reax music magazine :: music + culture » Reviews » Various Artists - Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds Nigerian Blues 1970-76

There are more than 250 different CDs on Amazon.com that have some sort of connection to Nigerian pop music. Even assuming that half of them are by Fela Kuti (which isn't too rash of an assumption), that's a whole lot of ways to gift-wrap a fairly specific sound. While this beautifully packaged, two-disc compilation attempts to both broaden its scope (by including the rather amorphous stylistic brands "Afro-Sounds and Nigerian Blues") and sharpen its focus (on the early-to-mid-70s), this approach means it can be neither introductorily comprehensive nor deep-research specific. However, where it does succeed is in presenting a sort of audio snapshot of what radios in Lagos may have sounded like after recovering from the civil war that wracked the country from 1967-1970. The joyous relief the Nigerian people felt after the war's end is evident in these bouncy, visceral grooves -– the grinding, revolutionary tone of Fela's afrobeat had yet to take hold, and even the blues cuts here are played with half a grin. While it's far from an original notion to try and anthologize Nigerian pop, the curating done by Miles Cleret (who also penned the informative liner notes) makes this set a unique find nonetheless. – Jason Ferguson