RSSI.K. Dairo M.B.E. and His Blue Spots
- I Remember [Music of the World, 1991] A-
- Ashiko [Xenophile, 1994]
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I Remember [Music of the World, 1991]
Two Nigerian album sides and four new six-minute moments by the 60-year-old singer-guitarist-accordionist, who in the 60s ruled Yoruba pop with innovations that made King Sunny and the rest of the modern juju possible--whereupon modern juju nearly ended his career. Then, in 1985, after a decade of mixed success as a hotelier and Christian preacher, Dairo returned. Inspired or chastened, he's learned to adapt, and though his arrangements aren't quite as intricate as the younger guys', some may prefer his old-fashioned songfulness. The two English-language market ploys remember his darling and "George Washington, Marcus Garvey/Booker Washington, Abraham Lincoln/John Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King." The Yoruba titles get the best tunes. And the album side "F'eso J'aiye" is modern juju at its most intricately delightful. A-
Ashiko [Xenophile, 1994]