eMusic Review 0
Lobi Traoré was the Rory Gallagher of Malian music. Both men died ridiculously young, both were guitarists of staggering, gifted genius, and both were vastly underappreciated in their lifetimes. This album — recorded outdoors in an abandoned yard, with everything laid down in first takes — captures Traoré at his spectacular rawest, a series of African blues tunes that sweat and roar and become springboards for his electric soloing, with his young band kicking up a riotous fuss behind him.
The riffs are true grit, loud and nagging, but it's when his fingers start flying that Traoré's special magic really shows. He's loud and fluid on "Juguya Magni," caught in an inspiration that maintains its grip for six staggering, blistering minutes. On "Koro Duga Mele Bila" and "Son Tani Gnini" he tosses the rhythm around roughly like a chew toy before jumping off into dirty, pummelling blues improvisations. Aided and abetted by a balofon (wood xylophone) player who's as manic as he is, it becomes a gleeful, soaring exchange over the bare bones of the melody. Even the nominally slow song, "Dana Mogo," builds and builds before breaking finally its banks like a river in full torrent. By the closer, "Bara… read more »
