The Album Club: "Try and Love" by Ofege
 

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Next one up, guys. Discuss review and rate here.

Ofege- Try and Love (1973)

Best Tracks: Ofege, Gbe Mi Lo, It’s Not Easy

Weakest Tracks: Lead Me On

Preliminary searches led me to believe that I would be listening to a Nigerian jazz band. Well, they were Nigerian but I think they were in more of a rock n roll vein. There was even something of a garage rock vibe. I especially liked the lead guitar on tracks like Nobody Fails and Gbe Mi Lo. There are also parts that remind me a lot of Santana. I have to think Ofege was somewhat influenced by them. I especially liked the beginning of side two with It’s Not Easy and Ofege. It’s those two songs where I really feel the garage rock vibe. It’s Not Easy sounds like something you might have heard on album radio in the early seventies. It does tail off at the end with Lead Me On but even that isn’t a terrible track; it just isn’t as good as the other seven to me.

Anyhow, I really like this album. I even played it twice.

7/10 (The Word has spoken :D)


Hey, Occult, you're slipping. I was first this time:p:

I bet he blames those damn muslims. :D

I’m waiting for Monday to let the other one wrap up.

A Plus

This guy gets it.

Show us the spreadsheet again.

I know right.

This was a very interesting album considering the band members are Nigerian, and I am assuming it was recorded over there. I don't think I know of too many Psychedelic Rock outfits from that continent. Also, the release date (1973) made me think it was possibly recorded in the 60's, and only released at a later date. I have no idea on that, but the sounds certainly fit the previous decade more.

It isn't particularly polished, but it has great elements within it. The funky bits are nice and the instrumental sections come really close to being something fantastic. Not too sure about the vocals, but they weren't offputting. The slower bits towards the second half are a bit naff as well (It's Not Easy / Try And Love) but it ended quite well.

Overall it was an interesting listen and I will be returning to it and maybe their other material.

6/10

No
That was for round one. Quit livin' in the past.

Nigerian afro-funk is entirely new to me, and I dug what I heard from the first note onward.

The percussion and rhythm have a noticeably looser feel than the tight hot-on-the-one funk I’m used to from the Meters, the JBs, and others, but the coolly laid-back psychedelia works fantastically well on this record. It is chilled out and in no hurry, which is a quality I really enjoy in ambient dub music, so I was pleased to find it working so effectively here as well.

There’s a similarly loose and relaxed quality in both the vocals and in the production style. There’s no rock star pretension here, and it’s a credit to the band’s authenticity. This debut was released in 1973 and predates the loudness war by decades. That’s quite a relief because the casual nature of the vocalist and the natural-sounding production alike make the record measurably more accessible and "real" than something tainted by flashy showmanship or overproduction.

Try and Love is a wonderfully satisfying album for either active or passive listening. The uptempo and downtempo numbers flow fluidly into one another and it’s an impressively cohesive album. It’s a great weekend spin and bears an honesty that is sorely lacking in many contemporary recordings.

It’s records like these that really make The Album Club worthwhile for me. I wouldn't have likely stumbled upon this cut on my own. Cheers!

8/10