In any case, I am going to continue sharing some of my favorite albums of his. I sort of expect low interest from the rock and hip-hop posts, but this too?? Trust me here fellaz... give it a whirl. This album is another killer.
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. - Sam Samuelson / AMGLP > 24/44.1 wav > 16/44.1 FLAC
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How far, Poppachubby. how bodi, how you dey? You don butta my bread wit' dis post, na so? I already have this but am downloading it anyway for the upgrade. Thanks for posting it a week after what would have been Fela's seventy fifth birthday. To me, Fela was a musical genius, the father of Afrobeat, whose style changed after he went to Ghana and then toured the United States in the late 1960s where he heard and was influenced by James Brown's music. He used two saxophones in his band and was a perfectionist demanding that his bands be tighter than tight. Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti or Fela Anikulapo Kuti, as he was later known, wrote lyrics that were as political powerful as Bob Marley's but were directed against the corrupt Nigerian government and cultural imperialism of European culture in post-colonial Africa.
I still remember when he formed the Kalakuta Republic, which was his recording studio, home, and a commune in which many people connected to the band lived. He declared it independent from Nigeria which irked the government considerably. When he released Zombie which attacked the thuggish Nigerian military in 1977, the government was furious and sent its brutes to attack his home. Approximately one thousand soldiers attacked and beat him severely, breaking his hands, They also threw his mother from a window (she died from the injuries) before setting fire to the commune. As a result, his studio, instruments and master tapes were destroyed. To protest her death, he would deliver his mother's coffin to the military barracks where General Olusegun Obasanjo (future president of Nigeria) lived. A year later, Fela married twenty seven women to mark the anniversary of the attack on the Kalakuta Republic. I remember seeing a photo of him and his wives in an article on Nigeria in National Geographic.
Fela also formed his own political party, which he called Movement of the People. In 1979 and ran for President of Nigeria but the government rejected his candidacy. He was also imprisoned ion trumped up charges but remained an activist until his death. I can't think of any one more influential in Nigerian music and today his son Femi performs and carries on his legacy. Fela was a unique talent and a power submissive to none. He deliberately sang most of his songs in pidgin English, rather than Yoruba, so his message would reach all Nigerians and his pan-African message would extend beyond Nigeria. Again, thanks, Poppachubby.
Hey PC . . . some are like me I am guessing. I already own everything by Fela, Femi and Tony Allen that I can find! Miles is quoted as saying that Afrobeat would be popular world wide. Fela was amazing . . . even though his lifestyle was extreme. He was in my opinion a musical genius AND because he stayed at home and fought the good fight rather than moving from Nigeria to the US or England or wherever he was a real MAN. He suffered for his beliefs and never seemed to falter from his excesses or his attempts to free the Nigerian people. The book about his life (biography) by Michael Veal is a good one IMO. Many bands in the US today such as the Motet and other Afrocentric groups continue to honor Fela by playing many covers of his work.
Just back from a 10 trip to Taos and Denver. Nice to see Fela here for those who don't know him. I have a ton and have always loved his brashness! Great stuff
Great post! Thank you for Fela! Thanks Poppa!
Just getting around to having my ears soak this one up.
However - I have to say one thing, and say it quite clearly while hoping that others are not too much offended by it...
What I need to say is that, like for Van Morrison, there should have been a special law preventing the saxophone from being anywhere near Fela's lips.
Sorry - great band organisation and real tragically heart-breaking stories involved - but I simply hate his horn playing.
I don't have this one, thank you.
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