The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelia in 1970s Nigeria

Two discs 61,66 minutes each approximately. The sound, which has been restored from vinyl copies of these tracks, is for the most part, good. At times the sound suffers from a slight "distancing" feel, and a slight fuzziness in the overall mix. But these slight distractions don't get in the way of the music. The discs are slipped in, bare, into pockets of the quad-foldout cardboard holder. The 42 page booklet contains a lot of information, not only on the artists and music in this set, but also the era that spawned this music. The tracks are listed inside the holder, and there's track-by-track information in the booklet. There are a number of b & w photographs throughout the booklet that adds depth to both the information and the music.

This music is the direct descendant of the psychedelic music that was prevalent in the U.S. and Britain (primarily) in the late 60's. Nigeria was in the grips of war at this time (1967), and the music known as "Highlife" was still very popular, but beginning to fade in popularity. But the generation of kids who grew up during and after this war, wanted something new to listen and dance to. The popular Nigerian groups were replaced with western-style artists like Elvis, THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, and THE YARDBIRDS, to name a few.

The music on these discs is a direct emulation of guitar-driven rock heard in the Western world. The rhythms were a combination of Highlife,traditional rock 'n' roll, and urban funk, with a combination of organ/horn/guitar/vocal leads. At times the guitars are fuzz-driven high intensity killers, or stinging leads, sounding similar to any number of guitar-orientated groups from the west. On this set the electric guitar, in all its glory, was king in most (if not all) these groups. Oftentimes there was a honking sax or organ in the mix, with dense Nigerian percussion/vocals filling in around everything else. But as it says in the notes-"the guitar was lean, loud, and sexy". This is Nigeria's experimentation and love of Western rock 'n' roll-i.e.the electric guitar.

In many ways, this was Nigeria's "Summer of Love",albeit a little late. This music is funky, exciting, guitar rock. The rhythms may at times, be slightly different (but are curiously captivating), but the lead guitars in all their screeching, fuzz-drenched glory are whats really important here. The vocals (some sung in their own tongue) add a bit of exoticism to the mix, but there are many tracks sung in English. You'll hear everything from SANTANA-styled lead guitar, to THE SHADOWS, to YARDBIRDS fuzz-filled leads, to a surf-influenced sound, to Pete Townshend-like vocals sung in English ("Blacky Joe"), to instrumentals ("Rough Rider","Ofege","Bullwalk"), to an almost TOWER OF POWER-like horn arrangement with lead guitar ("Oli Nkwu") that could fit in anywhere in the Western world, to most anything else that was popular at the time in the U.S. and Britain. And that's just on the first disc.

The second disc starts out with a Santana -style percussion sound and then segues into a fuzz-driven Carlos Santana lead guitar (("Babalawo"), with some Greg Rolie (early SANTANA) organ fills, with vocals sung in one of the several languages heard on this set. If this song doesn't get you moving-you're dead. For some prime U.S. style garage rock, listen to "The World Ends", a combination of cheesy organ similar to THE SEEDS, with a convincing garage-punk-attitude vocal (again in English), and you'll think you're listening to a track from the "Nuggets" collection from 1968. Another highlight is "Money That's What I Want" (in English), with a funky beat, manic organ solo, and shouted vocal in the best tradition of Western rock. "Somebody's Gotta Lose Or Win", with a SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE beat is another funky, dance floor mover. And so it goes. This disc is every bit as filled with glorious, sometimes funky, guitar-rock 'n' roll as the first disc.

For anyone who wants to hear what Western-style rock 'n' roll, from the late 60's, sounds like processed through another culture-this is the collection to purchase. These bands were not mere imitators, they took the music they heard and infused it with their own musical style(s), and came up with their own unique version of rock 'n' roll. And it works. This music will start your body to moving involuntarily, which is what good rock 'n' roll is all about. Give this set a listen and hear for yourself-it's that good.

More Nigerian obsurities (that's redundant) from the 1970's diamond mine. Booty shaker for sure, late night madness. Soundway's usual high end product and notes, cardboard slipcase though, not everyone's first choice.

The CD came very quickly and in plenty of time for me to wrap it as a Christmas present. My brother-in-law loves it!