v/a: Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970s Funky Lagos

Label: Strut

This two-CD package comprises the music from a 2001 box set that also included a third disc with an audio documentary with interviews (a note in the booklet shows where that’s available for free online). This reissue thus has all the stuff that the average fan would play more than once. There are a few familiar names sprinkled through the tracklist, such as Fela Kuti, Tony Allen and King Sunny Ade. In recent years, though, interest in this music has also brought compilations devoted to Orlando Julius and Sir Victor Uwaifo. What’s great about the Nigeria 70 compilations is that they provide a fuller context in which to view the stars, while also providing many new-to-me gems. It’s worth noting for neophytes that the Nigerian idea of funk is quite different from American funk: more polyrhythmic, more elliptical in its grooves, more complex. The liner notes, which are both informative and entertaining, include a tidbit about highlife pioneer E.T. Mensah, who was inspired by a 1956 Louis Armstrong concert but who also complained that “We wanted more rhythm.” Nobody listening to this set could complain about that! (Steve)