Here's more proof of the strength and popularity of African desert-blues guitarists. Mali's Vieux Farka Touré has been blessed/burdened with the nickname "Hendrix of the Sahara," and he lives up to the hype with fluid, spidery riffs that hypnotize and enchant in equal measure. His songs chime, ramble, and emote in an easygoing manner while still communicating the time-immemorial melancholy of the blues. It's that old uplift-through-downtrodden-ness trope into which many of history's best musicians tap. DAVE SEGAL