OSIBISA

Currently, I am in a massive OSIBISA phase, their music is just so happy! Their debut album is a brilliant example of this, containing some of their greatest tracks. Although i probably prefer WOYAYA, I am going to do these reviews chronologically.

Side One:

'The Dawn' is definitely a stand out track for me, possibly their greatest track? The brass arrangements are stellar and the Ian Anderson esque flute solo is sublime. A perfect 10/10 track for me.

'Music For The Gong Gong' is up next and is another excellent instrumental tune. This one is much in the same vein as the first and has a great happy vibe (as do all of their songs). This track gets a 9/10.

'Ayiko Bia' is song number 3 on this excellent debut album, the first track to include singing and its a great one, the longest track on the album at 7:53 and its worth it. This tune captures the brilliant fusion of afro-pop and psychedelic/jazz rock. This track gets another 9/10.

Side Two:

'Akwaaba' is the Fourth tune on this record and in my opinion probably the weakest although this is still a great song. Another (mostly) instrumental track clocking in at a modest 4 mins and 20 seconds, it gains a 7/10 rating from me.

Track Five is the jazzy 'Oranges', one of the best tracks on this album and yet another instrumental, this song perfectly captures the genius of OSIBISA, great sax, organ and guitar lines, what more could you ask for. 10/10.

Now for my personal favourite song on this album, the bass driven 'Phallus C'. Wow what a brilliant track, this immediately gets a 10/10. The drums are absolutely sublime and so is that bass riff in 9/8. The way the band effortlessly switches between 9/8, 3/4 and 6/8 (as stated by Teddy Osei in a live video) seriously blows me away. This song also has potentially Richardson's best guitar solo. I can't state how much I love this song. 10/10

The closer: 'Think About The People' is an excellent track. A theme with their albums to have a non instrumental closer with excellent lyrics. Speaks of problems such as climate change, it is a very meaningful song and along with most of the tracks on the album one of the best. 9/10

In conclusion this is one of the greatest jazz-funk-afro-pop-rock albums ever released (not that there are many of them). How about this: this is one of the greatest jazz-rock-related albums ever. 9.2/10 (4.6/5) rounded up to 5/5

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