Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds, & Ghanaian Blues

As on his previous anthologies, Ghana Soundz and Nigeria Special, anthologist and Soundways label chief Miles Claret has assembled a complete picture of a short-lived era in West African music with Ghana Special. The set covers the years 1968-1981, which, despite the political unrest in Ghana, were a fertile time for pop music there; many influences, including highlife, Nigerian afrobeat, jazz, soul, funk, and other forms of American and European rock can all be heard throughout. Claret spent years tracking down musicians in and around the cities of Takoradi, Accra, Cape Coast, Tema, and Kumasi in an effort to present previously uncollected material, and it's clear that Ghana Special, as with the previous volumes documenting the West African musical heritage, is a labor of love.