Discothèque 72

Sampler platters introduced listeners to Ghanaian music long before there was an Afro-compilation market in the U.S. The state-run Syliphone label issued seven annual Discotheque collections between 1970 and 1976, and were reissued on CD in 2000. The 1972 edition, in particular, is a bounty, with bristling guitar work even on the mellowest tracks. The highlight is Pivi et les Balladins’ “Samba,” a careening high-speed car chase of a track, the lead guitar screeching against the curb.