Christgau Consumer Guide
KING SUNNY ADE AND HIS AFRICAN BEATS: “Ajoo” (Maskossa):: Since his import-if-you-can-find-it The Message is still my favorite Ade, not to mention my first, I thought it wise to check out the five LPs Ade released in Nigeria between Mango albums.
Christgau Consumer Guide
BY
ROBERT CHRISTGAU
KING SUNNY ADE AND HIS AFRICAN BEATS: “Ajoo” (Maskossa):: Since his import-if-you-can-find-it The Message is still my favorite Ade, not to mention my first, I thought it wise to check out the five LPs Ade released in Nigeria between Mango albums. They sounded pretty good, but since “universal language” is as parochial a concept as any other one-world idealism, I wasn’t too surprised to discover limits to my appetite for a conservative, consciously recycled music I half understand. Makossa, a Brooklyn label which has manufactured and distributed African records since 1967, has now released this Nigerian Ade in a cleaner, brighter pressing. I know several neo-connoisseurs who consider Ajoo his best since the first Nigerian Ade they heard, Check “E”; I’d say second-best since The Message (the first shipment of which arrived in the States warped) because I prefer Bobby, featuring an elegiacally lyrical side called “Late Olabinje Benson.” One indication of Ajoo’s quality is that Ade recut “Ewele” and “Tolongo” (as well as Maa Jo’s title tune) for Synchro System, but that’s not necessarily a consumer plus. “Gbeyogbeyo,” however, would make Vangelis turn green if he weren’t so badly discolored already. A-