13. African Head ChargeOff The Beaten Track
I bought it on vinyl in the late 80s and I really can’t remember what made me buy it. I didn’t know who it was. I only recently realised quite how much of a fan of Adrian Sherwood I am because I didn’t know the New Age Steppers’ music until I saw that they re-released it. It’s postpunk, dubby, a bit of a Public Image Ltd going on. There’s a great collection of albums that I sent off for on CD. It’s the first CD related purchase I’ve made for years. Taking a punt, but I loved it. Adrian Sherwood was sort of the main man and this is another Adrian Sherwood related project.
I’ve always liked what it does. The title track is one that I played a lot. Trevor Jackson did a couple of really great compilations [Science Fiction Dancehall Classics] recently and this track ‘Off The Beaten Track’ was featured on this. The reason I picked this record for my list is because similar to the Seventeen Seconds, Stop Making Sense, Evol and The Perfect Prescription, I just remember holding the record in my hand back in Oxford, putting it on, listening to it, and enjoying it. Having heard it in the light of Trevor Jackson’s compilation it still stands up today, and I still enjoy it.
