Osibisa — The Warner Brothers Albums

Here’s a CD bringing together the two albums released by British-Ghanaian-Caribbean Afro-rock Osibisa band on Warner Brothers in the early 70’s.  We have  1973’s Happy Children and 1974’s Osibirock- both of which highlight a band that is open to blending and blurring musical genres- taking elements of African music/rhythms, rock, funk, jazz and generally bright and buoyant focused fusion.

The release appears on Cherry Red Records- with the CD coming presented in a glossy four-panel digipak, featuring on its cover an illustration centred around an elephant with rainbow butterfly wings for its ears. The release comes with a colourful twenty-page inlay booklet- taking in an eight-page write-up from Kofi Ayivor the band's percussionist,  band photos,  cover artwork, and a pictorial selected discography.

The seeds of what would be Osibisa started in 1950s Ghana-  when saxophonist Teddy Osei,  drummer Solomon Amarfio, Mamon Shareef, and flautist Farhan Freere played in a band called The Star Gazers. Fairly soon they left to form Comets, with Osei's brother Mac Tontoh on trumpet. In 1962  Osei moved to London after getting a scholarship to study music- by 1969 Osei convinced Amarfio and Tontoh to join him in London, and the first line-up of Osibisa was formed- which was fairly soon added to by Antiguan Wendell (Dell) Richardson -lead guitar and lead vocalist, Nigerian Lasisi Amao- percussionist and tenor saxophone, Grenadian Roger Bedeau-bass, and Trinidadian Robert Bailey - keyboard.  Since 1971 the band has released eighteen albums and are still active/live-act today-   making them the most successful and longest-lived of the African-heritage bands in London.

First up on the CD is Happy Children which was the band's fifth album released in September of 1973. It takes in eight tracks in all-  with these moving from the tight afro-funk groove meets school-like chanting horns, and layered African chanting of the title track. Onto detailed percussion, smoky jazz horn work, flighty/ mystical flutes of “Kotoku”. Through to bounding rock groove, Hammond organ jive, horn vamping, and layered chanting to holling vocals of “Bassa-Bassa”. Finishing off afro-beat meet salsa jazz-rock groove of “Fire”.  All in all a very listenable and genre-versatile album.

Finishing off the CD we have Osibirock which appeared in 1974.  It’s a ten-track affair, and as its title may suggest there are more rock elements- be they pop-rock, or afro-focused rock- although there are still elements of genre blending alive/ well. We move from swaying soft afro rock meets smooth jazz of “Why”. Onto “Kelele” which blends urgent/ detailed African percussion with amassed chanted vocals. Though bound organ grooved rock meets afro-chanted vocals of “African Jive”. Finishing off with funk, vamping horn work, and loosely bound afro rock groove of “Home Affairs”. This is another listenable/varied release- though you can certainly hear big studio fingers in some of the tracks, with attempts to pull out/ enhance the band's more commercial elements- though thankfully these aren’t too overbearing.

 All in all, this is a great two-album collection- which has made me keen to check out more of the band's work. If you enjoy genre mixed/ world music touched rock music- this is well worth a look.