Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey: The 1st Album

Label: Analog Africa

Chances are good these legends from the tiny west African nation of Benin didn't call their 1973 debut The 1st Album -- can you imagine the cajones that would've taken? Then again...wow, this record! Made in one afternoon, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo's first outing -- remastered for this limited-edition Analog Africa reissue (see also the review of Rob) -- features four long scorchers, real Afro-beat blueprint type of stuff, with grooves unfurling up to the edge of the Sahara. Has any African band shy of Fela's Egypt 70 had this kind of organic group-mindset when it comes to the funk? "Ou C'est Lui Ou C'est Moi" kicks things into gear right from the jump, a steamy jam that you think will be all about the horns and the beat -- till you hear the guitar work. "Ye Ye We Nou Mi" tilts closer to African African music, a bit slower but showing its hand with a wicked keyboard part that phases into (if my ears are on straight) some keyboard-wah-wah. The expansive "La La La La" leans harder on the 1, storming onward inexorably, forcefully, convincingly. "Egni Miton? Nin Mi Na Wa Gbin" rolls a little more coolly, with a spoken vocal part that contrasts nicely with the sumptuous groove. Like the Rob CD, this is limited and we don't know how long they'll last. Highest possible recommendation and another (and another!) tip of the headphones to Analog Africa.