This is one beautiful album, collaboration between the finest two guitar players that Mali and the US have to offer. Though neither spoke the other's language, the recording proves that some sort of deeper, more fundamental communication was going on. TALKING TIMBUKTU was originally released on 29 March 1994, and holds the distinction of being the longest-running #1 album in the history of Billboard Magazine's world music charts. Not only did the album debut at #1 (the first ever to do so), but also it maintained a stranglehold on the top slot for 32 consecutive weeks. And in 1995, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences recognized what the rest of us already knew and named it the Best World Music Album of the year.