GINGER BAKER SLAMMED HIS DRUMS LIKE A WILD ANIMAL WITH BRUTE AFRICAN FORCE

https://youtu.be/iYp0z8xJMKg?si=eJyKJbMqCApxPRAK

The album I am about to tell you about is not going to be to everyone's taste, it really is a minority appeal genre, but because it is one of the best of its unique kind, I thought it was time to let the cat out of the bag and give it a long overdue rap. 

We are talking about drum based instrumental music, the name of the artist is the one and only Ginger Baker and the name of the album is AFRICAN FORCE, a very
exotic affair indeed. 

Like you would expect with drummers releasing solo albums, AFRICAN FORCE is a little repetitive I guess but is still is a great introduction to the magical abilities of the one time drummer boy from Cream in the 60`s. 

Born on the 19th August, 1939, Ginger is
now plagued by less than good health due to a lifetime of excess and living life to the full. 

The amount of one off bands and jam sessions he has been involved with since the demise of Blind Faith in the early 70`s, a trio which included Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, is too many to outline on this particular blog.

But one of considerable interest at the time was an unlikely partnership with irish axeman Gary Moore in the early 90`s which yielded the short lived supergroup BBM, which was an acronym for the first initial of each members surname, which included his mate from Cream Jack Bruce. 

By all accounts an inspired attempt at power rock which never got off the ground so to speak. AFRICAN FORCE is just Ginger Baker doing what he does best, with some convoluted African rhythms to add some spice to the mix.

There is very little guitar on show with AFRICAN FORCE, it is characterised almost entirely by every percussion instrument
known to mankind across Africa, and then some. 

Unlike what you might expect, it does have a somewhat manufactured feel to it, I wouldn`t say it sounds like a typical world music album. Youssou N`dour it is not. 

Most casual music listeners would probably say it is a quintessential musicians musician album with not a lot of substance and lacking what most people crave from popular music, singing. 

There a few vocal splashes on AFRICAN FORCE, but no it isn`t an album for lovers of Joan Sutherland or Pavarotti. 

Baker though does have a strong essemble of vary capable percussionists who provide a futuristic and inspired soundtrack which gels beautifully with Baker`s thunderous and at times maniacal execution using a more traditional method on a traditional drum kit. 

The song titles are `African Force`, `Ansoumania`, `Brain Damage`,`Sokoto`, `Adoa`, `Go Do`, `The Palanquin`s Pole`, `Abyssinia`,`Ginger`s Solo` and `Want Come? Go!`, a set of songs that are a real lesson in lyrical abstraction. 

It can be a bit monotonous, but in small portions it is a truly great album to listen to,
best you listen to a couple of songs at a time. 

But it would still have to be regarded as more interesting than listening to an album full of Moby Dick. I always wanted to discover a bit more in the way of solo drum music, like an experimental recording from John Bonham or Toto`s Jeff Porcaro that no one knows about. 

Not sure if they exist, the last time I searched
I didn`t find anything in the way of solo drum from those two but I always have Ginger Baker and AFRICAN FORCE. 

Baker is probably the greatest drummer ever with Bonham a close second. Have a look for the album, it is very hard to find, it was recorded in Germany in 1987 and a must have for all drummers.