Ali Farka Toure - Red (Vinyl)

The album, which includes some of Touré’s best loved songs, was released self-titled with no sleeve notes, just an enigmatic group photo on the cover. It became known as the ‘Red’ album due to the colour of its original sleeve. Vinyl and cassette copies of ‘Red’ began to circulate in West Africa, as well as making their way to Ry Cooder in the US and to specialist journalists and DJs in the UK and France. It was popular in Mali and the Tuareg refugee camps in Libya, where it became an influence on the musicians who came together as Tinariwen. On a tip from Toumani Diabaté and with a copy of ‘Red’ in hand, World Circuit’s Anne Hunt travelled to Mali in the mid 80s to find Ali to invite him to record and tour. An appeal was broadcast over Radio Mali, and Ali, who by chance was visiting the capital Bamako, heard it. Thus began Ali’s incredibly successful international career which took him around the world and resulted in the release of eight acclaimed albums including three Grammy winning collaborations, with Ry Cooder (Talking Timbuktu) and Toumani Diabaté (Ali and Toumani; In The Heart of the Moon).

Tracklisting

1. La Drogue
2. Ali Aloudy
3. Chérie
4. Timbindy
5. Laleïché
6. Ketiné
7. Laisse les phases 
8. Baliky Lalo