Ebo Taylor is a Ghanaian icon who embodied highlife (read more) and later represented afrobeat for the country.
As an arranger and a producer he put C.K Mann and Pat Thomas on the map but his self-titled debut may be one of the best and underated first records of all time. As a bandleader and musicians you can already tell Taylor had larger composition ambitions and if the A-Side of the record is all very solid, entertaining and proper music to dance to; the B-Side goes deep.
Ohye Atar Gyan is what highlife is all about. The multiple horns blend into the rythm section and give a dark pulsating presence to the impeccable melody. Then Heaven hits and its obviously an automatic hit record, but its much more complex than a simple dance-floor designed composition. For a debut album to have such focus and execution and to produce such hard hitting songs is truly a feat and Ebo is responsible for orchestrating the whole thing. The rest of his career was a series of very solid albums but for me nothing compares to the rawness of the first one… Except maybe Come Along with one of his many groups the Pelikans.
The album was reissued by the good people at Mr. Bongo records, get yours here!
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