Osibisa - 2020 - Sunshine Day: The Boyhood Sessions (50th Anniversary Edition)

(55:55; Red Steel Music)






















When the production team were working on what was going to be the Oscar-winning Richard Linklater film “Boyhood”, they looked for the right music to fit the mood, during which time they came across Osibisa. Included in the movie soundtrack, their most famous song, “Sunshine Day”, is now joined by rare recordings, remixes and live tracks some of which have never been released before and all drawn from Osibisa’s deep well of Afro-Rock recordings. It was strange for me to appoach this album as I haven’t heard Osibisa for more than 20 years, back when I reviewed the early albums when they were reissued in the 90’s. Back then that was also with Red Steel Music, a label I thought had long ago disappeared, so it is great to see it is still going in one form or another.

I remember Osibisa from the Seventies when they appeared on Top of the Pops, dressed in bright African colours and looking and sounding like no-one else. To me they epitomised happiness and summer, and listening to this now that all comes flooding back, but I must admit to being somewhat confused as to who this album is aimed at. Of the 11 songs, three of them are different versions of “Sunshine Day”, and the question must be asked, “why?”. Their first 7 albums between 1971 and 1975 all had chart success, so why is there not more songs from those? Just one song, “Abele”, is marked as a new studio number, yet I feel this is an opportunity missed as it does not work as a proper compilation (of which there are already many in existence) to tie in with the film (which came out in 2015 remember), and neither does it really work as a collection of rare material. I found it quite frustrating as I did not want to hear “Summer’s Day” so many times, and I would have been much happier with a live set as “Wowaya” and “Superfly Man” are wonderful in that environment. Osibisa were a groundbreaking group in so many ways, and are probably overlooked by many in the 21st century, but their impact on world music was immense, yet I would probably point to one of the very many compilations already available intead of this one unless you are a dedicated fan.

Kev Rowland, October 2022

Links:
http://www.osibisa.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/people/Red-Steel-Music/100063893479263/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jay Graboski - 2023 - Authentic Fake

Image
(77:11; Oho Music) Track list: 1. In Dotage 3:55 2. Season of Extremes 3:54 3. 28721 3:38 4. Dot on Your Door 4:55 5. Die Before You Die 4:00 6. Hidden Agenda 4:43 7. Out on a Limb 3:58 8. Mired in Malaise? 3:00 9. Cosmos of the Soul 3:51 10. The Hours 5:32 11. Frog Legs 2:41 12. Metaphors 3:28 13. The Witness Watchers 3:41 14. Authentic Fake 3:05 15. Your Luck is Awake 4:43 16. The Crown 3:51 17. The Doomed Princess 4:01 18. St. Judas 4:12 19. Where Words Do Not Reach 3:28 20. Well, I'll Be 2:35 Line-up: Jay Graboski - vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, glockenspiel with: Dale German - guitars Ray Jozwiak - accordion, keyboards, bass, Moog Dave Kelly - guitars, programming, keyboards, percussion Julie Keough - backing vocals Harry Maben - drums Patrick McAvinue - fiddle Gene Meros - saxophones Bill Phelan - backing vocals, guitars, mandolin, recorder Bill Pratt - keyboards, backing vocals, horn arrangements David Reeve - drums, percussion, keyboards Gyro J. Scope - sequencing Prol
Read more

Just Jay (& his Sonic Sphere of Acquaintance) - 2019 - Steps 1971-2019

Image
(78:42; Oho Music) Track list: 1. Bleeding the 5th 3:57 2. Porcupine Time 3:32 3. Primal Scream 6:18 4. Penultimatum 4:02 5. The Song 2:08 6. Slag 6:08 7. As Good As It Gets 3:47 8. Long to Be Latin 5:05 9. Scared Money (Don’t Win) 2:41 10. Diane 3:57 11. Is That What You Said? 4:12 12. Masculine Intuition 1:59 13. Another Crack in the Jaw 2:43 14. I Won’t Run Away 3:35 15. Palisades Park 1:52 16. You Should Envy Me 2:41 17. Maiden Voyage 4:13 18. Per Ipsum 2:19 19. The Plague 3:59 20. We Never Wanted This 2:53 21. Laotian Craters 4:07 22. Quae Cum Ita Sint 2:34 Line-up: Jay Graboski - vocals, guitars, bass with: Birnie - vocals Tracey Tiernan Brown - backing vocals Kelly Grochmal Butcher - vocals Steve Carr - bass Johnny Cochran - bass, keyboards Bob Cushner - backing vocals Tony Drummond - vocals Julius Fischer - piano Bob Funk - bass P. Daly German - guitars Jeff Graboski - drums Matt Graboski - vocals, guitars Chuck Gross - bass, backing vocals Gyro J. Scope - vocals, bass Grace He
Read more

Thirteen of Everything - 2023 - Time and Other Delusions

Image
(68:22; Basement Avatar Records) Track list: 1. Timeline 8:57 2. Alternate Life 12:02 3. Where the Time Goes 5:32 4. The Penultimate Flight of Armando the Pigeon 7:11 5. The King of Istanbul 10:35 6. Warmth and Darkness 7:32 7. Count All the Days 16.33 Line-up: Brett Cosby - guitars Mick Peters - Chapman stick, bass, pedals, vocals Ted Thomas - drums, percussion, vocals Bob Villwock - keyboards with: Thad Miller - keyboards Prolusion. US band Thirteen of Everything has been a going concern for a bit over 20 years, releasing their initial demo back in 2002 with official albums following in 2005 and 2019 respectively. Following what has been a brief pause between albums for this band they are now preparing to launch their third studio album "Time and Other Delusions", which will be released on US label Basement Avatar Records. Analysis. In terms of the different variations one can find in the progressive rock universe, Thirteen of Everything resides safely inside the symphonic
Read more