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Blo - Chapters and Phases: The Complete Albums 1973-1975
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Artist...............: Blo
Album................: Chapters and Phases: The Complete Albums 1973-1975
Genre................: Afro-Beat/Psychedelic
Source...............: CD
Originally Released..: 1973 & 1975
CD Release Date......: 2009
Label................: RPM Retrodisc
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Tracklisting
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1. (00:04:45) Blo - Preacherman
2. (00:04:05) Blo - Time To Face The Sun
3. (00:04:10) Blo - Beware
4. (00:03:26) Blo - We Gonna Have A Party
5. (00:06:17) Blo - Don't
6. (00:02:02) Blo - Chant To Mother Earth
7. (00:02:48) Blo - We Are Out Together
8. (00:04:49) Blo - Miss Sagitt
9. (00:05:27) Blo - BLO
10. (00:04:17) Blo - It's Gonna Be A Good Day
11. (00:05:18) Blo - Native Doctor
12. (00:03:43) Blo - Do It You'll Like It
13. (00:04:31) Blo - Don't Take Her Away From Me
14. (00:05:17) Blo - Whole Lot Of Shit
15. (00:03:04) Blo - Atide
Playing Time.........: 01:03:58
Record Collector:
“Afro-delia”? Yes please.
There’s a charming contemporary newspaper clipping reproduced in the sleevenotes of Chapters & Phases which bears the heading: “Blo: A Date To Blow Your Mind Off”. Whatever disquieting mental image this conjures forth, rest assured that this compilation amply answers your prayers if you’ve been craving a band capable of combining the sticky, lopsided funk of The Meters with the loose cannon edginess of Malcolm Mooney-era Can.
Ostensibly inspired by their tenure in Salt with Ginger Baker, guitarist Berkely Jones and drummer Laolu Akintobi recruited bassist Mike Odumosu and set about casually turning Nigeria on its ear. The Lagos-based Blo made their live debut on 23 December 1972, supporting Osibisa at Lagos City Stadium and, by all accounts, blowing the headliners clean through the back wall with their ballsy, wayward “Afro-delia”.
A debt to Cream is indeed detectable in Odumosu’s bubbling, rude, upfront bass and the wah-wah extrapolations of Jones, but the overall tone of expansive joy is the polar opposite of Cream’s combative, murderous intensity. If anything, We Are Out Together, It’s Gonna Be A Good Day and Do It You’ll Like It are closer in spirit to the communal craziness of Sly & The Family Stone and Parliament. - Marco Rossi
Soundscapes Music:
A few years back, you would be forgiven for believing that BLO’s only song worth hearing was “Chant to Mother Earth”, a psychedelic dirge-waltz that, for a while, seemed to be comped every few months. Nothing else was available aside from expensive imports that I avoided because, once again, I thought they were only worth the one song. Far from it. These guys, who once toured with Ginger Baker, synthesized jammy fuzz-rock with their Nigerian roots in a way that few African bands did as well. In this context, it makes sense that Rev-Ola, purveyors of obscure pop and psych from the '60s, would put this out instead of the usual suspects from the super-hot Afro reissue scene. It’s been a long time coming, so get this one while it lasts.
Dusty Groove America:
One of the hippest groups of the Nigerian scene of the 70s – presented here in two classic albums, back to back on a single CD! Chapter One is a landmark set of African grooves – very unusual in both conception and execution – with a feel that's unlike anything we can think of! There's definitely a rock influence in the set, but the music isn't rock at all – it's a very dark, almost dubby groove at points – and a bit more straightforwardly funk at others – almost a post-colonial style that clearly comes from a London influence, given to the group by a previous association with Ginger Baker. Rhythms are quite tight, and the bass is as strong as the drums – mixed up nicely with riffing guitar, and moody vocals that color the whole thing nicely. Titles include "Preacherman", "Time To Face The Sun", "We Are Out Together", "Chant To Mother Earth", "Miss Sagitt", "Beware", and "We Gonna Have A Party". Phase II is a critical next step for the group – music that's even deeper than before, but a bit funkier too! There's clearly some touches here of other African funk of the time – especially in the way the guitar parts groove with the rhythms – although those heavy Blo basslines from before are still nicely in place, as are some of the fuzzier production elements too. Titles include "Whole Lot Of Sh*t", "Atide", "Blo", "It's Gonna Be A Good Day", "Native Doctor", and "Don't Take Her Away From Me".
Biography
All Music Guide:
Blo fused the Afrobeat rhythms of their native Nigeria with the mind-expanding psychedelia and funk of late-'60s Western rock to forge a wholly original sound embracing the full spectrum of black music. The roots of the group lay in the Clusters, already one of the most popular Nigerian highlife acts of the mid-'60s even prior to a stint as the support band for the Sierra Leonean pop superstar Geraldo Pino, once dubbed "the West African James Brown." In 1970, guitarist Berkely "Ike" Jones, bassist Mike "Gbenga" Odumosu, and drummer Laolu "Akins" Akintobi left the Clusters to join Afrocollection with twin sisters Kehinde and Taiwo Lijadu (featured a decade later on the British television show The Tube), moving away from their highlife roots to explore a more pronounced Afro-Rock approach. While performing at the Lagos club Batakuto, Afrocollection jammed with Ginger Baker, the renowned drummer from the British blues-rock supergroup Cream; in late 1971, the members of Afrocollection joined Baker in forming the jazz-rock ensemble Salt, making their live debut the following year alongside the legendary Fela Kuti.
Despite a series of well-received live appearances throughout Western Europe and North America, the Salt project proved short-lived, and in late 1972, Jones, Odumosu, and Akintobi formed Blo, touring relentlessly in the months to come, prior to recording their EMI Nigeria label debut Blo: Chapter One. Drawing equally on the pioneering Afrobeat of Fela and Tony Allen as well as the American psych-rock of bands like the Grateful Dead and the Byrds, the record failed to live up to EMI's commercial expectations, and after signing to Afrodisia, Blo resurfaced in 1975 with Phase 2, pushing further into funk and R&B territory. Grand Funk Railroad and the Isley Brothers were the primary influences on the trio's third LP, Phase 3, but as lackluster sales continued to dog the group, Blo faced greater corporate pressure to reflect contemporary musical trends -- specifically, disco, a shift culminating with 1980's Bulky Backside, recorded in London. Blo dissolved following the 1982 release of Back in Time; the retrospective Phases 1972-1982 appeared on the Afro Strut label in 2001. - Jason Ankeny
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