VOL. 2-GHANA SOUNDZ: AFRO-BEAT FUNK & FUSION IN 70

 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: FRCX
• ASIN: B00024757A
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,942 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > World Music > Africa > Ghana

Editorial Reviews

Afro-music continues to inspire a number of musicians, producers and DJs around the globe. Ghana Soundz Volume 2 does just that by properly representing Afro-music from the 1970s.

Ghana Soundz was an idea created by compiler and DJ Miles Cleret 3 years ago. Since then he has traveled throughout Ghana to assemble three collections of rare Afro-beat, Afro-funk and Afro-fusion, most of which were unreleased outside of Africa and quite a few have never been released in the world. The series forms a unique window on a scene previously unknown outside of Ghana until Volume One was released in 2003.

Pounding rhythms, blaring horns and pumping vocals – the music is a document of a time forgotten when flares and Cuban heels strutted the streets and night-spots of Accra, the sizzling hot and humid capital of Ghana. Influenced as much by traditional rhythms and local highlife as by the music of Fela Kuti, James Brown and Santana, these tunes had almost been lost – until now!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Supremely Groovy and Funky, August 19, 2005

By 

Sean E. Kutzko "Alpine7784" (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: VOL. 2-GHANA SOUNDZ: AFRO-BEAT FUNK & FUSION IN 70 (Audio CD)

In 1986, I was 19 years old and a budding guitarist with interest in drums. A class was offered at the local community college in West African Drumming by a master drummer from Ghana, and I signed up for it. Soon, my friends and I were in a highlife band, led by the Ghanaian, playing clubs in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. The Ghanaian's name? Oscar Sulley.

It was Oscar who got me interested in music from West Africa, specifically Ghana. I was pleasantly surprised to see some of his early recordings finally getting to see the light of day. His presence on this CD was the reason I bought it, but all of the tracks are standouts. There are some clear James Brown influences in some of these, most notably K. Frimpong & The Cubano Fiesta's track "Aboagyewaa." The call-and-response between the bandleader and the band is almost a direct copy of James Brown from the Jungle Groove sessions. Still, the music is quite good.

To me, the most powerful tracks on the CD are Joe Mensah's "Africa Is Home" (very reminiscent of a Santana groove, "Toussaint L'Overture"), "Kyekye Pe Aware" by The Sweet Talks (A 70's synthesizer-laced groove with some excellent lead guitar work as well), and the huge, fat sound of Marijata's "No Condition Is Permanent." Be warned: Marijata is the BOMB. The performance was so laced with energy that they chose to release it despite a distorted vocal track. It is the defining track on the CD, with horns and keyboards that will knock your socks off.

If you enjoy good funk music and want to check it out with a different spin, I urge you to get this CD. If you like James Brown and Fela Kuti, you will not be disappointed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars get down, africa!, January 12, 2005

By 

deepcloud (vancouver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: VOL. 2-GHANA SOUNDZ: AFRO-BEAT FUNK & FUSION IN 70 (Audio CD)

this album is insanely funky. it's also nice to hear something different from the "north american" style of funk. not only are the arrangements very interesting (almost..odd?), but the drums are incredible. fans of fela kuti take note. when listened to on headphones, the songs are seriously hypnotic...almost trance inducing. i stood at a store's listening post for most of the album before purchasing it. one wonders what ever happened to these incredible musicians.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars quality pressing, July 30, 2005

By 

munkey "puzld" (san francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: VOL. 2-GHANA SOUNDZ: AFRO-BEAT FUNK & FUSION IN 70 (Audio CD)

the music itself is amazing....any fan of funk music should check this out. a superb mix of afro and western funk styles. (think Cymande meets James Brown meets Kuti, plus more) the sound quality of the pressing is excellent (I have the vinyl version, I'm sure the CD's are just as nice). Unbelievably warm bass, clean drums, shimmering organ, etc. The original engineering on this music must have been awesome. I'm not sure how much additional cleaning / mastering was done for the compilation, but, regardless, the end result in sound quality is nothing short of amazing. overall, I'm very impressed with this compilation...lots of respect to Miles Claret for putting this together. It's definitely inspired me to explore the 70's Ghana scene further.