Fela Kuti Albums (36)
'Why Black Man Dey Suffer'
Release Date 11/11/2003
Tracks 2
Label African Pop
See Album Tracklist and Review
'High Life and Afro Soul 1963-1969'
Release Date 8/26/2002
Tracks 25
Label Pony Canyon
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Surely there are many great live recordings of Fela Anikulapo Kuti; this, however, is not one of them. In fact it's so desultory and badly produced (by reggae hot shot Dennis Bovell no less) that only completists should even bother with it. Three tracks are dragged out over four LP sides, the audience reaction sound dubbed in, and the music sounds as if it benefited from quite a bit of post-production tweaking. OK at best, forgettable at worst. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide
'Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense'
Release Date 11/21/2000
Tracks 2
Label Barclay
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
With production help from Wally Badarou, Fela Anikulapo Kuti offers up an interesting mix of songs (well, two to be exact) in both vocal and instrumental versions. Most compelling is the track "Look and Laugh," which details the attack by Nigerian soldiers on his Kalakuta compound. With simple lyrics, Fela runs down the horror of that attack in a detached, almost journalistic manner: "Till dem come/burn my house/burn my house/all my property/burn burn dem/beat beat me/kill my mama." Badarou's production help gives Fela his most full-bodied sound; the horn section is much hotter and brassier than ever before. The problem with this record is that with following an instrumental track with a vocal version of the same song, there's a certain lack of drama that blunts the impact of songs as powerful as "Look and Laugh." That said, this is very good mid-'80s Fela. The 2001 reissue on MCA adds a 22-minute bonus track, "Just Like That," which was originally released on 1989's Beast of No Nation album. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The spirited music on this release indeed heralds the calm before the storm for Fela Kuti and his ever growing Kalakuta Republic. The mood is considerably light and positive -- allowing Kuti the opportunity to make social rather than overtly political statements. The album contains a pair of extended works -- one per LP side -- epitomizing the tight instrumentation and trance-inducing Afro-funk that became synonymous with Kuti and his Africa '70. The A-side title track, "Opposite People," is an up-tempo observation on the meta messages between folks as they interact verbally and physically. The track builds in intensity with the rapid-fire call and response between Kuti and the Africa '70 until it settles into a repetitive chant of "Him go dey Shakara [read: bragging], Him go dey Katakata [read: pandemonium]." Over this Kuti weaves equally hypnotic electric piano lines eventually dominating the remainder of the track. The B-side contains "Equalisation of Trouser and Pant" -- which is set to a considerably funkier, more languid reggae-influenced tempo. Kuti's electric piano has a liquefied sound that further enhances the surreal nature of the subject matter -- a parable involving the specific usefulness in every component of the whole. The apparent moral is that each part serves a purpose when working in unison and harmony. Like the fables of Woody Guthrie, Fela is able to craft a timeless blend of native music with lessons of life experience. On February 18, 1977, his newly constructed compound was raided and destroyed by 1,000 armed Nigerian army men. The results on this unprovoked rampage varied from the fractured skull, leg, and arm of Kuti to the torture of his 82-year-old mother -- who was tossed from a window. His next release, Sorrow Tears and Blood (1977), would contain a scathing indictment of the incident. [In 2000 both long-players were coupled on a single CD as part of the Fela Originals collection. The sound is quite good despite some vinyl surface noise presumably from the source material.] ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Fela Kuti's 1975 Confusion shows him and Africa 70 at the heights of instrumental prowess and ambiguous jibes (the stabs are about to get a bit more direct and heated with 1977's Zombie). "Confusion" begins with an unusual free jazz interplay between Fela on organ and drummer Tony Allen that has the presence of 2001: A Space Odyssey in its omnipresent drama. Then the group falls into a lengthily mid-tempo Afro funk that plays with a sureness that only comes from skilled musicians and a dictator-like leader; here is the formula that had made Fela a genius: Once he has the listener (or the crowd -- as all of his songs were originally meant to entertain and educate his audiences at the Shrine) entranced in his complex (and at the same time, deceptively simple) arrangements of danceable grooves, he hits them with what he wants to say. "Confusion" is a comment on the general condition of urban Nigeria (Lagos, in particular). Fela uses traffic jams, no fewer than three dialects, and a multitude of currencies that make trading difficult to complete the allusion to the general post-colonial confusion of a Nigeria lacking in infrastructure and proper leadership. Confusion is a highly recommended 25-minute Afro-beat epic. [In 2000, MCA released Confusion and Gentleman as a two-fer.] ~ Jack LV Isles, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The entire mid-'70s found Fela Kuti and his Afrika 70 really honing in on their signature sound. Yellow Fever, released in 1976, sits right up there with No Agreement (1977) and Confusion (1975) both in terms of quality of the groove and Fela's tact in putting out his message. "Yellow Fever" opens with a couple of measures of guitar and bass interplay that sets up the standard funk-jazz vamp that will prod the entire length. The horn solos are reaching, explosive, and (though the word is overused) funky. Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker have some tough competition here, as these guys are unwielding in their voice. After eight minutes of instrumental eminence, Fela makes his own voice heard and gets to the meat of his product. The words speak of the strange practice of Africans lightening their skin -- this idea just doesn't jive with Fela's strong pan-African sentiments. As he gets progressively worked up, the choir responds to him exemplifying the idea and the vibe. Once Fela feels he's got his point across, he just lets the musicians have their fun until the end of this 15-minute rollick. An unbelievable and hard-hitting groove opens up "Na Poi" and slams in with absolute genius. This is actually another version of the same song from 1972. "Na Poi," banned by the Nigerian Broadcasting Company due to its sexual content, makes one wonder -- what was really going on in the Kalakuta Republic (his walled-in residence)? The instrumentation of "Na Poi" that began as genius settles into the familiar and works itself out until, once again, Fela decides to get down and literally dirty. This is an entertaining piece, but it doesn't really hold up to the rest of his material. [MCA released Yellow Fever and the full-length Na Poi as a two-fer in 2000.] ~ Jack LV Isles, All Music Guide
'Music Is the Weapon of the Future, Vol. 2'
Release Date 4/28/1998
Tracks 4
Label Exworks
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Music Is the Weapon of the Future'
Release Date 1/13/1998
Tracks 3
Label Exworks
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Music Is The Weapon Of The Future smacks of bootleg but any reason for being the disc had when it was came out--i.e., releasing some of Fela's long-unavailable early �70s music--has been lost in the wake of Universal's re-issue series. The brief liner notes claim these are �unique" unreleased studio versions but all three songs--�Suffering and Smiling" is �Shuffering and Shmiling, Part 2"--clock in within seconds of the times on the official re-issues. It's a better bet the source is a stolen master tape or a copy spirited to the outside world--with Fela's blessing, quite possibly, because the sound is master-tape quality. No argument with the music, either. �Go Slow" opens with circular motifs passed from trumpet to keyboards to sax on its way to 17� minutes of Afrobeat grooving driven by drummer Tony Allen that goes down very easy. �Roforofo Fight" immediately ups the energy ante before flashing solos and kinetic riffs from the horns bring it home, and �Suffering and Smiling" shifts the focus to Fela's anti-religion, anti-colonial, pro-African message. But the last two are available on The Best Best Of and the first two are on the Roforofo Fight re-issue. So unless you're an absolute completist Fela fanatic who needs to compare solos (if these songs are actually different versions) or have some burning need to have a disc with these three particular songs, Music Is The Weapon Of The Future serves no purpose now beyond musing on the universal truth expressed in the title. ~ Don Snowden, All Music Guide
