Long, long groove laden tracks (nothing here clocks in under 10 minutes). Effortless, serious funk with fantastic oomphy brass sections. Languid, confident, aggressive, jazzy solos. Powerful singing and proclaiming in both English and Nigerian and there's always a vocal chorus to participate in some thrilling call and response.
Fela Kuti's life and times make the average rock star's antics look pretty tame. He was persecuted, hounded and beaten by the Nigerian authorities for over thirty years. A genuine hero of the people, he attacked the corrupt regimes that dogged the country despite increasingly brutal attempts to keep him quiet. He invented a form of music of his own. He married over 20 women in one go (he divorced them all in one go in 1986). He was always controversial, arrogant, outspoken and innovative.
Every one of the five tracks here is compelling, each with a different rhythm and feel. "Expensive Shit" tells the tale of when the Nigeria police accused him of smuggling. They made him excrete to check if there was anything in it (there wasn't). It's sarcastic, hilarious and righteously angry. "Water No Get Enemy" is even better with a great latin tinged sax/chorus riff. "He Miss Road" adds some spooky echo and keyboards. "Monday Morning in Lagos" is jerky, rythmically complex and laid back. It sounds like a town struggling to get into work.
