Ali Farka Touré: Green (LP)

In the 1970s, Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré worked as a sound engineer for Mali's state radio station and gained an excellent reputation in the region by broadcasting his own performances. He sent some recordings to the Parisian record company Sonodisc, which led to one of the first ever commercial releases of Malian music, a 12" vinyl album entitled Ali Toure 'Farka'. Between 1975 and 1988, a total of seven albums were released, all of which were titled with variations of the artist's name and contained no information other than a photo and the song titles. The last two albums released became known as the 'red' and 'green' albums due to the colors of their original sleeves. In the mid-1980s, some copies of these albums found their way to Anne Hunt of World Circuit Records, prompting her to travel to Mali and broadcast an appeal over the airwaves of Radio Mali to find Ali. As luck would have it, Ali was visiting the capital Bamako and heard the broadcast. Thus began Ali's hugely successful international career and his long relationship with the World Circuit label. Digitally remastered from the original tapes, Ali Farka Touré's album 'Green' features Ali's acoustic guitar and vocals, both solo and accompanied by calabash and ngoni (traditional four-string guitar). It is one of many in Ali's catalog that demonstrate his enduring importance to African music. A must for fans and collectors alike.