Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Lafayette Afro-Rock Band : Darkest Light

Lafayette Afro Rock Band toiled in obscurity during their years of activity, but have now become of interest to Western critics and music historians due to their ubiquitous break beats. Due to their unpopularity when compared to contemporary acts such as Funkadelic, few copies of their studio LPs have survived; this has led to, with the exceptions of "Hihache" and "Darkest Light", the attention of critics and historians being drawn to the band's three greatest hits albums: Afon: Ten Unreleased Afro Funk Recordings, Darkest Light: The Best of and The Ultimate Collection. Music historian Dave Thompson unfavorably reviewed Afon, but praised Darkest Light, singling out "Soul Frankenstein," "The Gap," "Conga," "Malik," "Soul Makossa," "Scorpion Flower," "Nicky" and "Darkest Light" as the "high points" of the "ultimate point of entry" for the band. British music newspaper Melody Maker and Allmusic critic Jason Ankeny have also both favorably reviewed Darkest Light, with Ankeny stating that it is "one of the great documents of classic funk." The Ultimate Collection received particular acclaim from Allmusic writer Jason Birchmeier, who asserted that it was "a gem" that "you can't go wrong with."

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