Nigeria 70 - Original Afro Classics

iTunes Review

If the 2005 collection World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love’s a Real Thing – The Funky Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa whet your appetite for more bygone sounds of obscure Afrobeat, consider 2008’s Nigeria 70 – Original Afro Classics to be the unofficial sequel – it even contains some of the same artists and songs from the 2005 comp like Ofo the Black Company’s hard-strutting “Allah Wakbarr.” More funk than psych, Monomono Tire opens with “Tire Loma Da Nigbehin,” turning Ghanaian drumming into juju-touched, percussive ambrosia bolstered by distorted Wurlitzer notes and heavy grooves of danceable bass leads played high on the neck. In attempting to approximate American folk-blues, Bongos Ikwue birthed his own sound with “Woman Made the Devil,” a breezy and bouncy number where playful Farfisa organ is contrasted with biting lyrics. Blo’s “Chant to Mother Earth” echoes some of Fela Kuti’s mellower jams until a spitting, hissing, serpentine guitar lead slithers in and rips the song wide open. Kuti’s own Tony Allen contributes “No Discrimination” with help from His Afro Messengers, dropping over eight minutes of impenetrable Afro-funk science.