Lagos All Routes

This 2005 compilation on the Honest Jon’s label, one of a pair, gathers a wide variety of tracks from all over Nigeria, from the ’60s to the ’80s, showing the unbelievable richness of the country’s musical environment. The opening 11-minute medley, “Eyi Yato/Elere Ni Wa,” by juju music titan Ebenezer Obey, sets the traditional talking drum and twanging guitars to an Afro-disco beat reminiscent of Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady.” Virtuoso guitarist Sir Victor Uwaifo sings the plaintive “Joromi”; Ambali Adedeji’s “Ole Obinrin” is apala, a traditional Yoruba form of dance music consisting of layered percussion and call-and-response vocals; Dr. Victor Olaiya’s “Midnight Highlife” is a gentle and jazzy track with some really sweet trumpet.

Ebenezer Obey is one of jùjú’s undiscussed kings, but when “Eyi Yato” kicks off it’s immediately obvious that this is something different — which is, in fact, what the title means in Yoruba. The afro-disco rhythm might throw you off, but the jùjú’ trademarks — the talking drums, Hawaiian guitar, percussive breakdowns, and Obey’s honeyed vocals — are all there. The first track of the compilation is actually a medley of two Obey songs, and when it switches to “Eleri Ni Wa” about halfway through the steel guitar workouts get even more daring and the rhythms more intense. “Sowambe”, by Sagbeni Aragbada, is a more traditional jùjú workout, referencing the sowambe rhythm and dance devised by pioneer Tunde Nightingale. A great overview of Nigeria’s different folk styles, highlighting how they influenced each other and incorporated funk, psych-rock, and other contemporary sounds.