Condition: Used
Fela Ransome Kuti and The Africa 70 - Greatest Hits
EMI
NEMI LP-0680
LP
UK Issue
1984
Record: VG+ VG++ several light scuffs
Cover: VG+ VG++ light ringwear, cornerwear
Tracklist:
Side A:
Kalakutu Show
Gentleman
Chop 'N' Quench
Unknown Soldier
Side B:
Lady
Black Man's Cry
Don't Gag Me
Ye Ye De Smell
There is nothing subtle in the roiling Afro-funk of the late, great Fela Kuti. His twitchy, stomping rhythms are up in your face, his brass section sounds ready to skirmish with the JB Horns, and his confrontational, politically charged lyrics make modern punk or hip-hop sound like parlor chatter. This phenomenal collection from an artist easily the equal of Marley, Hendrix, or Dylan is nothing less than essential.
Political activist, outspoken radical, and inventor of Afro-beat, Fela Anikulapo ("he who carries death in his pouch") Kuti left behind him an incomparable legacy of music when he died in 1997. His struggles against the Nigerian state became the stuff of legend in his home country; his denunciations of world leaders such as Reagan and Thatcher gained him notoriety abroad. But his music remains as his supreme achievement over and above the details of his amazingly courageous life, even if many (most) of his lyrics are angry condemnations of politicians. His vast output of recordings can hardly be distilled onto two discs, but Black President (named after a classic 1981 album) is nevertheless a good introduction to this extraordinary man and his music. The album lacks any personnel details and fails to indicate the origins of each track, but it scarcely matters: Fela's band, Africa 70, was a large and always flexible group (it rarely actually boasted 70 members), with the only constant presence being his 30 backing singers, most of whom were also his wives! Throughout, the beats are solid, the solos are never overpowering, and the rhythm--the powerful, hypnotic rhythm--is always preeminent. If, in the end, it's impossible to divorce Fela Kuti's music from his life, it is at least a real pleasure just to play this album and let his grooves possess your spirit
Read the fine print: "Recorded in Lagos Nigaria [sic] and EMI, London 1971-1973." In other words, in the early days of Afrobeat, while Fela was (a) in the throes of inspiration or (b) getting his shit together. Or, as you'd figure, some combination. Familiar riffs and beats are already in place on these four-minute songs, and harsh rhetoric, too. At times the singing goes for a feral power abandoned later. But the sonority and build and staying power of great Fela are missing, and missed
Fela Kuti Documentary PART 1
Fela was such a brilliant musician! More people should listen to his music...Just fantastic! not only that he used his voice and influence to fight corruption and injustice-somebody to admire! Up and coming bands should use him as an example instead of today's airbrushed politically correct fashion-bands!
Fela Kuti - Lady
Scenes From - Power Of Beauty and a Bit from Ace Ventura
Fela Kuti - Gentleman (1973)
God bless Fela, his music flows in my blood naturally....this was the first song i ever heard from him many years ago, his consciousness touch my heart every time.
After Fela has just been orgasming into his sax, and it all drops, the way the guitars just chat away with each other while the bass just bubbles like no bodys business.
It is way too heavy.
Lurrrrve.
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