In the 1970s, Highlife became a crucial component of Afrobeat, although for Fela Kuti, who is usually credited with defining the genre, it remained an essential component of his music. To those familiar with the sounds of Afrobeat since the 1970s (and it later mutations) this double CD set is a fascinating document of the evolution of Highlife in the 1950s and 1960s. A combination of jazzy horns, guitar riffs based on an Afro-Cuban clave, and an infectious backbeat this set is a fascinating compilation of rare recordings that chart Highlife's golden period, when it was the dance in the bars and clubs of Nigeria and Ghana. It's useful to have Florent Mazzoleni and Kwesi Owusu's book Ghana Highlife Music to hand – which is full of atmospheric photographs – since the opening section is written by Markus Coester, who put together this valuable collection and provided the excellent liner notes. Especially interesting are the first recordings by Fela Kuti after studying music in London. Also included is his ‘Nigerian Independence’, a song that became one of the key statements in Nigerian musical history. Highlife is an excellent example of globalisation, the combination of jazz (the influence of American big bands of the 1940s and bebop) which reached Ghana and Nigeria through the trade routes of the global cultural economy, and the local, traditional Akan music, to produce an important genre of music in its own right. Of course, cultural flows are not just “from the West to the rest”, and can flow back to the United States, and can be heard on Pharoah Sanders' album Rejoice, guitarist Sonny Sharock's album of the same name and on pianist Randy Weston's album Highlife among other examples, that speak of the music's enduring appeal.