PAT THOMAS レコード& CD

Review: Last year, Strut released a surprise new album from Ghanaian highlife legend Pat Thomas. Here, they look to the legendary vocalist and musician's vast back catalogue, showcasing music he produced or featured on between 1964 - when he was a member of the Broadway Dance Band - and 1981. It's pretty much a whirlwind trip through Ghanaian dance music history, with Thomas as the central attraction. As well as killer solo material - see the glistening guitars, bold bass and fluid drums of the juju-influenced "Awurade Mpaebo", the Moog-laden Afrobeat strut of "Yamona", and the slow burning soul of "Can't You See" - and tracks laid down with his various backing bands, the collection also features two previously unreleased collaborations with guitarist Ebo Taylor.

Review: He may now be 72, but legendary highlife vocalist Pat Thomas still has the desire to make new music. In fact his previous set, 2015's "Pat Thomas & The Kwashibuu Area Band" - a collaboration with producer Ben Abarbanel-Wolff, storied Ghanian highlife bandleader Kwame Yeboah and musicians including fellow West African heavyweights Tony Allen and Ebo Taylor - is arguably one of the strongest albums of his lengthy career. This belayed follow-up is equally as inspired, with the golden-voiced Ghanaian vocalist providing the attention-grabbing focal point throughout. Yet while Thomas's vocals are as sublime as ever, it's the quality and detail of the accompanying music - a mix of laid back and dancefloor-ready highlife in the style he made famous in the 1970s - that really stands out.

Review: Few Ghanaian musicians are quite as celebrated as Pat Thomas, who recorded and released his first album way back in 1974. Understandably, his releases have become less frequent with the passing of time, and Pat Thomas & The Kwashibu Area Band is his first studio album since 1991. The supporting cast list is, unsurprisingly, impressive, and includes Fela Kuti collaborator Tony Allen, and legendary highlife guitarist Ebo Taylor. Musically, there are few surprises, just a killer collection of bright, breezy, sweet and addictive highlife and Afrobeat jams, all blessed with Thomas' wonderful voice, Taylor's glistening guitars, and some seriously punchy horns. It's a real treat for fans of African music.