Customer Reviews

Nigeria Rock Special

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4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

The third in Soundway's anthologies of 70s Nigerian music, Nigeria Rock Special has perhaps the loosest theme. There's not a lot of straight rock or psychedelia here, at least not what you might expect. That doesn't make it any less compelling, though. There are tons of comps of kids in garages making music from all over the world, but none of it sounds like this; fuzz guitar and organ filtered through highlife and afro-beat. A huge thanks, too, for the exhaustive liner notes.

Amazingly before its' time. Afrobeat nowadays, while great, holds nothing on this. Mega soulful and authentic. Tight arrangements. Obvious influences from Santana abound, and a bit of Jimi. ALL good. Friends will be swaying their behinds, unconsciously, and unself-consciouslsy. A great Party starter. Irresistable.

Any Fan of King Sunny Ade will be advised of his influences and compatriots that helped make him ( along with his smile, effervescent personality and supelative band ) one of the pure best acts of all time, in all genres, in my Humble opinion.....

Other than that, it is just an OK recording. lol.....

Get it, and sway.

This is a good record, but if you're hoping for some good raw African funk, this isn't the comp for you. Most West African music from this time, even from the rock groups, had strong, propulsive grooves, but the work on this record is much more Santana than James Brown.

It's probably not fair to judge this record on what it isn't rather than what it is, but such is life. If you want hard-pushing West African tunes, try Nigeria Disco Funk Special, one of the Ghana Soundz comps, or best of all, African Scream Contest. If you're like me, though, you'll probably want them all.