Unlikely as it may seem, the remote desert of Mali and the semi-nomadic Tuareg tribes dwelling there have nurtured some of the most powerful rock music in recent years. The opening track by the latest group to surface from the Sahara, Terakaft, sounds like John Lee Hooker electric guitar boogie, its foot-stomping accompaniment coupled with African call and response singing. As the album progresses, an accomplished lead guitarist demonstrates fluid licks in several styles and the deep Afro-blues turns into something suggesting desert folk rock. The lyrics are sung in the Tuareg's language but the distinctive sound needs no translation for its rhythmic and emotional force.
