Soul fans who dig afro beats will be delighted at a pair of new releases on Strut Records. First up is a double CD on Ghanaian guitar legend EBO TAYLOR. ‘Life Stories’ is a collection of his seminal 1970s recordings and selects 16 tracks from his solo albums. Highlights include ‘Heaven’ (sampled by USHER on ‘She Don’t Know’) and the epic 15 minute workout that is ‘Aba Yaa’.
The second STRUT release is ‘Nigeria 70’ – a collection of Nigerian recorded soul, funk, jazz , juju and high life from the 70s. All the selections are previously unissued outside of Nigeria and with artists like SINA BAKARE, TUNDE MABADU and the wonderfully-named CHIEF COMMANDER EBENEZER OBEY AND HIS INTERNATIONAL BROTHERS there’s soul –a-plenty in the grooves.
Bags of soul too on Strut’s third April release. ‘The Original Sound Of Latin New York’ is a double CD, 29 track tribute to the legendary Fania label. Covering the seminal years, 1964 – 1980, the music includes material from people like JOHNNY PACHECO, JOE BATTAAN, RAY BARRETTO, WILLIE COLON and the magnificent FANIA ALL STARS with CELIA CRUZ.
