Rob: Funky Rob Way

Label: Analog Africa

The past decade has seen an explosion in both the quantity and quality of '70s African-music reissues, and among the specialists in this field, a few match but none surpass the Analog Africa label. Now they're hitting us with a new series of sorts: limited-edition reissues of albums by individual artists (as opposed to scene- and/or country-defining compilations). First up (see also the review for Orchestre Poly-Rythmo's first album) is the 1977 debut from the Ghanian "cosmic-funk" titan known simply as Rob, and the grooves here are deep, wide and weird. The title track opens things up strong, a cowbell-marked mover with titillating (no other way to describe it!) electric keyboards positively losing their mind behind a rock-solid funk beat and the repeatedly chanted title. "Forgive Us All" is a slower and truly heavier jam, the sort of thing every Ghanian late-night radio DJ kept handy for sure (just had a brief fever-dream aside thinking of late-night Ghanian radio in the '70s). "Boogie On" brings us right back onto the good foot, and it is a fleet foot at that, while the remainder of these six tracks trace out an alternate, severely funky history of Afro-beat and '70s soul. The A-plus reissues from this label continue, and as this one's limited (no idea how many), we recommend you act sooner than later. Go the Funky Rob Way!