Pino, Geraldo
Boogie Fever
When Geraldo Pino rolled into town from Sierra Leone with his Heartbeats, Nigeria had never seen anything quite like them. Slick, tight and playing the latest James Brown-style funk on the very expensive equipment, they soon had the country in their thrall. "Made me fall right on my ass!", a chastened Fela Kuti remembered in 1982. Fans of Geraldo's disarmingly eloquent enunciation on early albums may be shocked by the gruff, rawer tones on 'Boogie Fever'. The album starts with a jaunty reggae track extolling the virtues of ganja and, later, 'Dance Fever' sounds like it was recorded down in Trenchtown after Geraldo had taken a toke or two of his own advice. Even the more traditional funk tracks like 'African Hustle' have a darker, more threatening vibe.