Strut Records is one of those labels that have a knack for tracking down and putting out collections of great music from bygone days. This one- originally appearing in 2001 and now returning in re-mastered form -was a good example, setting the bar high for many similar compilations that followed. And no wonder.
The lineup on these two discs (which despite some sonic housecleaning still have the raw power of their era) includes such greats as Fela Kuti (as leader of both his early band Koola Lobitos and Africa 70), Sunny Ade, Orlando Julius, Tony Allen and Gaspar Lawal, all at a time when they were melding their African foundation with sounds and ideas from the wider world. And brilliant combinations of traditional and far-reaching characterize a good many other artists on this set as well, including the electric piano funk of Monomono Tire, Peter King’s jazzy updating of praise to the Yoruba Orisha pantheon, Bongos Ikwue’s electrified blues, a sax-laden slow burn courtesy of Afro Cult Foundation and a mover by Shina Williams that’s almost like disco but without a trace of tackiness.
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