Nigeria Rock Special

Various Artists
Nigeria Rock Special
(Soundway Records)

Ever wonder what Carlos Santana or Jimi Hendrix jamming with an Afrobeat band might sound like? Or what On The Corner might have been if Miles Davis had asked Fela Kuti’s Africa 70 to sit in? If so, Soundway Records’ Nigeria Rock Special gives a pretty good indication of the potential outcomes of such pairings. Subtitled "Psychedelic Afro-Rock & Fuzz Funk in 1970s Nigeria," the compilation consists of 15 cuts from singles and albums recorded by Nigerian rock bands in the 1970s, and is meant to represent the more psychedelic side of Afrobeat.

In the early ’70s, Cream drummer Ginger Baker visited Nigeria, inviting popular local musicians such as Joni Haastrup and Berkley Jones to tour with his band throughout Europe and the United States. When they returned home, many of the musicians formed bands that grafted the psychedelic guitars and progressive rock arrangements they heard abroad onto the rhythmic foundations of Afrobeat and Highlife. The result was some of the funkiest psychedelic music ever recorded, wildly popular in Nigeria in the mid to late ’70s — apparently even more popular to Nigerians than the world-renowned Fela — but rarely heard outside of the country by anyone other than serious record collectors and Afro-rock aficionados.

Soundway, out of Brighton, England, has released a series of comps documenting funk, jazz, blues, Afrobeat, Highlife and even disco from ’70s-era Nigeria. All are worth your attention and money, but Rock Special seems the most unlikely and wild of the set. A sampling of the diverse sounds of these bands reveals the insane electric guitar work of Goddy Oku on the The Hygrades’ instrumental “In The Jungle,” Question Mark's: remarkable aping of  U.S. garage bands from 10 years before their 1977 “Freaking Out,” and the slippery JBs-like organ drive of The Funkees’ “Acid Rock.” The last third of the double LP offers a crash course in progressive Nigerian rock of the time, as demonstrated by the nation’s most popular rock bands BLO and Mono Mono, among others.

This collection is great for house parties, dance parties or even a hanging-out-by-yourself party. The tunes are deep, heavy, crazy and unprecedented, and this release can’t be recommended strongly enough.