- Beware the catchphrase "disco." An A&R marketing term pure and simple, even those that created and celebrated the musical form shied away from calling it that; Mancuso deemed it "party music" (and for a man who never spun inside a glitzy discotheque, who could blame him?). Too often, the word has been abused on compilations of all sorts. What amateur discophile digger has never picked up a colorful Jamaican record sleeve with the word DISCO writ large across it beckoning nothing but promise only to find a normal reggae shuffle wiggling within its grooves? Comps like Soul Jazz's 2002 Hustle! Reggae Disco and the Miles Cleret-curated Nigeria Disco Funk Special (from 2008) revealed that the word "disco" has different connotations in Kingston and Lagos, their beats slinking but never quite synching with a classic disco beat from Philly or New York City.
So for as much as I appreciated the massive archeological digs that Frank "Voodoo Funk" Gossner embarks on (documented at mouthwatering length over at his Voodoo Funk blog), I was skeptical when I read about him compiling his own set of Nigerian-crafted disco odysseys. I was expecting "funk" and nothing more. But one look at an open-mouthed Nana Love on the cover of Lagos Disco Inferno as well as the odd cellophane sticker that advises listeners "to drop your pants before dancing to this non-stop afro disco" should excite and quell reservations in any doubters.
Gossner may not have dug up the Nigerian Tom Moulton or Chic, but the 12 tracks here find the bands well versed in the sounds emanating out from New York discotheques. As Lagos music journalist Dean Disi notes in the liners: "There was a diametric difference in the music of the discos and the music played by the groups. Disco music as played by the DJs was essentially western. The young Nigerian groups were hooked on it and tried to play it but with a distinctive African stamp of their own."
So titles like "Boogie Trip" and "Boogie Train" are to be expected. And there's a palpable delight in hearing how the flute-driven "Dancing Machine" by Tirogo winds up at song's end approximating KC and the Sunshine Band's "Shake Your Booty" or how BLO (who began the decade as a heavy psychedelic outfit) changed with the times, putting in a serviceable break on "Root." MFB might be one letter short of MFSB, but their easeful "Boredom Pain" pleases nevertheless. The tricky bassline and raspy vocals from Christy Essien on "Take Life Easy" falls into that early '70s nebulous category before distinctions like rock, funk, R&B and disco were codified. The real winner here comes from cover star Ms. Love, who puts in a scorching/ screeching 14 minute workout called "Hang On" that would wow adventurous DJs from any era with its non-stop drive. Which is to say, it's true "disco."
Tracklist A1 Doris Ebong - Boogie Trip
A2 Geraldo Pino - African Hustle
A3 Grotto - Bad City Girl
B1 Pogo Ltd. - Don't Put Me Down
B2 Asiko Rock Group - Everybody Get Down
B3 Paradise Stars - Boogie Train
C1 Emma Dorgu - Rover Man
C2 MFB - Boredom Pain
C3 Christy Essien - Take Life Easy
C4 Tirogo - Dancing Machine
D1 BLO – Root
D2 Nana Love - Hang On