TUNJI OYELANA A Nigerian Retrospective 1966-79 2CD

Soundway Records return to Nigeria once more with ‘Tunji Oyelana: A Nigerian Retrospective 1966 – 79’ – a lovingly compiled anthology of one of Nigeria’s most revered sons.

During the golden age of Nigerian music in the 1970s, as thousands of records were produced in a wide spectrum of styles and marketed to an immense audience of ardent consumers, very few people—including the producers of the music themselves—seriously entertained the possibility that any of these popular entertainments could be considered as “Art.”

Enter the multifaceted artist Tunji Oyelana. Equal parts singer-songwriter, actor, bandleader, dramatist, comedian and academic, Oyelana elevated the realm of pop music by infusing it with the poetic storytelling of Yoruba folklore. Backed by his crack backing group, The Benders (named for their ability to traverse–and blend a variety of styles) Oyelana blended the fashionable sounds of highlife, afrobeat, afrorock, funk, calypso, juju and reggae and transformed them into something timeless and utterly unique

 

CD #1
1-1 Ojo
1-2 Lisabi Egba
1-3 Ipasan
1-4 Osekere
1-5 Fiya Jemi
1-6 Ifa
1-7 Ogun Adubi
1-8 Agba Lo De (LP Version)
1-9 Iwo Ko Lo Dami
1-10 Omoba D'eru Ri
1-11 Jewele Jewele
1-12 To Whom It May Concern

CD #2
2-1 Oloti
2-2 E Gbe Mi
2-3 Panbolanbola
2-4 Lenle
2-5 Aduke
2-6 Aiye Nla
2-7 Koriko Nde
2-8 Irawo Mi
2-9 Omonike
2-10 Agba Lode (Original 45 Version)
2-11 Alaru T' Onje Buredi
2-12 Which Way Africa?