This compilation offers the only two
Warner Bros.
albums by British-Ghanaian-Caribbean ensemble
Osibisa
. The band scored big with their first three
MCA
albums:
Woyaya
,
, and
Heads
, as well as the soundtrack to
Superfly T.N.T.
on
Buddah
. The first two titles landed inside the upper half of the Top 200, while
performed respectably, landing at number 125. Even the soundtrack landed at number 159.
Happy Children
, released in 1973, was their first album to place outside the Top 200, while 1974's
Osibirock
(a band favorite) fared better.
's name means "criss-cross rhythms that explode with happiness." They toured the globe almost constantly developing large audiences in Japan, Europe, the continent of Africa, South America, and the U.S. In essence, they introduced most of the modern world to African music and stitched in funk, reggae, and rock. This disc holds a special place in the band's catalog, as it marked their first two releases without some original members (who'd joined other groups). Perhaps what is most startling about these remastered titles is that well into the 21st century, they still sound fresh. (That's good, because
still exists.) The furious groove in the title track on
makes use of both
Herbie Hancock
's early electric funk experiments and
Sly and the Family Stone
-- they even use their horn section to quote from "Everyday People" before it becomes a percussion battle aided by a driving bassline and Hammond organ. "Take Your Trouble ... Go" melds punchy and bluesy psychedelic guitars with layers upon layers of hand drums and a guiding bassline. The vocal interplay among the singers/charters and polyrhythms echo
Mandrill
at their most ambitious. "Adwoa" is an exercise in midtempo Ghanaian funk with monstrous circular bass and tom-tom backbeats fueling a singsong chant at once joyous and resonant. Closer "Fire" makes use of an insistent electric piano alongside organ, backbone-slipping bass, and eternal drums. When bassist
Jean-Karl Dikoto Mandengue
drives the tempo toward the horns and piano, the jam seamlessly moves from Afrobeat style funk to jazz-funk.
fared decently on the charts, but some critics complained about the additional Western pop influence on the band, but hearing it now, that "influence" offers homage to
Funkadelic
and
Kool & The Gang
(they toured with both). For an instance of the latter, check the wooly "Why," an orgy of blues, salsa rhythms, jazz-funk horns, and punishing bass. The title cut uses reggae, Afrobeat, and American-style R&B to excellent effect with soaring chorus vocals. The live "Kelele" is all percussion and chanting in call-and response between drummers and vocalists. "African Jive" weds a punchy Afrobeat to early
Santana
and groovy jazz horns that recall the '70s-era
Crusaders
. "Komfo" is
playing electric jazz with bubbling percussion, entwined with hard bop piano and organ à la
Brian Auger
. "Kangaroo" weds dubwise horns to jazz electric piano, driven by percussion and a dirty, frenetic bassline. The music here has been beautifully remastered; the package includes a full-color booklet with a killer liner essay by former member
Kofi Ayivor
. ~ Thom Jurek