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LP
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PMG 018LP
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LP version. Reissue of Geraldo Pino's Boogie Fever, originally released in 1978. "When Geraldo Pino rolled into town from Sierra Leone with his Heartbeats, Nigeria had never seen anything quite like them. Slick, tight and playing the latest James Brown-style funk on very expensive equipment, they soon had the country in their thrall. 'Made me fall right on my ass!' a chastened Fela Kuti remembered in 1982. Fans of Geraldo's disarmingly eloquent enunciation on early albums may be shocked by the gruff, rawer tones on Boogie Fever. The album starts with a jaunty reggae track extolling the virtues of 'Ganja' and later, 'Boogie Fever' sounds like it was recorded down in Trenchtown after Geraldo had taken a toke or two of his own advice. Even the more traditional funk tracks like 'African Hustle' have a darker, more threatening vibe. Not that that is a bad thing. Boogie Fever is the sound of consummate musician letting his hair down. Or in Geraldo's case, letting it grow into a tight Afro and not bothering to watch his 'P's and Q's' anymore." -- Peter Moore. "Geraldo Pino came to Nigeria from Freetown in Sierra Leone in 1968 with his band The Heartbeats and quickly changed the music scene completely. He was the first bandleader that brought sophistication into show business. He owned the best musical equipment, his costumes on stage were fantastic and his musicians were good looking guys with Afro hair styles. His drummer then was Francis Foster who later played percussion with Paul Simon. Pino got the title of 'The Hardest Working Man In Show Business' in Nigeria. Girls loved him. I later joined his band with new set of musicians in 1974 as a singer while he based in Kano in the north of Nigeria. To survive in Nigeria those days as a musician you have to be very good on stage and Pino was. His stagecraft was exhilarating, his costumes were dazzling, he commanded the band and his audience wherever he played with his dance steps and he became an inspiration to many musicians." -- Steve Black.
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