THE BETA YAMA GROUP - Free Love - LP

* Afro-funk, reggae, and disco meet flower power themes
* For fans of Akwassa, Mixed Grill, Mighty Flames, Herbie Hancock, George Clinton, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley
* Filled to the last groove with catchy tunes that feature awesome harmonies
* An original affair for fans of groovy black music
* Excellent sound and performance by high-class professional musicians
* First ever rerelease on vinyl and CD
* Fully licensed
* Remastered audio
* LP housed in a superheavy 430g art carton cover
* Ultimate collector's item for fans of classic afro-funk

It's hard to get a handle on Nigerian musicians Nash Dodoo, Charlie Cuul and Jonas Caulley. In 1980 they released an album of face-melting gospel boogie as the BML chapels. And in the same year, calling themselves the Beta Yama Group, they put out Free Love, a belated love letter to San Francisco's Summer of Love and an album altogether focused on more worldly concerns. Free Love is a small slice of Haight-Ashbury transported to the Polygram Studios in Lagos. 'Te Revoir' is Mamas and Papas jamming with Sergeant Pepper's Beatles. 'Free Love' offers a respectful nod towards Je T'aime-era Serge Gainsbourg. Sure, 'Revolution' gets hard and funky and 'Rain' flirts briefly with a calypso reggae sound, but the majority of the album is cheesecloth and flowers in your hair. Insanely rare – and worth buying for the freaky cover art alone – Free Love is a funky, reverb-heavy call for love, peace, and sweet, sweet loving. What more could you want from an album? - Peter Moore