Live Live Juju

When Island Records went looking for a Bob Marley replacement following Marley's death in the early 1980s, someone at the label noticed the growing popularity of Nigeria's juju music and tapped King Sunny Ade (who was at the time in a running battle with Ebenezer Obey for juju primacy) as the Next Big Thing. Several fine albums resulted from that marriage, but juju turned out not to have reggae's global appeal, and King Sunny Ade was dropped from Island within a few years. Thus, this very nice live album is on the Rykodisc label, and it makes a fine complement to the more commercial studio albums from the mid-1980s. Juju music is based on the interplay of multiple guitars and talking drums and features cascading melodies and rippling rhythms that will be familiar to fans of Ghanaian highlife or South African township jive. The live setting of this album allows Ade and his band to stretch out rapturously in a way not possible when making a ten-track album for first-world consumption, and the result is entirely winning. Some listeners may lose patience with the long intros and drum showcases, but those who persevere will be well rewarded. Highlights include the lush and gorgeous "Kira Kira" and the guitar-driven "Ase." ~ Rick Anderson