★★★★★
In February, 2007, Vieux Farka Toure made his first US tour. In fact, the gig he played at Wesleyan University's Crowell Concert Hall was his third public performance leading a group in his life. The young guitar maestro pointed that out in his return visit on October 26, now speaking quite passable English. Vieux recalled that that first visit was 10 years ago, not 6 1/2, but he can be forgiven. So much has happened for him between these two concerts that it must have felt like 10...
- www.afropop.org
2013-10-27
★★★★★
My Country. That's the translated title of Vieux Farka Touré's latest album. It refers to his homeland, Mali, and it is a more pointed and political title than it first appears to be. Since early 2012, Mali has been embroiled in a complex series of political crises and internal wars; briefly, an independence movement in the country's vast northeast briefly succeeded and the government in Bamako was deposed in a coup...
- pitchfork.com
2013-08-29
★★★★★
It is virtually impossible to hear any album currently emerging from Mali outside the context of the country's troubles and conflicts. Like Bassekou Kouyate's outstanding Jama Ko album, Vieux Farka Touré's Mon Pays had been planned before the conflicts began, but subsequently assumed a new perspective and meaning...
- www.musicomh.com
2013-08-28
★★★★★
The presidential election will hopefully restore stability in Mali, a country battered by a coup and the rebel Islamist takeover of the north, where the upheavals have been reflected in passionate new music from Bassekou Kouyate and Rokia Traoré. Now comes the response from Vieux Farka Touré, son of the great Ali Farka Touré...
- www.theguardian.com
2013-08-23
★★★★★
Conceived and composed as he anticipated his country's march towards war, Vieux Farka Touré's Mon Pays is simultaneously new and old territory for the self-described griot. The album is rooted in tradition, whether it be song forms or instruments. But oddly enough, this largely acoustic style is actually a step away from Vieux's standard electric fare, and there's little doubt that the music benefits from that change. Which is not to say that Vieux needed to change at all...
- www.afropop.org
2013-07-31
★★★★★
Mon Pays translates to My Country, and Vieux Farka Touré knows the difference between patriotism and loving one's country. One means that you think your country is the best because you were born there, the other means that you're truly happy with the accomplishments of your homeland. It's an appreciation that skirts pride and nationalism and focuses on the positive things that will be left for future generations. No hubris, no piety, no fanaticism...
- www.popmatters.com
2013-06-21
★★★★★
The secret is out. Vieux Farka Toure's third studio release (produced by guitarist Eric Krasno of Soulive) is his most advantageous yet. Collaborations with Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks, Ivan Neville and John Scofield prove that Vieux Farka Toure isn't afraid to branch out from Mali's rich musical history in order to tune into a global sound. The songs fall into one of two categories: those with Western musical guests and those without...
- exclaim.ca
2011-10-17
★★★★★
Whether or not Quietus readers have heard the lithe and characterful guitar of Vieux Farka Touré probably depends on how they feel about the label 'world music', the scene in which the young Malian's music has been filed since he emerged from the shadow of his legendary guitarist father, Ali, with a self-titled album in 2007...
- thequietus.com
2011-09-05
★★★★★
Six Degrees Produced by Eric Krasno of Soulive, Vieux Farka Touré's third solo album is both an attempt to join the mainstream and a melancholy search for meaning. The Middle Eastern rhythm of "Ali," combined with Malian chants and Touré's sitar-like droning, creates a sad, ambulatory space...
- www.relix.com
2011-08-01