Dessert Blues by Bombino (Tuareg, Niger), Vieux Farka Touré (Mali) and Blues by Robert Johnson, BigMama Thornton & John Lee Hooker (USA).
1-
Bombino.
Omara ‘Bombino’ Moctar is a Tuareg and plays the typical guitar music of this people from the Sahara. A bit like the group Tinariwen, but with more rock influences. Bombino represents a new generation whose music sounds a lot livelier than the somewhat original Tuareg blues due to the injection of solid, western rock.
CD. Nomad – Bombino.
LABEL: Nonesuch Records (2013), code: 534291-2.
VIDEO
2- Robert Johnson.
Everything Robert Johnson has ever recorded is on this album. While listening to the music, you can imagine Robert Johnson’s tormented soul. Some of Robert’s music is light in nature and some is downright frightening. The guitar playing is just incredible. It’s hard to believe that one person did this without additional sounds. The booklet inside the album is also very informative with notes from Keith Richards and Eric Clapton. Due to the nature of the recordings it sounds very rough. But that’s also part of the charm of this music. CD. The complete recordings [remastered] – Robert Johnson. LABEL: Columbia Records (2009), code: 484414 2. VIDEO
3- Big Mama Thornton.
Willie Mae was born in 1926 in Ariton, Alabama. Her father was a pastor in the church, her mother sang in the choir. After her mother’s death, Big Mama joined Sammy Green’s Georgia Based Hot Harlem Revue at the age of 14. There she worked for seven years and learned a lot from performing. She also taught herself to play drums and harmonica. In 1951 she joined Peacock Records under the name Big Mama Thornton. At Peacock Records she made the song Hound Dog. It remained at No. 1 on the R&B Chart for seven weeks. Three years later, Elvis Presley covered it and scored a huge hit with it. CD. In Europe : 1965 – Big Mama Thornton. LABEL: Arhoolie (2006), code: CD 9056. VIDEO
4- Vieux Farka Touré.
It seems that on this album Touré is determined to prove to the world what great things can still come from Mali. He sings a lot less on Mon Pays than on previous albums. That gives him every opportunity to show his unique guitar playing. On the song Doni Doni, he shows how great his playing on the kora is. The shuffling grooves of Touré’s backing band ensure that you can also move your hips to his languid desert blues. It’s dangerous to say that his country’s misery has brought out the best in Vieux Farka Touré, but Mon Pays is certainly one of the highlights of his oeuvre. CD. Mon Pays – Vieux Farka Touré. LABEL: Six Degrees Records (2013), code: SDR 1200. VIDEO
5- John Lee Hooker (1917-2001).
He was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter who used different kinds of styles during his lifetime. He is considered an important innovator of the blues. Well-known songs by Hooker include Boom Boom and I’m in the Mood. Even though he stuttered in ordinary conversation, when he sang it was unnoticeable. His semi-spoken singing style became his trademark. His music was rhythmically free, a trait found in much of the acoustic Delta Blues music. CD. The great John Lee Hooker – John Lee Hooker. LABEL: Southern Routes (2016), code: SR-2505. VIDEO
Thanks to:
