Osibisa - Mystic Energy (1980/1989)

On this 1980 album, Osibisa drifted yet further toward an R&B dance-pop direction than they had on their previous studio record, Ojah Awake. Of course they weren't alone among popular recording artists in making concessions to disco during this era, and they didn't bury their African roots. It was still a somewhat dispiriting trend, and while much of the band's characteristic blend of African and Western influences remained intact, the songs -- all of them around five minutes long, and relying on grooves more than content -- were kind of blah. "Celebration" is about as close to a conventional soul-funk-disco track as the band got, and seems more like an Earth, Wind & Fire outing than an Osibisa one. At other points, the elements get more eclectic, creative, and (by Western pop standards) exotic; "Africa We GoGo" is reasonably convincing Africanized funk. The Santana-esque traits that often popped up in the band's work are there to hear in cuts like "Oreba (Magic People)," especially in passages where organ, guitar, and chant-like vocals come to the fore. There's too much of a preponderance of thumping beats, however, and it does not rate among the group's stronger or most representative albums.