WONDERFUL WONDERFUL KWANZA MUSIC
m_noland | 12/27/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a must buy for any one that likes West African highlife. I was presented with an excellent sample of all the most famous hits such as "Obey Amawo" and "Kwaa-Kwaa by A.B Crentsil and the Highlife Stars. The variety is superb and the tone is one of upbeat African pop. This album was a must at Nigerian parties in the late seventies and is still immune to age. Children in particular like this album because you can dance to the majority of the songs and the trumpet is not overdone as in later versions of highlife. The songs are catchy, fast and enormously fun. This is an excellent introduction to West African highlife for those unfamiliar with this style of music"
Ghanaians=pop, Nigerians=rock
m_noland | Washington, DC United States | 01/17/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"And since this is predominately a Ghanaian collection, the emphasis is on pop sweetness. Classic 1970s highlife: basically "Yaa Amponsah"-style guitar bands with horn sections influenced by soukous from Congo/Zaire. Most of the Ghanaian stars of this period are represented. This was arguably the golden age of Ghanaian pop music, before the economy completely collapsed, and most of the musicians fled for Europe. The inimitable A.B Crentsil/Sweet Talks/Super Sweet Talks/Sweet Talks International agglomeration represented by "Abeye Amawo" in which during the coda/fadeout Crentsil lists roughly half the musicians on this disk (including this collection's producer)who will "help out Sister Adjoa"...Teddy Osei/Mac Tontoh/Osibisa amalgamation appear on three cuts: "Kwaa-Kwaa," "Pete-Pete," and an (innappropriately?)upbeat cover of "Malaika" in which the Ghanians joyfully mangle Swahili. "Matutu Mirika" and "Odo Bra" are from Eric Agyeman's 1979 "Highlife Safari." The ever populist Gyedu-Blay Ambulley contributes an updated "Cut Your Coat" in which he complains about "managers conniving with the traders" and advocates soaking the rich. George Darko and Jewell Ackah are among the other stars of that era who appear on this collection."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1