TIDAL WAVES MUSIC
Ofege were always dance floor friendly in their native Nigeria, where, aged 16, they launched with vibrant, psychedelic Afro-beat. On their final album, released in 1978, they looked to overseas discos, remaining indebted to their influences: Bomp Your Booty’s lyrical rewiring couldn’t mask its refrain’s similarity to Kool & The Gang’s Jungle Boogie - though its guitar solo might suit Bowie’s more upbeat Berlin outings - and Check It Out’s potent percussion drives a familiar call-and-response routine. Midway, however, the title track’s lilting reggae signals a change of pace, while Frustration’s shuffling beat closes their career as they began. They’re always convincing: Burning Jungle’s energetic stomp, a wild bass riff underpinning its wrist-straining guitar riff, is as effective as Nature Queen’s sweet soul, a reminder of their teenage origins.