Records

Rip It Up, Issue 69, 1 April 1983, Page 20

Records

Peter Thomson

King Sunny Ade Juju Music Island King Sunny Ade (pronounced 'Ah-day') comes from Nigeria, where there are dozens of tribes, with different languages, customs and music. His sound is a blend of these various tribal influences. Authentic African pop music and it's some good, too. The only Western strain is the use of modern electric instruments

ACROSS 15 British punks who I The ABC of romantic wound up with Last literature? (7,2.4) Will and Testament 8 Declared himself the 17 Where Citizen Band Jesus of Cool (4,4) were a little rusty. 9 Meemees' boys. 18 Flock of Budgies II Initials of now single. It'll never cell, deceased Kiwi who 19 Shy? Not enough played with Uriah by half, methmks. Heep (most uncool to 20 Iggy's TV organ know this one) (1.1) 21 Where life began for 12 Bob said to do the XTC

in conjunction with African drums and percussion. The term "Juju" was a derogatory expression invented by the colonialists to describe anything related to black culture. Sunny Ade's growing popularity in Western countries has rather reversed the joke. The music is deceptively gentle, until you wind up the volume and start to appreciate its polyrhythmic complexities. The band numbers 20 or more it includes seven or eight percussionists and up to five guitarists. Unity is the key word, with solos brief and to the point. The guitars harmonise, each instrument playing its own subtle melody, meshing into a total entity which reveals new

22 These dangerous loonies took Joey Ramone's baby away. (1.1.1) 23 Casbah. (4.3) 27 Card with amazing rhythm. 28 Part of an emergency or of a British punk band. 30 Pointy ones! (or burning ones, Mike?)

aspects with each listening. The percussion works in a similar fashion and the African 'talking

32 British band who . weren't big kids, but colossal youth (1,1,1) 34 This will bring M to the centre of the highway. (U) 35 Kid Creole music. 37 Arry reckons they're the Meemees with a synth. 38 Czukay's tinny Germans 39 Takes off his clothes at a Birthday Party? (4 3 8) DOWN . 1 Alabama was sweet home to these southerners. (6,7) 2 Partridge's quartet 4 Fresh start for Albrecht and co (3,5) 5 Vice Squad postholocaust song. (4.7) 6 The original Celtic soul brother 7 “Got a good reason For taking the easy way out", sixties hit. (3,7) 10 Angel Neeson 13 ... Cat Dubh . single. 14 & 21 What the name of this band is. (7,5) 24 Motorhead direction, relative to the top. 26 ... A Boy, Daltrey sang 31 Beach Boys' surfin' expedition. 33 No 1 for Spandaus. 34 Take away the start of a Clean record and you have one of many. 36 The label that gave James Taylor his start. ANSWERS ON PAGE 26

drums' make a statement all their own. • The lyrics (explanation is necessary) are basically about the quality of life. Sunny Ade describes himself. as an apolitical Christian. The sound of the singing is what matters, being more a series of chants which expand on themselves, while always retaining a trace of the original theme. For parallels, try the call-and-response singing of black American soul, funk and gospel songs. Anyone with more than a passing interest in black music of any form should have a listen to King Sunny Ade. Here lie the roots. Duncan Campbell Pete Townshend Scoop At co From early 60s Who through to 80s solo work, this double album scoops up 25 of Townshend's enormous . horde of'demos, doodles and the occasional outtake. Of course for the obsessive fan such a collection is essential a chance to hear Pete's early tentative experiments with recording feedback on 'Circles', the inclusion of a couple more items from the long lost Lifehouse project, etcetera, etcetera. The more cautious of us may read Townshend's comment about using his recording studio for therapy 'even a kind of prayer' and tiptoe away, ruefully recalling all those soul-baring interviews of his over the past few years. Happily however, his propensity for the pompous rarely obtrudes. Naturally there is considerable sense of a craftsman in his workshop, but there's also far more feeling of a man and his hobby than of an artiste wrestling in. creation. Even Townshend's

detailed notes (on the inner sleeve) are engagingly light-hearted. -As expected, the tracks themselves vary markedly in quality: writing, performance and recording. A few are mere one-or-two-listen throwaways while others make ' worthy additions to his exceptional catalogue. Favourites will differ but, as one who's long' considered Roger Daltrey a hindrance to Townshend's material, I am delighted to hear such Who classics as Behind Blue Eyes' receive a more sensitive reading, albeit only in sketch form. To a large extent any collection of unfinished pieces pre-empts criticism by its very nature. Suffice to say that, for much of its four sides Scoop provides an enjoyable view into one of the most enduring talents in rock.