1979 Berkely Ike Jones “Nation Building” on Skylarking Records

Well, Berkely Ike was a busy man in heavy demand for his slick guitar licks, dipping his toe into half the big name Nigerian acts of the 70’s, including BLO, Ofege, The Funkees, Don Bruce And The Angels, Mixed Grill (Tee Mac!), Ginger Baker’s Salt (with Joni Haastrup!), and the Clusters International GRAIL 7”, although this is his only release as leader. Which is a shame, because it kills. Berkely goes for a pure afrobeat sound wedded to disco-soul, with great vocal arrangements and plenty of funky wah-guitar to augment slashing backing horns. It’s a little goofy at times, but is so exuberant that it overcomes any drawbacks otherwise. This is a party record for sure, either in a sweaty apartment, a bar reeking of spilled Ogogoro, a late night Lagos club, or the backseat of a car parked in the bush. Hey, if you want politics, go talk to Fela. This is about keeping the good times rolling. He also produced yesterday‘s utterly killer Steve Black record! Oh yeah.