Congo Sevens Number 1 - Various Artists

A joyful noise from '70s Zaire!
If you've never heard the lightning guitars and heavenly harmonies of Congolese rumba and soukous, then this compilation of fuzzy sounds from old singles might open your ears to some of the most exhilirating sounds ever produced by humans; if you're already a fan of the music, then you're going to want to hear these rare tracks.



Tracklist:

01 Alimatou - Franco & L'Orchestre TPOK Jazz
02 Made - Orchestre Bella Bella
03 Houleux - Houleux - Orchestre Bella Bella
04 Dialogue - Tabu Ley & Orchestre Afrisa L'International
05 Mafuku Na Libenga - Tabu Ley & Orchestre Afrisa L'International
06 Biby Ya Shaba - Orchestre Lengo Lengo Topoke
07 Bana Baya Ya Bakwanea - Orchestre Tino Mambo
08 Badyano - Orchestre Tino Mambo

Get it HERE.

I had a number of requests for scans of the covers and labels of these records, so anyone who's interested in such things can find a zip file full of pictures over HERE.

Robbie Basho - The Falconer's Arm Vol. 1 (1967)

Robbie Basho's album of heavy, exploratory guitar jams is probably available elsewhere on the internet, but I know you just love that ol' snap, crackle and pop!


Tracklist:

01 The Falconer's Arm
02 Tassajara - Zen Shinji

Lost Lagoon Suite
03.1 Walking Into The Forest
03.2 Prelude
03.3 Blue Wolf
03.4 Sky Medicine
03.5 Finale
03.6 Walking Out The Forest
-
04 Pavan Hindustan
05 Babs

Get it HERE.

Tiger - Mi Name Tiger (1986)

Lovely bit of ragga and dancehall from 1986. You know you want it. Pom Pom!
(insert sound of airhorn here).

The man got style, and here he is tearing up the Reggae Sunsplash festival in 1987:


Tracklist:

01 No Wanga Gut
02 Mi Lover Mi Lover
03 Puppy Love
04 Na Lef Ya So
05 Don't Be Greedy
06 Tiger Talking
07 The Works
08 Follow Mi Model
09 Move Up
10 Me Name Tiger

Get it HERE.

Adventures in Capitalism #1 (Nkengas, Ebeneezer Obey, Ernesto Dje Dje)

Hello people.
I hate to use the blog in this way, but needs must and all that. I am clearing out some records (out with the old -in with the new) in an attempt to free up some space, and some money for a trip to Morocco in March, so there are some items of interest available on Ebay. I haven't put much up there yet, but am hoping to sell more over the coming weeks and months. Currently I have up for sale a copy of the Nkengas in London, the Ernesto Dje Dje lp and a Chief Commander Ebeneezer Obey album.
There'll be more African stuff up there within the week.
Anybody care to make me some offers I can't refuse?

You can see the items I have for sale HERE.

King Sunny Ade & His Green Spot Band - Sunny Ade: Master Guitarist Volume 4 (1971)

It's been a long time since I posted any Sunny Ade, so here's a treat for all you Juju hounds. These recordings date back to the late sixties and early seventies and they have a rougher edge than much of his later music however, the supple rhythms of the talking drums and the intricate, intertwining guitar lines are all present and correct, as are the gorgeous vocal harmonies which make me feel like I'm floating on golden clouds of angel hair. The songs are shorter too so that's a bonus for all those with attention deficits.



Tracklist:

01 Mr. Adenaike (Olulu)
02 John Ali
03 Egbe Board
04 Chief Lekan Salami
05 Prince Adesanya
06 A Ye Wa
07 Akure Nile
08 Major General Adebaye
09 Akanbi Ogun
10 Constant Star

Get it HERE.

Bongwater - Too Much Sleep (1989)

Deeply surreal, in the truest sense of the word, intensely psychedelic, in a way that avoids all the possible cliches, hugely entertaining from start to finish, and totally essential.

Enjoy:



Tracklist:

01 The Living End
02 The Drum
03 Mr. & Mrs. Hell
04 Too Much Sleep
05 Talent Is A Vampire
06 Psychedelic Sewing Room
07 Splash 1
08 He Loved The Weather
09 Teena Stays The Same
10 One Hand On The Road
11 Khomeini Died Tonight
12 One So Black
13 No Trespassing

Get it HERE.

The Chills - Brave Words (1987)

I thought I would try to do my bit to spread the love on the first day of 2011 by sharing this beautiful album with the world. Brave Words has grown with me over the past twenty three years and has gradually become one of my favourite ever records. My vinyl copy went missing years ago but the songs stayed with me, and I was ecstatic when I found this scratchy old copy in a charity shop a few weeks ago.

The Chills came from Dunedin in New Zealand and were active throughout the 1980s and into '90s. This was the group's first proper album and, for me it contains some of the finest pop songs of that, or any other, period. I hope that these songs will give you as much pleasure as they have given me over the years.

The House with A Hundred Rooms was a secret bonus track on some pressings (and the cd) of this album, unfortunately not the one here, however it serves a fantastic taster for a real aural treat:


Tracklist:

01 Push
02 Rain
03 Speak For Yourself
04 Look For The Good In Others And They'll See The Good In You
05 Wet Blanket
06 Ghosts
07 Dan Destiny And The Silver Dawn
08 Night Of Chill Blue
09 16 Heart-throbs
10 Brave Words
11 Dark Carnival
12 Creep

Get it HERE.