I picked up a handful of African records at a flea market yesterday, so here's the first of them, it's some gloriously cosmic juju from Chief Commader Ebenezer Obey. Along with King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey was Nigeria's most famous and successful juju musician and this album from the early '90s is just beautiful...exquisite vocal harmonies, intricate layers of mesmerising guitars, a chorus of talking drums, all these things work together in the construction of some really wonderful melodies. The whole thing sends me into raptures! Each side of the album is dedicated to a famous or powerful public figure, so side 1 goes to Mrs Maryam Babangida who was Nigeria's first lady at the time of the record's release. Here, Mrs Babangida is praised by Obey for her involvement in efforts to alleviate poverty through the introduction of the Better-Life Programme (I don't know much about this, presumably it involved the redistribution of some of Nigeria's oil money...get in touch if you know more).
Tracklist:
Side 1 Iba Lo Ye Ka Se / Woman Deserve Better Treatment / Better Life For Women / Happiness Of Mothers / I Love You For Ever
Side 2 Ori Lafi'N Meran Lawo / Bashorun M. K. Abiola (14th Aare Onakakanfo) / Orun I'Osupa Ti Muyi Wa / Ologbo To Fe Peja Ninu Omi / In The Continent of Africa
Get it HERE.
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