Discussions of 1970s Nigerian music were once dominated by the Afrobeat achievements of Fela Kuti, but over the last 25 years a steady flow of releases have highlighted the country’s energetic and imaginative sounds. However, as the reissues amassed a newbie could end up at wit’s end over exactly where to start; happily, the two volumes comprising Now-Again Records’ Wake Up You! The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock 1972-1977 offer a splendid overview of its subject, combining wise choices with a wealth of info presented in two 100-plus page books, hardbound with the CD editions and softcover alongside the 2LPs. Novices rejoice, for both are out now.
It was directly following the Nigerian Civil War that a blend of R&B, funk, and rock briefly flourished in the country. This is no startling newsflash as labels like Strut and especially Soundway have been doing an admirable job in compiling the region’s output from the era for quite a while. Nigerian writer and musicologist Uchenna Ikonne has been at the forefront of this tide as a researcher and producer; amongst his recent credits is a marvelous 2013 showcase for his countryman William Onyeabor on Luaka Bop.
The dual platform Now-Again provides via Wake Up You! allows Ikonne to thoroughly relate the post-war landscape of Nigerian Rock, covering the bands, their regions and differences in style while highlighting the labels, the most productive of which was EMI, that distributed these recordings during their short window of popularity.
Instead of paraphrasing Ikonne’s work, this review will simply laud his impeccable scholarship and comment upon the sounds corralled in each set. Vol. 1 begins with the Formulars Dance Band’s “Never Never Let Me Down,” its soul/R&B base fortified with jubilant choruses and plentiful guitar wielding just a touch of psychedelia. The obvious Western influence continues in The Hygrades “Keep On Moving,” an undisguised James Brown rip complete with raw exclamations courtesy of Elvis Ato Arinze, though as it progresses the atmosphere is also a tad reminiscent of the Archie Bell & the Drells classic “Tighten Up.”
The Hygrades’ “In The Jungle (Instrumental)” and its vocal counterpart are also included (the latter sequenced on Vol. 2) and their collective thrust is ultimately nearer to Afrobeat than an approximation of Brown and the J.B.’s; a wildly acidic wah-pedal guitar solo easily underscores why Nigerian Rock earns such an intense spotlight.
One of the movement’s busier participants was an individual known as Ify Jerry; having started out pre-Civil War in the city of Enugu as a member of The Postmen, Jeremiah Jiagbogu made his way into The Fractions and then post-conflict became a member of The Hykkers, a reassembled group that prior to the war had been wildly popular in Nigeria.
The Hykkers two tracks, both B-sides from ’72, are stylistic bedrock for what came later, infusing the outfit’s earlier Motown-derived vocal approach with Sly Stone-informed psychedelic soul on “Stone The Flower” and plunging into a full-blown psych-funk instrumental on “I Want a Break Thru” (found on Vol. 2). The Hykkers mesh well with the sole cut by The Strangers, “Onye Ije” mingling a little ’67 Nuggets-esque amp-fuzz with organ-laced rhythmic gusto.
Nigerian rock’s swift musical advancement is evident in the contribution from the Ify Jerry Krusade. To varying extents, the lingering 1960s could be detected in all of the previous numbers, but “Everybody Likes Something Good,” which some will remember from the Nigeria 70 Lagos Jump compilation on Strut, is firmly anchored in the early- ‘70s.
Many of the bands collected here only received one or two shots to make a record; Afro Rock was popular, but its status was still as a niche music. Matters weren’t helped by the shoddy operational practices of Decca’s “Native Rock” subsidiary Afrodisia. One of Nigeria’s more prolific acts was The Funkees, who waxed a pair of LPs plus a bunch of singles and even traveled to perform in England.
The Funkees’ “Baby I Need You” and “Slipping into Darkness” (on Vol. 2) are from ’73, the former featuring thick humid funk with organ and guitar solos likely to please the period’s adventurous rock fans, and the latter a nod in the direction of early-’70s social-awareness soul but with a vigorous funk-rock undercurrent.
Each of these volumes pluck a side from the ’73 single by Waves, “Mother” exuding hints of Santana that are thankfully not asserted too heavily as the titular “Wake Up You” (on Vol. 2) brandishes a hard rock sensibility not terribly far afield from Bad Company. The book comments on the production quality, or more specifically the lack thereof, though the somewhat flat ambiance isn’t really a detriment as it instills a definite non-pro aura; sadly, Afrodisia’s promotional neglect doomed the band’s retail fortunes.
Waves do contrast pretty sharply with the multifaceted exuberance of Ofo the Black Company. One of the finest tracks across both volumes, “Beautiful Daddy” benefits from driving execution, blistering post-Hendrix guitar burn, and Ify Jerry’s tight organ playing. By comparison, War-Head Constriction connect as fascinatingly loose and downright crazed by effects-pedals on the oddball hard-rocking psych of “Graceful Bird” and “Shower of Stone” (on Vol. 2).
Much closer to normalcy is The Magnificent Zeinians’ precisely rhythmic “Ije Udo,” while The Apostles “Never Too Late” is bolder in guitar terms as they stretch out to six minutes and display musical assurance reflective of the song’s origin of 1976; unlike many of the cuts here, this was taken from an LP, The Apostles self-titled debut.
Delving further into Vol. 1 injects fuzz guitar into a dancefloor template in Aktion’s “Groove the Funk,” and fluting, fuzz, and a crisp beat head back to the fringes of 1972 in the Wrinkar Experience’s “Ballad of a Sad Young Woman.” Skipping ahead two years The Founders 15’s “I Can’t Be Satisfied” is a terrific example of band chemistry with strong singing and one of the best guitar solos on either volume. It segues nicely into another lengthier gleaning, Tirogo’s “Float” distinguished by lively interplay.
Question Mark present a completely different kettle of trout; decidedly non-funky, “Scram Out”’s incessant guitar line persistently reminds these ears of the Velvet Underground (kinda like a bootleg of “What Goes On” heard through a transistor radio), though I’m fairly certain this is a coincidence. Question Mark’s uniqueness as part of these surveys is crystal clear, with both “Scram Out” and Vol. 2’s “Love” initially cloaked in a lack of sophistication and polish that’s eventually overtaken by clarity of vision. “Tell Me” by P.R.O. expands a psychedelic groove to eight minutes as it wraps up Vol. 1.
The Vol. 2 selections not already covered include the Afrodisia-funded rawness and endearingly shaky English language lead vocal of Theodore Nemy’s organ-imbued “Come Back” and the rhythmically directed and vividly captured EMI single “Babalawo” by the intriguing Shadow Abraham with Monomono Friends. “Set Me Free” by the Action 13 opens with a gnawing guitar line unfortunately buried in the mix; although it’s far from slick, the soul-tinged thud-rock of the Jay U Experience’s “Baby Rock” has no such problems.
The Doves’ keyboard heavy instrumental “Flying Bird” ranks near the smoothest syntheses of R&B, rock and African roots sequenced here, Kukumbas’ “Awa Lani Arawa” rounds up a non-standard rhythm, bluesy guitar licks, group vocals, and robust organ to result in one of the Afrodisia’s less eccentric entries, and The Believers’ “Life Will Move” will hit Afrobeat aficionados right in their sweet spot.
Winding down, Tony Grey & the Black 7’s instrumental “The Feelings” puts on a clinic in psychedelic guitar-funk, Ceejebs’ superb “Life in Cannan” is a dense thicket of sonic unpredictability, and The Identicals’ “Who Made the World” culminates Vol. 2 with some hard-driving but commercially-mindful R&B.
A lot of retrospectives do right by the buyer as the artists responsible for the content end up standing in the cold with bupkis. In addition to the mountain of knowledge, the consistently sharp music compiled here has all been licensed from the bands, making Wake Up You! The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock 1972-1977 an all-around gesture of class and good intentions.
Wake Up You! Vol. 1:
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Wake Up You! Vol.2:
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