Blo - Chapter One
Blo (aka BLO) were an early 70's African band that fused the Afrobeat rhythms of their native Nigeria with the mind-expanding psychedelia and funk of late 60's rock from the Western world. The three members, Berkely Jones, Laolu Akintobi and Mike Odumosu created the name BLO from B for Berkely, L for Laolu and O for Odumosu. Their debut record, Chapter One, is considered by many to be one of the most sought after albums from Africa. While it isn't nearly as funky as their following albums, it still stands as one of the best psych-funk albums to ever come out of Africa.
Chapter One walks the line between rock, funk and psychedelia. Perhaps the most obvious reward in listening to this album is the great guitar work featured prominently throughout the length of the album. At times it is straight forward and driving, yet most of the time it has an "out of this world" psychedelic sound to it. On the instrumental track, "Miss Sagitt", it even sounds Arabic towards the latter half of the track. The bass and drums are fantastic also, but most of the “African beat" was reduced to traces because they were in fact completely absorbed into the heavy rock drive. As for the vocals, they are sparse throughout, and the majority of these tracks would be instrumentals were it not for the occasional vocal outburst. The group would change direction after this album after being pressured by their label to make a more funk dominated record.
Year of Release: 1972
Label: EMI
Genre: Afrobeat, Funk, Psychedelic
Bitrate: 192kbps
Track List:
1. Preacher Man
2. Time to Face the Sun
3. Beware
4. We Gonna Have a Party
5. Don't
6. Chant to Mother Earth
7. We are out Together
8. Miss Sagitt (Instrumental)
http://digitalmeltd0wn.blogspot.com/2008/11/blo-chapter-one.html
