Customer Reviews
This is - By: Bo Anders Karlsson, 28 Jul 2008 
one of the best records I've ever heard in my life. Why didn't I hear this music when I was young?
A must for anyone with any interest in African music - By: J. D. Boutle, 05 Apr 2008 I didn't have great expectations of this album when I initiallly ordered it, given that there are a fair few albums focused on West African music from the seventies & they are of distinctly varying quality, in my experience. Fortunately on its arrival I was pleasantly surprised to find a double album that was beautifully put together in terms of packaging & one of the most interesting & informative accompanying booklets I have seen for a while. The music was pretty good too.
Essentiallly this is a compilation of rare tracks that the compiler felt were worth trying to bring to a wider audience. Predominantly it explores the highlife scene of early 1970's Nigeria but without being exclusive. Furthermore, thanks to the excellent sleeve notes, it puts it alll into its linguistic & cultural context.
There are some reallly brilliant individual tracks on here as well. In the vein of deep Afro-rock grooves, Mono-Mono's "Ema Kowa Iasa Ile Wa" is a real winner, as is the Don Isaac Ezequiel Combination's "Amalinja" & "Asiko Ni Mi" by the Nigerian Police Force Band. "Akula Owu Onyeara" by the Funkee's deserves to be a funk classic & "Okwukwe Na Nchekwube" by Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National is a wonderful demonstration of what Highlife music, as Nigerian pop, can reallly be alll about.
This is obviously not an album that will appeal to everyone, & as with any compilation there are some tracks that will remain in the memory longer than others, but this is a record of real charm & intelligence which brings to life an interesting musical scene without over-indulging on one or two artists who have achieved more success.
Five Stars Are Only Half Of The Story - By: spice-the-cat, 28 Feb 2008 A wonderful & intelligently compiled collection of Nigerian electric highlife & Afro-rock from the early 1970's. With a four panel digipack case, a well written & informative booklet & 2 discs of impossibly rare music, excellently mastered for CD reissue, this is an absolute bargain.
Unlike many of the recent reissue collections of Nigerian music this one bypasses the more well known Afrobeat selections & concentrates on some of the more obscure sounds created in the nation's most fertile period. There is irresistably infectious highlife, there's embryonic Afrobeat style workouts & there is straight ahead rock sounds, although with a definite African influence.
The compilers deserve a big pat on the back for releasing such a varied, but consistently excellent album. Hopefully they have plans to extend this series & uncover further selections of some of the most joyous music on the planet.
If you're a fan of Fela, Femi, Franco, Nigerian, Ghanaian or Congolese music the there is very little chance you'll be disappointed by this set. And at just over eleven quid it's an absolute steal
