Your release date verification process is clearly at least better than mine, which short circuited completely as I combed through (not enough) African albums in my survey. So thank you!
The ones I did manage to find: from your list, Batsumi, Kuti, and Astatke (the first two near-misses from top 20 and a top 10), plus Dr. K Gyasi and His Noble Kings: Sikyi-Highlife (Ghana), Miriam Makeba: A Promise (South Africa), Xoliso: Shingwanyana (South Africa), Yamoah’s Band: Asem Sebe (Ghana), and Bonga: Angola '74 (Angola)
Shave three or four minutes off the end of Confusion, put "Alagbon Close" on side two, and you have one superb album instead of one very good one and one pretty good one.
Your release date verification process is clearly at least better than mine, which short circuited completely as I combed through (not enough) African albums in my survey. So thank you!
The ones I did manage to find: from your list, Batsumi, Kuti, and Astatke (the first two near-misses from top 20 and a top 10), plus Dr. K Gyasi and His Noble Kings: Sikyi-Highlife (Ghana), Miriam Makeba: A Promise (South Africa), Xoliso: Shingwanyana (South Africa), Yamoah’s Band: Asem Sebe (Ghana), and Bonga: Angola '74 (Angola)
Shave three or four minutes off the end of Confusion, put "Alagbon Close" on side two, and you have one superb album instead of one very good one and one pretty good one.