Album: Artist (label, release date) 1-5 stars
Fela Kuti: Best Best Of Fela Kuti (Wrasse, August 8, 2005) *****
Pilot: Two's A Crowd (BMG Japan, August 8, 2005) ***
The Plimsouls: One Night In America (Oglio, August 8, 2005) *****
Mouse On Mars: Autoditacker (Too Pure/Beggars Banquet, August 8, 2005) *****
Fela Kuti: Best Best of Fela Kuti
In every generation, in every genre of music worldwide, there are the rarified genre-definers; the masters, the popularizers, the spokespersons, the innovators. When one thinks of reggae, one thinks of Bob Marley; when one thinks of modern jazz, one thinks of Miles Davis, when one thinks of Chicago blues, one thinks of Muddy Waters, when one thinks of Tropicalia, one thinks of Caetano Veloso, and so on. Nigerian Fela Kuti, or just Fela as he was usually known, is one such figure. Towering above anyone else on the continent for musical vision, innovation, popularity, notoriety, political stance, and overall influence, Fela is the very definition of Afrobeat, the dominant African musical export of its day, a hardcore funk rhythm with soul overtones applied to indiginous musical tradition. It was embraced by many of the most intelligent and outward looking musicans around the world; in the rock/pop/jazz world his influence can be heard in Miles Davis' 70's work, the Police, the Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, and many others. Fela was not only a master singer, musician, producer, arranger; he was a radical and an outlaw; an enemy of the state for championing the causes of a free Africa in the face of harsh (and western-supported) military regimes. He was always in-your-face about it too, at risk to his very life. Fela died in 1997 not from an assassin's or government's bullet or bomb, but from complications of AIDS at the age of 59;
For those who haven't heard Fela, essential for anyone who has a serious interest in musical evolution, or those who have no idea where to start among his countless records, Best Best of Fela Kuti is as fine an introduction as any. A career-spanning double-disc, the lion's share of are lengthy jams from the 1970's, his greatest era, it represents much of the cream of his work. While three of these jams (which were usually side-long on the original albums) have been edited down to fit, which may disturb purists, it enables the disc to give a broader overview of his different styles and grooves than a single, unedited album would, and even with the edits (imperceptible, unless you're familiar with the original), the tracks average 13 minutes each. "Shakara" will grab you in seconds with its taut beat and township jazz horn section, "Shuffering and Shmiling Pt. 2" a good primer on his politics, and the surrounding material will enlighten, inspire, and funkify your life. This re-issue of Best Best of Fela Kuti originally appeared in 1999 on Universal (with different artwork) and kick-started an extensive reissue campaign; Wrasse is also re-issuing 7 other albums with this release.
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