Singles As Bs & 12 Inches

Osibisa were brave pioneers – a band of Ghanian, Nigerian and Caribbean musicians who came together in London at the start of the 70s to create a unique fusion of high-life with soul and rock flavours. Back then there was no concept of world music and African music tended to be ignored or derided: Osibisa succeeded through their sheer talent and joy, taking highlife to European audiences with a dynamic, contemporary African sound. They even had a top 20 hit with ‘Sunshine Day’ in 1976. This epic set covers Osibisa's entire singles catalogue, with remixes and alternate takes included. Beautiful as much of Osibisa's music was to start with, the remastered sound here is superb and I’ve come across strong Osibisa tunes here that I was previously unaware of. There is enough here to satisfy even the most obsessive of fans. Indeed, the repetition – six versions of ‘Getting Hot’, four versions of ‘Feels Good’ – does tend to make things drag on the later CDs. Four CDs might be a touch too much; however, Osibisa remain a wonderful band and superb live performers.