In the wake of the massive early-'70s
success of Santana, a flurry of groups that combined rock with
traditional percussion were signed to major labels. Osibisa, though a
completely different animal than Carlos Santana and crew, were one of
these groups. On Happy Children, the band's fourth album and one of
their best, Osibisa emerge as a true world fusion group, merging a
myriad of styles to an extent unmatched by almost any other unit of the
period. The band usually shies away from anything like traditional pop
structures, favoring long jams played on top of a repetitive bass vamp
in the tradition of live Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis's Bitches Brew
period. Unlike these two artists, however, Osibisa usually emphasizes
group dynamic shifts and Blood Sweat and Tears/Tower of Power-style
written-out horn lines over individual solos. As they were an African
group recording in London, the band's basic rhythms also differ
significantly from those of its contemporaries. They play a style of
music that has its roots in authentic tribal drumming and chants.
Consequently, there are similarities to New Orleans second line,
Southern and West Coast/Sly Stone funk, Jamaican reggae, and Afro-cuban
jazz, but in a raw, driving manner that seems to pre-date all of these
styles. At the same time, on several tunes, Osibisa brings a Duke
Ellington-like harmonic sense that belies the members' musical
sophistication. Though they don't generally approach anything resembling
a pop tune here (which might make the album a hard listen for the
casual funk fan), Happy Children is a fascinating glimpse at a band
successfully fusing a celebratory, pre-rock energy with ancient rhythms
and modern jazz harmony.
1 σχόλιο:
Thanks for this nostalgic album. I have many pleasant memories attached to this album, it being the one og the 5 favourites that I had.
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