Roy Ayers ”Africa, Center Of The World”

Roy Ayers

”Africa, Center Of The World”
( LP Polydor Records, 1981 )
Catalog # PD-1-6327

Tracklisting:
A1 Africa, Center Of The World (5:26)
A2 Intro / The River Niger (5:23)
A3 I’ll Just Keep Trying (6:02)
A4 Destination Motherland (4:53)
B1 The Third Eye (4:49)
B2 Intro / Land Of Fruit And Honey (5:24)
B3 Intro / Mo Nise Si E (I Love You) (7:07)
B4 There’s A Master Plan (3:45)

Credits:
Producer, Arranged By – James Bedford , Roy Ayers , William Allen

Notes:
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1981

Review:
A great album that Roy Ayers cut after his co-led record with Fela Kuti — and one with the same sort of hard-driving Afro-Funk grooves that you’d find in Fela’s classic recordings! The songs are shorter than Fela’s, and with more of Roy’s usual smooth jazzy production style — but the overall influence is very much in the Afro-Funk vein, and the album’s sort of a “part 2″ to the Music Of Many Colors set that was cut a few years before. William Allen worked on the record with Roy — playing choppy Afro-Funk bass, and arranging and producing a lot of the material with Roy and Jaymz Bedford — and the record also features a host of extra percussion players, as well as some vocals by the lovely Sylvia Striplin. Includes the great groover “Africa, Center Of The World”, plus “The River Niger”, and a great remake of “Third Eye”, which was on Everybody Loves The Sunshine, but is redone here with a heavier sound!
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By Pier