ROB was an enigmatic recording artist from Ghana who cut two albums for the legendary Essiebons label in 1977. Neither of these were big domestic hits at the time and have since become prized amongst collectors in recent years. The title track from this LP was always one of the most popular on the first Soundway release Ghana Soundz and over the years we have been asked many times to re-issue the LP in it’s entirety. A stranger, slower offering than his more dancefloor funk-laden and Spartan first LP, this record sees ROB in similar territory but with the tempo switched down and the introspection turned up.
ROB’s trademark horns dominate and are supplied by the Mag-2, an army band founded by leader Amponsah Rockson, who named it after the army unit the band played for the “magnificent” second battalion. In 1977, Rob traveled to the coastal town of Takoradi in search of Mag-2, which had an entire section of its line-up dedicated to horns, with the intension of laying out his proposal to them. Luckily for Rob, the band took him up on it.
With religious overtones and a broody, slightly off-key atmosphere at points it’s certainly one of the stranger afro-funk records to come out of West Africa but with tracks like Loose up Yourself and Make it Fast, Make it Slow he nails it for sure.
This is the 2019 repress. Unlike the 2012 and 2016 Soundway pressings, this version does not have three concentric rings around the spindlehole and also has new matrices details not on previous editions.
Tracklist:
1. Loose Up Yourself 03:26
2. Make It Fast, Make It Slow 05:28
3. Not The End 03:51
4. I've Got To See You Again 03:54
5. He Shall Live In You 05:28
6. But You 03:24
7. Bargain 05:19
8. Back On You 02:43
Format: 12-inch Vinyl LP
Label: Soundway Records
Catalog: SNDWLP040
Released: July 2019
Genre: African / Funk / Soul
