Ifetayo (Love Excells All)

With all the reissued Afrobeat albums surfacing in the 21st century, this one stands out in song quality, musicianship, production, and originality. Fusing Caribbean funk with an awesome blend of traditional Trinidadian soul, jazz, reggae, and steel drum band music, Black Truth Rhythm Band recorded Ifetayo in 1976 before disbanding. Frontman Oluko Imo would later sing for Fela Kuti’s Egypt 80 band, and the heavily Afrocentric “Save D Musician” plays like it could have been his audition into Kuti’s world (save for some steel drums, which were at the time an anomaly of an instrument for this genre). The instantly groovy title track leads off with a mantra of wah-wah guitar, flute, keyboards, group vocals, and a rhythm section boasting a commanding strut—dig the squiggly-sounding analog keyboard solos. The moody follower “You People” boasts amazingly off-kilter guitar solos that play with a reckless abandon before pulling it all back together just in time for the next verse. The band’s uncanny chemistry hits its peak in the adventurous “Kilimanjaro,” a sweltering standout of feverish grooves.