The Rough Guide to the Music of Nigeria and Ghana

Various Artists - International - Africa

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 4, 2002)
• Original Release Date: April 2, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: World Music Network
• ASIN: B00005Y48M
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #172,594 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #16 in	Music > World Music > Africa > Ghana
  #69 in	Music > World Music > Compilations > Africa
  #80 in	Music > World Music > Africa > Nigeria

Track Listings

1. Okin Omo Ni (The King of the Children) - I.K. Dairo

2. Maajo - King Sunny Ade & His African Beats

3. Funky Hi-Life - C.K. Mann

4. Asiko - Tony Allen

5. Neribalankina - Captain Yaba

6. Fuji Shuffle - Adewale Ayuba

7. Bra Ohoho

8. Joromi/Monkey Yanga - Victor Uwaifo

9. Day By Day - E.T. Mensah

10. Matutu Mirika - Eric Agyeman

11. Oyolima - Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe

12. Fakye Me - The Sweet Talks

13. Baawo

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With 400 ethnic groups in Nigeria alone, The Rough Guide to the Music of Nigeria & Ghana (from the Rough Guide series) covers a vast canvas. So it's no wonder--and probably a sensible idea--that Fela Kuti, the Nigerian singer best known in the West, should not be included (on the grounds that his records are ubiquitous anyway). What is included here is dominated by that quintessentially mid-20th-century style known as highlife, best exemplified by its undisputed king E.T. Mensah. With his old-fashioned diction and immense charm, Mensah rides along on a gracefully Westernized instrumental sound. King Sunny Ade, who displaced him (and who was briefly picked up by Western promoters as a potential West African Bob Marley), prefers hard-driving rhythms and clean a cappella choruses. But on this superb CD charm is the key element, with a multitude of variations on local rhythms and instrumental combinations. Check out the two-string gourd molo, as played with brilliant panache by Captain Yaba; or revel in some of West Africa's best-loved party tracks, including those by C.K. Mann and Eric Agyeman. There's up-to-the-minute stuff from expatriate bands in America, and a wonderfully atmospheric gig with the most recent highlife king, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe. --Michael Church

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Collection, May 19, 2004

By	Patrick Schubert (Santa Ana, CA) - See all my reviews

No single CD can adequately represent the abundance and diversity of artists and musical styles that have emerged from Nigeria over the past fourty-plus years. However, if you are curious about Highlife, Juju, Fuji, Afrofunk, etc. (or African music in general), this compilation is for you. The Rough Guides, in general, are well-researched, informative and nicely packaged and help listeners to further explore the artists featured on their collections. There are some glaring omissions, however. Fela Kuti is not represented, but luckily his longtime drummer Tony Allen is on the excellent "Asiko". Also, Juju pioneer Chief Commander Ebineezer Obey is missing in action. So is Prince Nico. But as I said, the music of Nigeria is so vast, that it is inevitable that many deserving artists will be left out.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great dance music of a bygone era, April 23, 2006

By	Robert Reid (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If I ever had to entertain guests who didn't speak a common language with me, one of the first things i'd think of doing would be to play this CD.

This is one of the grooviest and funkiest records out there, assimilating African rhythms, blaring horns, and waa pedals into the form of Afrobeat, Highlife, and Fuji music.

I liked this record so much that it inspired a trip to Ghana. But this is really the music of a bygone era- good luck finding *any* of the tracks or bands on this CD anywhere else- even in Ghana! I couldn't even find a record by the 'king of highlife', ET Mensah, on Amazon. Economic and political circumstances forced most of these musicians abroad, and those highlife musicians that do remain in Ghana play unpaid gigs in gospel churches (which are dance halls in their own right).

To best appreciate this record, you've got to play it at high volume. Some highlights include "Funky Hi-Life," "Maa Jo," and "Joromi."