The Rough Guide to the Music of Nigeria and Ghana

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

Tracks:

Okin Omo Ni (The King Of The Children) - I.K. Dairo
Maa Jo - King Sunny Ade & His Afican Beats
Funky Hi-Life - C.K. Mann
Asiko - Tony Allen
Neribalankina - Captain Yaba
Fuji Shuffle - Adewale Ayuba
Bra Ohoho - E.K. Nyame
Joromi/Monkey Yanga - Sir Victor Uwaifo
Day By Day - E.T. Mensah
Matutu Mirika - Eric Agyeman
Oyolima - Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe
Fakye Me - Sweet Talks
Baawo - Amanzeba Nat Brew

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:

great dance music of a bygone era.......2006-04-24

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."

A Wonderful Collection.......2004-05-20

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.

Rock Music:

Rock Music

rock music

Recommended Music:

Kew. Rhone. [Enhanced]

Brahms: Symphony in F No3, Op90; Strauss: Tod und Verklärung [Enhanced]

Christmas With the Vienna Boys Choir [Box set]

Play Date

Dance Hits USA, Vol. 3

Change

Celtic Showcase

Cold as Ice [Clean]

Conversations With Myself [Original recording remastered]

Borup-Jørgensen: Songs & Piano Works

Californication

Candombe Murga y Rocanrol [Import]

Experkt the Unexpekted [Explicit Lyrics]

The Secrets of Dvorak's Cello Concerto

A Meeting of the Times