Nigeria 70 - Sweet Times: Afro Funk, Highlife & Juju from 1970s Lagos by Various Artists
LABEL: Strut

The third edition of Strut Record’s wonderful Nigeria 70 series, curated by vinyl hero and godfather of African crate-digging Duncan Brooker, offers another collection of rare and previously unreleased gems, which dropped just in time for summer. The name, Sweet Times, comes from the economic boom which Nigeria was lucky enough to experience after gaining independence, thanks to its abundant reserves of oil. The country was recovering robustly from civil war.

Of course, the economic expansion did not benefit everyone, since wealth always distributes unevenly. The Nigerian economy never saw double-digit inflation until the 70s. But John Collins writes in the liner notes of Sweet Times that “a certain class of people had more disposable income, some of which was inevitably spent on buying records and going out to see live bands.” It is this audience and cultural moment which Sweet Times tries to convey, specifically in Lagos, and consequently the compilation taps into the popular highlife and juju styles of the time.

Though Nigerian music is intensely regional — there are hundreds of living languages spoken in the nation — the musicians of the 70s, led by Fela Kuti’s fusion-minded efforts, made their stylistic borders more porous. As the economy expanded, so did the cultural palette. Consider Tunde Mabadu’s “Viva Disco” instrumental, and the funk undertones throughout this compilation. An important element of this experimentation was the fact that, unlike juju, which John Collins says “has always been strongly associated with the Yoruba-speaking south,” highlife music (origins in Ghana) was able to cut through ethnic and class divisions in Nigeria, “developing distinct local forms.”



Opening track from Moneyman and the Super 5 International, “Life,” exhibits a rough-hewn, sped-up Igbo version of highlife, drenched in guitar and horns. Meanwhile, Dr. Victor Olaiya’s International All-Stars mix Afrobeat and James Brown-esque minimalist funk on the simmering, slinking “Kinrinjingbin.” “Bisi’s Beat” by Soki Ohale’s Uzzi is a slice of breezy, keyboard-driven psychedelic soul urging peace, likely a reaction to the civil war. Further, highlife and juju sometimes coalesce on this compilation, such as on the somber “Ire” by The Don Isaac Ezekiel Combination, or on “Inu Mimo” by Sina Bakare, a highlife piece given a Juju touch by the horns.

While much of the breezy music on this compilation is fusion-minded in a light-hearted way, none of the songs betray a burning desire for radical experimentation. But the record’s centerpiece comes closest. “It’s Time for Juju Music,” by Admiral Dele Abiodun & His Top Hitters International. (And no, you aren’t the only one to notice that all of these band names are incredibly classy.) This fifteen-minute beast of a song, in fact edited down to a quarter of an hour from twenty minutes, is a cosmic jazz workout. I think it’s the highlight of the album, but I can understand why someone might find it overlong and tedious, perhaps even somewhat disorganized.

The keyboard is like a small planet drawing the guitar into its orbit, the talking drum solo propelling the ears into orbit. One of the percussive effects throughout the song is strongly redolent of King Sunny Ade, and the song as a whole is a testament to the quality of recording studios at the time. These were “sweet times” for musicians as well as those who could afford to be their audience. Sadly, by the 1980s, international record companies “deinvested” and pulled all support from the scene. And around the same time, cassette bootlegging became prevalent, signifying the death of the golden age.

“It’s Time for Juju Music” succeeds by force of conviction, but it’s not as well-composed as, say, the playful stop-start of “Idegbani.” No surprise that Zeal Onyia was a trained musician. “Juju Music,” on the other hand, has little to no segue between sections, and the very fact that it needed editing betrays either a lack of compositional intuition or a musical goal that has nothing to do with making a popular song. The edited section contained Yoruba chants praising God, after all.

The music on this compilation is, on a whole, somewhat tamer than on the two previous installments of the series. But that fact would, perhaps, make this LP a perfect introduction to the excellent Nigerian scene. Those who are more informed about the music of this time may find something lacking here, though danceability is never in question. One thing I’m curious about is whether — and to what degree — the musicians on this compilation were playing to please the burgeoning art-conscious class of Nigeria. But for now, I’m just going to dance to this and the rest of the series. Recommended.


REVIEWED BY MANUEL ABREU
MANUEL’S FAVORITE TRACKS: “Henrietta” • “It’s Time for Juju Music” • “Ajoyio”

FREE MP3: “Ire” by The Don Isaac Ezekiel Combination