Amas - Grill (1981) [Reissue 2016]

Grill by Gbubemi Amas is as smooth as the red cardigan artfully slung around his shoulders on the cover. Whether he is running through the scales on a cover version of ‘Fire and Rain’, or trying on his calypso highlife moves on ‘Ereyon’, you know Amas is a man with a smooth line for every occasion. He is also a man with impeccable enunciation. Listen to ‘Slow Down’. It features one of the most cultured sound checks you will ever hear in your life – “Willy, keep the bass a little bit tighter”. That Amas is now a theatre producer and writer in Cardiff in Wales will come as no surprise. ‘Slow Down’ is a stone cold class, and an undoubted highlight, just as it was on the excellent Comb & Razor compilation, Brand New Wayo. ‘Children’ is a bright dancefloor filler. So is ‘For You’. And ‘Listen’ showcases Amas’s disco ball cassanova moves. Articulate, cultured and classy, Grill is proof that in 80s Nigeria was producing a class of boogie funk that was as sophisticated as anywhere in the world. - Peter Moore