Amazones power
Les Amazones d'Afrique
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Reviews (3)
Afropop worldwide
d. 1. Nov. 2019
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Banning Eyre
d. 1. Nov. 2019
"This is Ambolley's 12th album since he shook up the scene in 1973 with "Simigwa", which introduced his signature vocable, spoken-word style ... "11th Street, Sekondi" is a follow-up to his fine 2017 release Ketan, and in this reviewer's opinion, it's even better. Start with a crack band, rich with guitars, brass, keyboards and percussion, and a super clean mix completely devoid of jazzy blandness or pop cliché-occasional flaws in some earlier work. Then wrap all that around a set of wonderful songs full of stinging critique, sage wisdom, and playful humor. Ambolley conjures a powerful brew of highlife, Afrobeat, jazz and funk, harder edged than Pat Thomas's highlife, but still-amazingly-lighter than air ... "Black Woman" kicks things off with a classic dual-guitar Afrobeat riff, setting up Ambolley's unmistakable, smoky bass whisper. His vocal is round and easy, half-sung, half-spoken, supremely relaxed. He tosses in a playful sax solo, offsetting the tart brass section arranging heard throughout these nine tracks".
Songlines
2020 March
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Martin Sinnock
2020 March
"Top of the world" - "It is refreshing to know that the career of highlife singer and multiinstrumentalist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley appears to be on a roll. Reissues of his old albums, an ongoing live tour and new recordings are keeping the veteran (born in 1947) in the public eye. "11th Street, Sekondi" refers to the area in the city of Sekondi-Takoradi in west Ghana where he grew up and is an album of all new material ... This is a beautifully relaxed album that gently swings between highlife and Afrobeat. Ambolley is vocally masterful, leading a super-tight band ... Ambolley's version of Afrobeat is lyrically pithy but more humorous and good-natured than Kuti's ... Brilliant musicianship, superb songs and great female backing vocals".
Mojo
2019 December
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David Katz
2019 December
"Sparkling new album from a highlife great ... Ambolley played in some of Ghana's premier highlife groups during the 1960s, being mentored by Sammy Lartey in the Railway Band, along with Ebo Taylor ... Debut solo album, "Simigwa Do"", introduced raw funk, rap and disco elements to the Ghanaian musik scene, cementing Ambolley's status as a pioneer ... Maintaining a fairly steady recording schedule in later decades, this new LP finds the septuagenarian in fine form, as assured, original and relevant as ever. Songs like "Brokos" rebuff maltreatmeant to a relaxed highlife groove, while "Ignorance" is a hot Afrobeat decrying foreign views of Africa. The backing remains stellar throughout and Ambolley totally resplendent".