicine” rather than a swanky holiday) is a funky, layered electric blues, with heavy bass, flute, monochord fiddle and calabash percussion – worth the price of admission; closer Kombo Galia is Touré going post-punk (sort of), turning the reverb up and letting rip. In between, there are two attempts at Sambadio, with an acoustic version (featuring two ngonis) preferable to an electric version not especially elevated by Pee Wee Ellis’s horn section; and three songs featuring Oumou Sangaré, raising poignant questions about how good a full collaboration could have been.