Repress of 1974s ‘He Miss Road’, produced by none other than Ginger Baker ! The echo effects Baker used on the organ and the horns add a nice touch and create a different textural quality. The longest track here, it’s also the most abstract. It’s held together by Tony Allen’s drumming and the popping bassline by Franco Aboddy. This is one of Fela’s cookers, an album from his most creative period
Strut team up with New York’s Knitting Factory for the exclusive worldwide release of ‘Live In Detroit, 1986′, the first new Fela Kuti material to be issued since his final studio album, ‘Underground System’, in 1992 !!
Recorded live at the Fox Theater in Detroit in November 1986, the concert marked a triumphant return to the USA for Nigeria’s Afrobeat master, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. He had tried to leave his home country to tour the States two years earlier before being arrested and imprisoned on dubious charges of “currency trafficking”. An Amnesty International campaign helped secure his release in April 1986 and, just two months later, he appeared on stage as part of Amnesty’s ‘Conspiracy Of Hope’ American tour.
The evening’s audio recorder, Bob Teagan, claimed the ‘86 Fox Theater show to be Fela’s best performance, “It was like seeing Bob Marley, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, and James Brown all rolled into one. Fela captured the revolution of Marley, the love of Marvin Gaye, he sung with a rare and exquisite charcoal voice like Sinatra but he would scream himself out and go hoarse by the end of the three hour marathon show. All the while he danced like Michael Jackson or a ballerina, and captivated the crowd with the showmanship of James Brown.”
The Detroit concert was part of Fela’s debut US tour with his Egypt 80 band and the recording finds them on strident form, showcasing all-new material in free-flowing extended workouts: ‘Just Like That’ recalls Fela’s memories of the Nigerian Civil War, ‘Confusion Break Bones’ (an update of his earlier track, ‘Confusion’), compares the present African situation to a permanent traffic jam at a town centre crossroads, ‘Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense’ swipes at the oyinbos (white men) forcing sham versions of democracy on Africa and allowing “democratic” rulers to line their own pockets at the expense of the people while foreign-owned multi-nationals are allowed to freely strip the continent of its natural resources, ‘Beasts Of No Nation’ reflects on Fela’s recent court case and imprisonment in Nigeria and, more widely, on the issues around Apartheid. The messages here resonate as powerfully as anything from Fela’s career.
Totally unreleased album. Lyrics are available on back cover. B.B.C. or Big Blind Country is a real pamphlet against Nigerian’s government and army as famous song ‘Zombie’. This unreleased track until now was recorded with the Egypt 80 including Femi in the early 1990s with top quality sound. A lost and hypnotic tune from the king of Afro beat. Limited to 1000 copies.
1. Seu Jorge and Amaz – Everybody Loves the Sunshine, Stones Throw Records
2. Fela Kuti and his Africa 70 – My Lady Frustration, Knitting Factory Records
3. Lee Perry – Are You Coming Home?, Damp Music Records
4. Cumbia Siglo XX – Los Esquelitos, Palenque Records
5. Roberto Roena – Shades of Time, Nas Centre
6. Bob Marley – Wake up and Live, Island Records
7. Lord Panama and the Stickers – Fire Down Below, Soundway
8. Pela Contramao – Seu Alberto, Clube Do Balanço
9. Third World – Spiritual Revolution, Cbs
10. Hugh Mundell – Book of Life, Greensleeves
11. 22 Band Kankan – Deny, Discograph
12 the Souljazz Orchestra – Freedom no go Die, Do Right Music
Born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria to an English father and Jamaican mother, he was schooled in his teens in England before migrating to New York City in the early 80’s. Sydenham’s work today is largely influenced by the cultural diversity of his upbringing and has echoes of a musical history that spans indigenous African [...]
This compilation is John Morales’ third for BBE. Few can match his contributions to the world of Dance Music be it soul, funk, disco, to today’s house music. John Morales is considered one of the true legends of the mix. And his work some thirty years later continues to be cutting edge and inspiring. His [...]
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