Hyenes 19924

Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate come across like the Odd Couple of Malian music. Toure is the tall, bespectacled veteran with the long fingers and a wide grin, looking very relaxed as he settles down to play a loping riff on his acoustic guitar. Diabate is younger, shorter, more intense, arranging himself in front of his kora, the ancient, multi-stringed west African harp. When you see him on video, you can’t quite believe just how quickly his fingers dance around all those strings.

"No Secrets," with its iconic cover image, is Carly Simon's third studio album and her first #1. Released in 1972, the record spent five weeks at the top of the Billboard charts. "No Secrets" blends the best of her pop/jazz/bluesy style and spawned four Top 20 hits including the #1 smash "You're So Vain," her powerhouse diatribe to a smug, conceited ex, featuring the back-up vocals of Mick Jagger. "The Right Thing to Do" was another major single, and one of her most gorgeous ballads ever. No one can mistake that voice, which has become one of the most recognizable and endearing in all of pop music. Richard Perry's simple, elegant production pays particular attention to the vocals that run the gamut of sweet to ferocious. It seems Carly Simon knows, intuitively, how to properly emote the feelings of each song to the listener…

Rising from the ashes of pub rock band Ducks Deluxe, the Motors began life as Status Quo lite, a boogie band with better ideas and hooks than other bands in the same mold. Led by talented singer/songwriters Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster, the Motors' 1977 self-titled debut sounded better on paper than it did on the home stereo. Scoring a semihit with the single "Dancing the Night Away" was a surprise to all, but certainly gave Virgin enough confidence to back a second album. When Approved by the Motors hit the shelves in 1978, the band had become one of the finest pop/rock bands in the U.K., refining their sound (the boogie was nowhere to be found) and writing songs filled with great melodies. Garvey and McMaster's harmonies had become as unique as fellow popsters Difford & Tilbrook's, although the Motors sound was far more gritty than the duo from Squeeze. Even lead guitarist Bram Tchaikovsky and drummer Ricky Slaughter seemed to have an expanded role in the sound of the band. Standout tracks like "Forget About You," "Sensation," "Soul Redeemer," and the beautiful "Today" were the heart and soul of this fabulous sophomore release, and the album even garnered them a bonafide hit with "Airport".