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Genre:
World
Release Date: 11/21/1995
Osibisa's eighth album in only five years, 1976's
Ojah Awake was the Ghanaian Afro-poppers' commercial high point in their adopted home of Great Britain. Though the band had a strong cult following throughout their career, this big-selling album spawned two big hits: the Brazilian-flavored
"The Coffee Song" (a '40s
novelty song that had previously been recorded by
the Andrews Sisters,
Rosemary Clooney, and, improbably,
Frank Sinatra) and the
disco-tinged groover
"Dance the Body Music." As might be imagined, then, this is
Osibisa's most slickly commercial record, with
Gerry Bron's glossy production smoothing out the
free jazz influences that had peeked around the corners of earlier
Osibisa gems like
Woyaya. (It's telling that as "purer" West African highlife artists like
King Sunny Ade started showing up on U.K./U.S. cultural radar,
Osibisa's critical reputation plummeted.) That said, in no way does
Ojah Awake feel like a sellout move;
Teddy Osei and company keep the
rock and
funk influences as a flavoring, not a main dish, and the exciting, potent highlife of the title track or
"The Warrior" is among the group's best work. This is an excellent album for newcomers to
Afro-pop, though those already familiar with more challenging artists like
Thomas Mapfumo or
Fela Kuti might find it a little bland. The
AIM CD adds two contemporary single tracks,
"Living" and
"That's Life," and an alternate take of
"The Coffee Song." ~Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
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