King Sunny Adé And His African Beats - Juju Music (1982)

After nearly 15 years as Nigeria's biggest musical draw and juju music's reigning monarch, King Sunny Ade went global in 1982 with a brief but fertile stint on the Mango label. The three albums that resulted -- Juju Music, Synchro System, and Aura -- gave Ade unprecedented exposure on the Western market and introduced a slew of music lovers to the sounds of Afro-pop. Juju Music was the first of Ade's Mango titles and remains the best of the lot.

Over the course of seven extended cuts, King Sunny Ade & His African Beats lay down their trademark mix of talking drum-driven grooves, multi-guitar weaves, lilting vocal harmonies, and pedal steel accents; for this major-label debut, the band also chucks in some tasteful synthesizer bits and a few reggae-dub flourishes. Besides classic juju pop like "Ja Funmi" and "Ma Jaiye Oni," Ade and his 20-piece entourage serve up percussion breakdowns like "Sunny Ti de Ariya" and a heady blend of soul, dub, and synth noodlings on "365 Is My Number/The Message." Throughout, Ade deftly inserts Hawaiian slide guitar licks and Spanish-tinged lines reminiscent of Hendrix' "All Along the Watchtower." Juju Music should not only be the first-disc choice for Ade newcomers, but for the Afro-pop curious as well.

Linn LP12 with Lingo power supply
Ittok LV II arm
Ortofon MC 20 Super II Cartridge
Accuphase C11 Phono-pre
Pro-Line Silver interlink
Tascam US 144 ADC - Audioquest Coffee USB Cable
Wavelab 6 and CD Wave 1.95.2

Tweaks:
Noise Eater
Masterbase (under the feet of the turntable)
Boston Audio Mat 1 (*upgrade)

Bass – Jelili Lawal
Bongos – Adeyemi Adisa
Congas – Shina Abiodun
Drums – Mofes Acambi
Guitar – Bob Ohiri, Segun Ilori
Guitar [Lead], Vocals, Keyboards, Mixed By – King Sunny Ade
Keyboards – Martin Meissonnier
Maracas – Michael Babalola
Mixed By – Godwin Logie
Producer – Martin Meissonnier
Rhythm Guitar – John Okeumeu
Shekere – Gani Alashe
Steel Guitar – Demola Adepoju
Talking Drum [2nd] – Rasaki Alakodun*
Talking Drum [3rd] – Jimoh Gbadamosi
Talking Drum [Lead] – Alhaji Timmy Olaitan
Vocals – Femi Owomoyela, Jacob Ajakaye, Mettew Olojede, Niyi Falaye, Segun Shokumbi, Tunde Demiola