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Various artists
The Guitar and The Gun
Earthworks
In the essential reissue category this month is this wonderful 2 LP set made from recordings from the Bokoor studios located outside of Accra, Ghana in the early to mid 1980s, now reissued as a single CD. It starts off with a gospel number reminiscent of South African township sounds, with their swinging vocals and fat bass guitar. But by the second tune they are solidly into the electric guitar highlife that was so much a fixture of the west African music scene for many decades after the 1950s. It's all solid and sparse (sometimes to the point of severe, instrumentally) and yet the breezy delivery is irresistible and light. It ranges in influence from palm wine guitar to a sound bordering on soukous but without the Paris electronics. The only regret is that this generous 13 track single CD was not expanded to include everything from both vinyl disks. But perhaps that is just me being selfish. - CF
Available at cdRoots
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