Zombie

L'afrobeat est un genre popularisé par Emmanuel Macron. Comme beaucoup d'autres initiatives de sa part, on s'en serait bien passé.

Good sounds, for the most part; some of the singing was a bit grating. Loved the instrumental part of the music and will be exploring more Fela Kuti!

Very jazzy... maybe a little too jazzy in the unpredictable way that jazz is that I struggle with....

Great Afrobeat! 3.5/5

Wasn’t bad, it reminded me of Santana on how layered the songs are. Zombie has a political message tied to it that I didn’t catch at first listen which made me look at his bio on the wiki. Lots of different instruments that make it sound unique, but overall it didn’t really catch my attention. But enough to make me revisit the album in a couple of weeks. It’s solid background music. Fav track: Zombie Least Fav: none

Very cool afrobeat with funk and politics. Fave Zombie, Mr Follow Follow

I've always enjoyed listening to Fela Kuti, but the catalog was too intimidating. This was a good pointer on where to start. Will listen again.

This was quite fun I guess, it didn't do much for me. But was verging on the level of jazz I can actually stomach

Really enjoyed this however 14 mins seems a bit long for a song. They seemed to have a 6 minute warm up then some vocals and then a jam. It was funky and groovy and probably really good to dance to. Probably wouldn't listen again though.

As for his influence on Western pop music, there are a handful of people in the world music genre who have probably ripped this man off from here to Lagos, Nigeria. Certainly a brilliant musician. (6/10) FT: Zombie

Decent grooves if a bit too repetitive. Can see its influence on acid jazz the following decade.

Mr Jumbles, my 3rd grade teacher, once told me to dance like I've never been sexually assaulted by a teacher in the supply closet. This music really brings that spirit to the fore. I feel alive. Thank you Mr Jumbles, you inspired me to be me.

ne mogu točno istaknit šta mi ne paše kod ovakve glazbe, možda bi mi u nekoj drugoj situaciji/okruženju bolje sila ali trenutno je ovakvo stanje

A nije loše za chill iako kad pročitaš malo po wikipediji, baš i nije neki chill haha. Al dobar jazz

Assez bon njazz jai aime .3.5

Interesting but not something I'd go out of my way to listen to.

Great rhythm!! Horn and drum sections are wonderful!! Words are hard to understand because this is a protest song in Nigeria.

Ultra funky African vibes

another album by Fela Kuti and another great experience, but I enjoyed Live! better.

Quite fun

It's ok.

This was definitely interesting. I am glad I read the wikipedia article to get some context on the album.

So far I am viiibing with this. I can't quite tell when I would listen to it again because it is such a distinct sound. I feel like maybe when cooking, or if I were like an uber driver

That was cool. Some horn action was welcomed.

This is some original Afrobeat - I like what they're doing but I don't think I'd seek it out too often

Hauska levy

Leppoisaa afrikkasoundia, joka toimii taustamusiikkina töitä tehdessä vähintäänkin kohtuullisesti. Toisaalta en kyllä oikein kuuntelemalla jaksa tällaista musiikkia kuunnella. Omassa genressään kyllä ihan mukava tuttavuus (ei ärsytä). Palkitaan kuitenkin listan tähän mennessä paras afrikkalevy kolmosella.

Solid. Now I know where "I Zimbra" came from.

Will keep this around.

Already listened to it

Loving the afro beat grooves, but not too crazy about the song melodies and the solo work. I have heard better from Fela Kuti.

Like most of the world music: interesting and nice to have heard it once but that's it

ok

Jazzy and insane

Lively afrobeat, fascinating back story (thanks Wikipedia)

Jazz com raízes africanas soa como ter mais vida.

Nice background music for getting work done.

Exciting music, but every time the chants start I start looking at how long the song has left.

Nice instrumentals and vocals (however rare) but the song length was a bit too much imo. Great for background sound. 5/10.

Interesting wiki page for sure

I listened to his grandsons album in my 100 albums from 2021, so I have heard of Fela Kuti but never listened before. Cool afrobeat vibes.

Nice old jazz

Ok look....it's an interesting listen...once. As much as I hate electronic, edm, drum n bass....whatever the fuck it is....Jam bands (I know it's afrobeat) are a close second. What is the point. I don't have the time or fortitude to listen to these long ass songs. I'm giving a 3 because I can see how this was influential but for the love of unicorns don't make me listen to this again.

Enjoyed listening as background while I was getting some work done, just like the last few jazz albums, a 54 minute run time with only 4 songs. I certainly didn't mind it, but it felt like there were brief moments of really good mixed in with a lot of just regular afro-beat music. Again, no real complaints, always happy to listen to African music but nothing that stood out to me to make it on this list.

Not my cup of tea but well made

1st November 2021 Listened throughout the day while working before douggie came to crash for the evening. Really enjoyed this, what I wanted to find from the project. Funky, jazzy, cool!

Pretty interesting to hear for me. Lots of influences from musical cultures and styles I'm unfamiliar with. But not something I'd particularly enjoy listening to more often.

Afrobeat, but predominently jazz. It's good and I enjoyed it, but it didn't change my life.

Found this to be an enjoyable album to listen to

Funky African Jazz. Not sure I'd revisit as I don't listen to much jazz but I did enjoy this.

Без контекста не понять

Surprisingly enjoyable! I could see Mr Milchek doing sweet moves to these defiant jazz vibes.

Very cool, subversive, political, important, with a crazy and tragic story to boot. I prefer a tighter jazz arrangement, but you can't help but get lost in this at times Saved: Zombie*

Punchy, lively and quite addictive. Given the subject of the album there is only so much railing that can be effective, hence the short running time.

Odd, didn't hate it but unlikely to listen to again

Decent…. But that’s it. Didn’t blow me away!

Alright, but not half as good as the collaboration with Ginger Baker.

3.5 | Nunca había puesto atención a algo como este Afrobeat, me parece una combinación bastante bien hecha y agradable. Los sonidos de jazz que hay en base con algo de funk y obviamente todo el polirítmico africano hacen una mezcla muy particular. Me dió gracia que de inmediato me remitió a un LP que había en mi casa de los Talking Heads en el que usan ritmos casi iguales, quizá evidencia de la influencia que alguien así pudo tener aun cuando en el nivel comercial primero no hubiera pegado tanto. La historia del disco y de la vida de Fela Kuti impresionante, una mezcla de fascinación, admiración y repulsión por este personaje mezcla de músico brillante, activista social y líder de culto. Quitando ese lado y juzgando solo por su música es muy buena y creo el avance y creación de sonidos que no existían son evidentes.

No tenía expectativa alguna de este disco porque realmente no suponía que encontraría. Un inicio cercano al jazz, ritmos africanos (obviamente) y un buen manejo de sonidos hacen a este disco bastante agradable. No hizo que redefiniera mis gustos ni prioridades, pero funcionó muy bien de ruido ambiental. Sí pondría de nuevo este disco sin mucho problema.

Fuera de sus pedos mentales y su intento de tomar poder político de Nigeria era un instrumentista muy bueno, crear el afrobeat y mezclar tan bien en este disco al menos el jazz (que así si lo puedo degustar) y el funk fue genial. La letra no es de mi agrado pero la música sin duda alguna es buena aunque sean canciones muy largas, que pueden estar muy bien de fondo mientras trabajo

Están interesantes los ritmos africanos fusionados con Jazz, pero eso no le quita que sea un poco repetitivo y que en definitiva prefiero otros formatos.

Nota: 3/5 És un àlbum de 4 pistes i 53 minuts de duració. Pistes extremadament llaegues i repetirives pel meu gust Fusió de música africana amb jazz. Correcte per sonar fluixet, de fins. A mi, no m'ha convençut, però li reconec el mèrit tant musocal com social. .

Not my favorite record, but there are definitely some interesting and exciting tracks on this thing! The problem with longer tracks (all of these tracks are 12+ mins) is that there are definitely parts of each song that I really enjoy, but then those parts are almost spoiled by other parts that I don’t like nearly as much FAV TRACKS: Zombie, Mr. Follow Follow LEAST FAV TRACKS: Observation No Crime

Long rambling afro jazz with sporadic interjections by Fela and backup singers in call and response. Fun and funky but probably background music on most occasions rather than active listening

I liked this quite a bit more than I thought I would

Long songs, decent rythm 6/10

Musically and compositionally very good. As a matter of preference, I think the songs run too long, meaning I like the tracks less at the end than at the halfway point.

I like this tbh. Makes it cooler what he had going on at the time. Putting up a fight with afrobeat and Jazz. It's pretty rad Tbh and I think I would probably recommend this to most people just for the experience of it.

Interesting. What I expected. Not something I'd listen to regularly.

Love his story of protesting the Nigerian government. Calling the soldiers “zombies” although he paid for it his music can’t be hushed. Not really my stay but the jazzy,funk,world music is full of talent.

Initial reaction: oh it’s just the 4 songs? *looks at runtime* /oh/. very nice start. It’s nice music. I think it doesn’t do much for me but then I find that i dont want to skip the songs. observation no crime was my fave song.

Way too long. Only four songs and 50 minutes long like what the hell. The Wikipedia page for the album was pretty wild though

Sehr groovy, hätte meinetwegen auch nur instrumental sein können. Kann man sicher auch gut nebenbei hören

Easy to admire, difficult to love.

Enjoyed the initial jolt of energy but those positive feelings soon wore off. Too many flashbacks to the neighbours all night parties.

Never heard of Fela Kuti before. Very short album but quite good as background music in a bar.

Het eerste nummer was goed, de rest iets minder.

Rather derivative, of its time. Not particularly African

Easy listening World Music that’s well suited for happier sunny days. Not particularly mind blown by it but overall a decent album.

I need to make a playlist of great jazz albums to listen to while I work. Ill call it "getting jazzed to show up to work". these are solid gold puns.

Good

Really enjoyed this. It was funky and jazzy but very accessible.

nice, can't honestly give more than a 3 as will never re listen

"Go and kill! (Joro, jaro, joro) Go and die! (Joro, jaro, joro) Go and quench! (Joro, jaro, joro) Put am for reverse! (Joro, jaro, joro)" (Zombie) Cómo que canciones de 15 minutos para un lunes por la mañana, me voy a tirar por la ventana.

funk

I think this would probably be amazing live but just became background for me really

I'd heard of Fela Kuti but never listened to his stuff. Sounds really cool I thought and not what I'd normally have on, might go back to it

Ich hab ein leicht schlechtes Gewissen. Weil ich im Wikipedia-Artikel über die Umstände dieser Platte gelesen habe, und wie "ein bisschen Ärger dafür bekommen" die Untertreibung des Jahrhunderts ist. Mir gibt sie trotzdem nicht so viel wie ich jetzt denke dass sie sollte. Manchmal zündet Afrobeat bei mir, manchmal auch nicht. Runde auf auf 2,5 für's gute Gewissen, ok?

Not Bad - probably won’t get a top spot

Cool Afrobeat record, but I feel like there is a lot of subtext that I miss.

Ya escuché otro disco de Fela Kuti gracias a esta lista. Interesante ese momento del africanismo a finales de los 70. Musicalmente me parece una buena mezcla de jazz y coros. Recomendable para gente con paciencia. Son 4 canciones de más de 12 minutos todas.

Do ya like jazz? And afrofunk? This be for you then

Kind of fun. Like cruise ship entertainment, but with some talent.

Ethnic, fun, not my usual listening

Nice

Good big band jazz.

Immediately made me smile, love that horn. Domi would like this.

It's clear I've been neglecting Afropop for too long. Fun

Really nice record

Pretty groovy. It was an interesting delve into Afrobeat, which I don't have much experience with. 3.5

The version differences here are slightly mysterious. Solid hour of music on the four-track version on streaming (I gather this is the European CD release, or maybe just a CD release in general). The music's all groove. The melody instruments do a good job, though they are rather few, or lack the density certain jazz bands can produce for fifteen minutes. The vocal sections are the most dynamic, and far too rare.

I am not smart enough for jazz but this is good I think

Jazzy.

Music is good, but the story behind the album INSANE

Liked one song. I will do more research on him and that genre of music

Interesting but a little repetitive. Feels like it would be awesome to listen to live. I would vote more 2 1/2 than 2 if I could

Ok album, nothing noteworty, and kind of dull

Mais de 10 minutos a música???? A sonoridade é bacana mas não consegui ouvir tudo

Mistake kinda hit but rest was ok

Mejor

You can keep trying but I’m not a jazz fan

Pretty interesting! This was my first (formal) introduction to Afrobeat as a genre, and I think Fela Kuti is a good ambassador for it. It was pleasant overall, but nothing really stuck out; at times the instruments’ meandering or the vocals chanting caught my attention, but it’s nothing I’m dying to come back to. With only four songs, I was hoping each would pack a punch—and in a way they did—but my feelings about this album were never really challenged after listening to the first few minutes of the title track. Strong two. STAND-OUT SONG: “Mr. Follow Follow” HONORABLE MENTION: “Zombie”

I realise this was an important political album but it left me cold

I feel like I would appreciate the music if I was more into music history and the artistic development. I think it's good but the songs are too long and the lyrics are repetitive. I wouldn't listen to any of them again.

Really liked the vibe of it, but after 10 plus minutes or so for each song it got a little stale

If the entire album was as good as the last 2 minutes I would have rated this higher. The songs were too long and repetitive for 90% of the runtime and it got a bit boring.

Hyvä torvi, liian pitkät biisit

I’m no connoisseur of Afro-beat jazz music, so I’ll just keep my mouth shut on this one. Rating reflects my personal level of enjoyment.

13 min par morceau avec le même rythme non... Redondant Par contre vraie technique des musiciens Mais ça s'arrête là pour moi

not my jam. I’m sure it’s ok though.

2.25

It was ok

pense q iba a ser una porquería. Pero no estuvo mal. Nada que me cambie escuchar o no igual. 5/10

Mister Follow Follow Mistake (Live at the Berlin Jazz Festival, 1978) Zombie Observation Is No Crime

Fav- zombie 2/5

Zombie by Fela Kuti feels like the exact thing a bearded DJ puts on at 2pm so everyone nods like they “get it.” It’s all groove—endless, very cool groove—but after a while it’s like being politely stuck in the same very stylish conversation. I respect it more than I enjoy it. Great with an oat flat white; not something I’d put on at home unless I’d suddenly become much cooler overnight.

Too much brass for me and very repetitive.

Not my thing. I get it, though

Respect the musician but not enjoyable for me

Its just Jazz

Jazzy and funky mambo, lots of horn, solid.

Another day another jazz album

I feel like I’m in K-JAH radio in GTA 3. Except Jazzier. The first track is really cool. The production on this record is awesome, but I just don’t listen to this kind of music and probably wouldn’t randomly queue it up again. #Samuel #Notmystyle

Clearly there is an important story behind this but a repetitive struggle for me musically.

May well be a very good album, but just not my type of music & so I didn't enjoy it.

jazzy and whatever

Nothing special

It was pleasant, but an hour split between 4 songs was not what I was looking for.

I just don't like it.

not my type of music but decent

Nigerian Jazz and Funk. It's and interesting listen and Fela Kuti was an interesting person, but it's not for me.

Zombie: la instrumental muy buena. pero lo que no me gusta de estas canciones es que arrancan a cantar en el minuto 6, y después la letra termina siendo bastante mala. Mr. Follow Follow: literalmente la misma opinión que antes. Observation Is No Crime: misma opinion, pero esta vez arranco en el minuto 7 Mistake: same, pero este arranco en el 8:50, cada vez mas tarde. En conclusion: tipo es ritmazo, es como un jazz mezcaldo con un mambo, pero me asesina lo largas que son las camciones, lo que tardan en comenzar, y lo malas que son las letras.

trumpet, instrumental

Sophie - This is just not for me. That doesn’t mean I think it’s bad or not enjoyable to listen to. It definitely has its place, but it isn’t something I’d see myself putting on to listen to. However, if I heard it playing I don’t think I’d rush to change it or bring up how much I hate it. The songs are just too long for me, not enough vocals. I think there is little need for any song to be more than 6 minutes. All that said, I am glad I listened as it’s something I probably wouldn’t have thought to listen to without this list. 2/5

Ok

Further confirmation I don't enjoy Afrobeat protest music.

its not bad its just not for me

4 songs to the whole album. Sometimes I think that qualifies it for this list automatically. So many albums on the list that have 12-20 minute songs. Felt pretty chill though. Not sure what was special back in 1976, I imagine it was "new"

NIE JAZZ

The history of this album certainly was interesting to read about. This being said, speaking on my personal enjoyment of it alone, it wasn't really my favorite. That's solely due to my not being a jazz lover. I think that, for a jazz album, this was actually pretty entertaining. I just would never choose to sit down and listen to a full hour of jazz music. Ever.

This was fine to have in the background while working, but I would not listen voluntarily

Inte min kopp

Just some regular old African-American horn-heavy stuff.

J’ai compris l’idée mais j’ai pas kiffé pour autant

Not into that style of african music, but it had a decent rhythm

africa sounds

Again there is interesting stuff here but far too jazzy for me.

Not for me.

Not for me

not the best

I am liking Fela Kuti since he's come up on this list more than once 2

Too much sax and too many other squeaky brass instruments. love the vision, but I don’t like the sound.

Ei oikein iskenyt. 1,75/2.

I managed this to a point. But 12-14 minute songs are arguably not essential.

Great music for use as a intro in any concert while people arrive to the venue

Not for me. It gets a bump for at least being interesting to read up on the summary.

Solid, an icon. Not my biggest cup of tea, but can respect it. High 2s.

I enjoyed this but not as much as the last Fela Kuti album i had on this list. Excellent muscianship.

I have little doubt that this dude went through awful hardships that no-one should and that this album is important because it was an act of defiance. But it's just a pile of brass parps and near tuneless jazz, such is the way with the genre. If this is someone's favourite album, then more power to you and I bow to the elemental wonder of music. But for me it was repetitive and impossible to connect with. Also, there were no 'cute fellas' or zombies.

The songs all start out as bangers, then become tiresome half way through.

Good musicians, just not engaging for me personally

I knew I was cooked as soon as I saw the album was 53 min long but only had 4 songs…

If you're gonna make 10+ minute songs at least make them interesting. Think I fell asleep with my eyes open for half the album

Each song was good for 4 minutes.

Wasn’t really feeling this one. This is my second and last Fela Kuti album on the list, following Live! With Ginger Baker. I barely tolerated that one, but this one was just sadly hard to get through. I know Fela is a prolific name in the Black community, I even mentioned him last week on another album his family had involvement with, but his music simply isn’t for me. It’s too free form to be enjoyable, and each song just goes on and on and on, and the longer they go on the quicker I just want it all to be over. This is literally 4 songs that are each worse than the last. Only listened to this one a single time before I wanted to stop listening to it. It’s not unlistenable by any means, and I can see why people who like Jazz would love this album. Sadly, that’s not me though. I did not like this one. Giving it a rare 2/5. Sorry Fela. Not my thing, but I respect it and can see why others would enjoy it though. My favorite song on this album, or rather the one that bugged me the least was the second song, “Mr. Follow Follow”. Jazz music continues to be a poison pill on my daily quest to make it through the end of this long project. I want to like it, and sometimes I do, but more often then not I just can’t vibe with it, and this was unfortunately one of the worst examples of that. I gave it a try at least. Anyway, moving on.

Good rhythm but too long for me?

not my kind of vibe

4 låtar och 53 min.... alla är 12-14 min. Känns som jazz, mycket instrument och lite sång, inte helt vad jag gillar, och låtarna är för långa... Kommer ändå upp lite för det känns väldigt politiskt och starkt!

First track reminds me of the Babylon music score (high praise). Would be fine with this on the radio or in a movie, but wouldn’t elect to listen to it on my own.

Loved the saxophone, not sure I was into how much instrumental it was when he sang, it was fun, though songs were also too long for me, for how little was being said in the songs. Yeah, honestly, wouldn't listen to It again.

Zombie: Over fem min langt forspill med et Tarantino-aktig preg. På grensa til litt slitsomt? 12 min med omtrent det samme hele tiden. Satisfying beat da. Helt midt på treet. Mr. Follow Follow: Skjønner nå hvorfor det bare er 4 låter på hele albumet for alle varer jo i en halv evighet. 13 min med det som minner om korpsmusikk. Har lyst til å spole noen minutter fremover for å høre om noe endrer seg men jeg holder ut (ingenting endrer seg). Var så lenge av akkurat det samme at jeg glemte at jeg hørte på noe fordi hjernen begynte å filtrere bort musikken. Begynner å synge 7 min inn i låta omtrent likt som i forrige låt. Er gørr kjedelig samtidig som det er utrolig behagelig. Forstå det den som kan. Observation No Crime: Here we go again assa. Trompet i front og noe sløy trommespill i bakgrunn. Nothing to write home about men får ikke vondt i øra heller. 13 min lang denne gangen også. Evig langt forspill denne gangen også. Det er noe søvndyssende over det hele. Mistake: Det er det samme igjen altså, bare denne gangen med buing(?) i bakgrunn i starten og generelt litt mer futt. Soner helt ut her. Sitter og holder på med et puslespill men føler allikevel at øyelokkene sklir igjen. Er noe litt opium-bule over det hele. Akkurat sånn musikk det er i film for å vise at en karakter er rusa. Samlet: Er liksom noe fiffig og samtidig søvndyssende over det hele. Albumet har en stor kulturell og historisk signifikans men ser man bort i fra det så er det korpsmusikk med en halv dråpe LSD innblandet og det er det. Tvilsomt at jeg kommer til å høre på noen av låtene igjen.

Good horns. So long and repetitive, though.

Cover: 7.5/10, it’s resembling of an old timey photograph. I know on the vinyl it’s like textured on the cover. Carry On - Good sense of what the album is before we get into it. Like the acapella moments. Sounds like this album is going to be a great one for 70’s soundtracks. Switch up in the back half of the song took me to Laurel Canyon yes lawd. Teach Your Children - Grateful Dead inspired SOOO BAD. This is a straight forward Country song. Just a vibe. HARMONIES THEY ARE KNOWN FOR THE HARMONIES. Almost Cut My Hair - HOLY SMOKES. I thought this was Neil Young at first but then realized it’s not just his singing. Late night jam for sure. This is exactly what Neil Youngs contribution sounds like to this sector of the band. Heroin in the Canyon Rock. This is where the songs are maybe starting to feel a little long winded or I’m just impatient as fuck and should just shut up. Helpless - I thought this was just a Neil Young songs whoops, but is it not tho? Also get this mixed up with Helplessly Hoping which is also a song by the band. Just sad ol Neil. Good chorus. Let him shine a little bit. Made me think about their dynamic as a band and why they didn’t stay and make more with Young, besides the Stills-Young band. Woodstock - Song about Woodstock? I will be sat. Does this song work completely i don’t know. Honestly straightforward lyrics about being hippy dippy, and doesn’t do much to beat the stereotype. Good chorus and interesting lyrics within. Some banger guitar work especially at the end though. Deja Vu - love the intro scats in the beginning. THIS is what I tune in for, the damn harmonies! Maybe a little disjointed. Soulful. Remincing on the times and how things may seem radical and new but it’s just the start of more change that leads to more war, like a never ending cycle, we have all lived before which is why I’m guessing the overall album experience is called what it is. Becomes a jam track towards the end. NEEDED TO BE HIGH FOR THIS. Good transition Our House - kind of an overplayed intro but I think it’s so sweet. To know that this song is about Joni makes me set the scene more vivid in my head. Makes you CARE about the small things. Possibly the strongest chorus in the whole album, and maybe the strongest song in the whole crop. Drums make it stand away as an almost boroque song and drives it away from being a conventional acoustic song. Knowing how this relationship turned out makes it much sadder. People can RELATE. 4+20 - LOVE the guitar work on this song. Straightforward storytelling on this song. Linear songwriting. Love whoever singing on this songs voice, it really fits the way it’s written. Thought it was going to be a 420 reference, I was wrong I think? Oh wow, short. good way to make a songs that makes you want MORE. Country Girl - starts off with a bang. Neil’s back, and he’s HARSH with them instruments. Piano is STRONG. Sleigh bells is an interesting touch. Maybe a little too much but it gets POWERFUL. Tympanies like THUNDAH. Cool how they made a powerful song like this standout with its powerful arrangement. GOOD HARMONIES YES!! Something different for sure. Gets stronger as is goes. Some solid yearning. IM ACCEPTING THE HARMONICA WITH OPEN ARMS!!! Everybody I Love You - weird placement as last track right after the bombastic last track. Good driving beat. For the out and about person. Ode to everyone, and love everyone. Let everyone’s love fuel your love. Nevermind good CLOSER.

Felt like an African-style jam band. That last song with the discordant organ was kinda off putting though.

Not my cup of tea

T1 - first song in any album so far that made me feel like I needed to stand up and start dancing. Shits just too groovy. Whole song is splendid. Simply lovely. T4 what a fun time. ‘Naa baaad mistaaakeee’. Crazy to think this was live in Berlin 50 years ago… and that was towards the end of Kuti’s run! Definitely think this is my favorite of the 4. Whole thing feels like more of a concert performance and less of a studio album, so it’s hard to differentiate and rate separately each of the first three tracks. So most of my review is for the full album as listed on AM. Albums about over but I’m loving this, think I’m going to listen to some related music, decided on just listening to the AM album/playlist called ‘the ‘69 Los Angeles sessions’ by Kuti. Going to be interesting since it was from a decade prior.

extremely long songs, do get kind of boring over time because it’s just so repetitive. I feel like it would be so much better if his songs would be shorter, but at this length it’s just dragging the same melody for too long. overall 3/10

I liked it but jazz isn't really my style. I hope to get eased into the genre later on!

I was with this until "Observation is no Crime", which just got polyrhythmically annoying

I'm sure this is an important album and I am glad I listened to it, but it was a bit repetitive for my taste.

Ein Afrobeat Album. Ist ok zu hören, aber nicht meine favorisierte Musikrichtung. 2/5

I'd never heard of Fela Kuti, it started of fun and interesting, but 4 songs that last 10 minutes each and meander around a bunch got tedious. By track 4 I didn't care for it anymore.

Decent music, another one that's not really my genre though.

A nice listen, I was surprised that I liked it more than I thought I would. I'm not really a jazzy person, but this was easy on the ears (for the most part) and brought a nice atmosphere. But I think I would only listen again under specific circumstances, and I'd be inclined to pick another album over this one. But by no means do I dislike this.

Felt repetitive to listen to. It was a vibe for the first few minutes but it's just not my type

This what talking heads was smoking

eh, not my sound, but nice

Wine bar music you play softly in the background

Meh idk

Love the history and story behind the album but the music just isn’t for me

Meh.

Not my vibe

Zombie

Attention span dropped after two songs but it was cool. Took a jazz class in college and this took me back

This album is not for me. Generally easy to listen to, but I don't really have the itch to re-listen to this again. It was good background music, but I would rather listen to other things in the background. There weren't many memorable moments on there for me. The last track would be cool to hear live. 2.5/5

Zombie — студийный альбом нигерийского афробит музыканта Фелы Кути. Он был выпущен в Нигерии на лейбле Coconut Records в 1976 году, а в Великобритании — на лейбле Creole Records в 1977 году. В альбоме содержалась критика в адрес правительства Нигерии; считается, что это привело к убийству матери Кути Фунмилайо Рэнсом-Кути и разрушению его коммуны военными. Интересная предыстория. Алексей Валерьевич бы заценил! Поехали. 1. Zombie - имейджин зарейджбейтить правительство афробит песней. Я с ходу могу сказать, что это не мой жанр, но мне нравится голос исполнителя. 2. Mr. Follow Follow - инструментал хорошо зашёл бы в каком-нибудь кафе или ресторане. 3. Observation No Crime - особенно джазово, трубы много. Приятно покачаться. 4. Mistake - Live at the Berlin Jazz Festival - 1978 - приятное дополнение! джаз особенно хорошо слушается вживую. Каждый трек на 12-14 минут... Хоть их и всего четыре, времени ушло предостаточно. Если оценивать объективно, то хорошо, наверное? В треках есть развитие, они не монотонные на протяжении всего выделенного времени. Но субъективно это не моё. В отзывах кто-то прекрасно отметил: "Это та музыка, под которую, если бы ее исполняла живая группа, я бы с удовольствием танцевал в течение 5-10 минут... прежде чем потихоньку потерять энтузиазм, покачиваясь по привычке, слегка притупив зрение и втайне задаваясь вопросом, когда же это всё закончится." Это хорошая спокойная музыка на задний фон, успела некоторые дела сделать, пока слушала. Некоторые треки я бы добавила к себе, будь они покороче, а так не знаю, в какой плейлист их можно запихнуть. Но у альбома крутая история, заслуживает экранизации. И исполнитель сам по себе крутой. Двоечка! Но ставлю с уважением!

Not for me.

eh

It’s ground breaking, but not for me

Zombie: about soldiers / military? nice background music, no thoughts

Nice

World music. Enjoyable but forgettable as well. 2/5

Funky, African, Horns Drama with great Kick in first Song. A little toooo messy for me. And today I wasn't in the mood for songs this long.

I don't think I'm ever really going to be an afrobeat fan, and this album hasn't changed that. While the music isn't horrible in general it still just doesn't really interest me. I think it's down to the core elements of what makes something afrobeat that just doesn't interest me Standouts Mr. Follow Follow 2/5

not my thing

Music is so personal. People love Afro Beat; so it's great music. Period. But for me it only works as background. The rhythmic complexity is interesting. But the monotonous harmonic structures and lack of melodic themes leave me bored. Listening to this EP was about as entertaining as watching a CGI screen saver for 25 minutes.

It's ok, but not for me.

Quite enjoyed Zombie, but not the other songs so much.

Not for me!

There are parts in many 70's films where there is some kind of strange mash up of jazz, a toldler with a snare and a lot of drugs that is there to suggest strange goings on, or a fever dream. This is that mess

I did enjoy listening to the instruments and unique melodies, but I couldn't stay focused on the songs. This just wasn't my cup of soup

Zombie

ne infamia ne lode

Stressful jazz

It’s fine. It’s jazz, which i don’t care for, but I’ve listened to worse.

Surprised this was controversial. Just afrobeat jazz

Not my cup of tea....

Tried listening, not my thing

Political jazz that just didn't grab me.

Listened on holiday in Crete. Think I can see why many would enjoy but not for me in the same way that jazz isn't. Only four songs, with each over ten minutes long, I just found myself not really listening. I think I struggle without much in the way of lyrics. Ok to listen to but I wouldn't say I enjoyed it.

2.9

A little too into the jazz improv space for me personally

Enjoyed some of it, appreciated the jazz and grooviness, not my usual go-to, so its harder to have a stronger appreciation.

They had me in the first half but while it got groovy at times, I couldn’t help but feel like there was a discordant element to it that made me feel like I was awaiting a change that never came. Like it felt like it would be building to a a rhythm switch and then just never drop or jump to it. I wanted it to be a 3 but I just wasn’t feeling anything much after the first song.

This was alright, but a bit boring and a bit too short for me to properly get into its groove.

Fun vibes and not bad by any means, but the length and repetition over only four tracks really brings this one down for me. Good for some background music, depending on the scenario.

Not my style

album chill pero ñe tmp me ha mostrado mucho

African fusion?

Good trumpeter. Good songs

Very long jazz fills interrupted by the same lines over and over and over. All 4 tracks feel exactly the same. Didn’t care for it.

It was interesting. Some cool parts, sometimes it felt it dragged out too long. The song at the Berlin Jazz fest was my favorite.

I had heard Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense before. This is a bit different, more jazz. I don't really like jazz, though. It had its moments, but it's not for me.

Significant? I guess. Not for me today.

I just don't like Jazz. 2 stars if I'm being friendly.

Cruise control on this one. Zombie brought the funk!

Not what I thought it would be. Ryan and Mom hated it.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Tolerable but only cool for its history. TWO!

Nah.

Liked the first track, but the rest is too repetitive

Political undertones makes it an interesting listen, but not my style.

Parece uma sessão de Jam, acho que ficaria melhor como soundtrack de algo.

I've established that jazz is not entirely my thing. I can get into it but it's not something I seek out. This is my first Afrobeat album though (of which Kuti is credited as the creator of), and it's really tight. Reading up on it, this album had a huge impact, causing the Nigerian military to raid Kuti's commune and kill his mother. Researching this guy was wild, he had some... interesting beliefs, but no doubt this criticism of the government and military took some balls. Politics aside, I think this album is pretty good for not being really in my wheelhouse. The sax and trumpet work is obviously great and his lyrics hit hard. The songs are long, however, and mostly just jamming so it got a little tiresome for me, but that's jazz and the beats were nice! The highlight was definitely "Zombie," and with only 4 tracks on the album I don't think another piqued my interest like that one did. Solid influential album that, while I liked reading about it more than listening to it, gets a 2/5 from me because I probably wont revisit any of it.

Long wandering Afro-beat that isn’t as accessible as I’m used to.

Couldn’t get into this one much

Another Fela Kuti album? For a guy I never heard about before this list it seems crazy that he would appear on this list twice. Anyway, I still don't like Jazz but Fela's brand is more palatable.

3/10

Didn't like it.

The link only provided one song. It was good

I did not use a private session for this one. I could have guessed what I was getting into and thought it might be a bad choice for a Friday morning. I was correct, too frantic, world music, african rythms and jazzy, to listen to in the morning. So I listened to some other mellow music for a while and came back to this one, still didn't work for me but was better in the afternoon.

Most jazz is unpleasant to me.

Songs are very long

Not my thing

Could have dropped the needle any place on this album and apart from tempo’s it would have sounded the same. Reminded me a bit of a wedding I went to last year when a sax player mingled with the dancers improvising over the music being played over the speakers. Not a bad thing at at a drunken night do but not a thing I could sit down to and listen for pleasure. 2/5 22/3/25

Interesting historically, but not my style musically

I get that Zombie is a culturally important album, and I respect Fela Kuti's influence—but this just wasn’t for me. The groove is there, sure, but the songs drag on forever with not a whole lot of variation. If you're really into Afrobeat or political protest music, this might hit harder. But for a casual listener like me, it felt more like background noise than something I’d actively want to play again.

It’s very free form, but i prefer some tighter music for stuff other than background work music

Artiste inconnu. La partie instrumentale au début de Zombie est vraiment intéressante, avec une section de cuivre au top. Mais l'entrée du chant gâche un peu l'expérience, le morceau devient trop répétitif. Même constat pour le second morceau. Je ne le ré-écouterais donc pas. =>2/5

Not my style

Vibes. Direkt från början känner man ”jag har ingen aning var vi ska men jag är med till slutet”. Lagom nivå av jazz. Rimligt nog så jag förstår och hänger med, inte för konstigt för att tappa bort mig. Trodde han var alban när jag läste namnet.

Always interesting to read a bit of back story around an album and this is a wild one. The album that led to his mother being thrown from a window to her death is shocking enough, but Fela Kuti apparently marked the anniversary of this event by marrying 27 women on the same day. Either way, it's a somewhat funky afrobeat/jazz kinda fusion but I didn't really get on with it and don't see myself coming back for it.

The music is lively and fun. And I can appreciate his contributions to Afrobeat and world music. But more than half of each very long song is music, its almost half an instrumental album. And when he does sing, he has a nice voice and sings well, but it's very repetitive. Best song: Mr. Follow Follow

Was just kinda blah for me. Ok as background music but I probably wouldn't actively listen to it.

This album seems like one of the ones that made it here more for historical significance rather than musical treats for the ears. It doesn't sound bad, but it's likely not a top 100 jazz album. It is sad that the USA is going closer towards 1970s Nigeria here in 2025. Not a great time. Made even worse by the fact a musical act today has a lot less cultural significance thanks to the overwhelming amount of content and social attention spans. Overalls a decent album and a more respectable cause. Favorite track "Mr Follow Follow" Bonus tidbit: when I saw the track Mr. Follow Follow I immediately thought of Nigeria due to a car always following the Google camera vehicle on geoguessr. Wonder if that has always been a Nigerian thing. 2/5

Соу соу, для фона

I didn't mind it but it's not something I'd listen to deliberately.

Never going to be in the mood for this but a good example

thikai cha kyare

Sort of ska reggae

Stuck between reserved respect and sheer indifference. Nothing this jazzy could be totally boring but not only do the songs linger on but they all sound the same/follow the same structure…

African Jazz. Not my thing.

It's okay as background music but really doesn't interest me so 2 stars or D.

Det här kan jag absolut inte lyssna på. Jag bedömer bara på känsla här så det blir en 2a för jag gillar det inte. Men gillar man jazz är det säkert en 5a.

Interesting jazz fusion but became a bit tedious

Tribal africano y jazz, fusión de obligatoriedad, en este caso, creo con dominancia netamente africana . No es lo que amo del jazz concretamente, aunque no niego sus raíces. No es mi búsqueda y confieso que es la primera vez que leo y escucho algo de Fela Kuti.

Another Fela Kuti! So far we've seen 2 Fela Kuti's but nothing from The Beatles, Elvis, or Led Zeppelin. 1001 is a long list, so let's see how it looks at the halfway point. But that seems like too many, or at least too many relative to the dearth of entries for the best-selling musicians of all time. It's fine, pleasant enough, I didn't regret playing it. It's not exactly jazz, more like fusion. It's basically just groove music, they get an idea going and just hang on it, then there's some vaguely jazz-like soloing. The lack of changes and the fact that generally only one instrument solos is in my mind what makes is not exactly jazz. Even when searching for something like this, I probably would not put this on again. Maybe this an unfair comparison, but I don't really see what the advantage of this is over e.g. Herbie Hancock or Chick Corea. I guess if you're listening to this all day maybe those other guys get boring.

Songs are too long

Musically good but won't listen again

Interesting, pleasant, but not involving. 5/10

This was a fun one to listen to on a Saturday morning while making pottery. I like this genre a lot but prefer some other albums of the era to this one. I can see where he influenced a lot of people. Not sure I would listen again in its entirety but would pick a song out to put on a playlist.

I can't say I'm a fan of his son, so why would I be a fan of him?

I respect the background of this album, but it is just not my kind of music.

I would rate the album itself between 2 and 3 stars. Although especially in this case I have a hard time separating the artist from the record. I have to appreciate his courage criticizing the government and the consequences he had to face. But his views on women etc. destroy his otherwise praiseworthy ambitions.

Fela Kuti kind of reminds me of an African Curtis Mayfield. The music was good, particularly the title track, but to be honest it fell into the background for me after a while. I don’t think I was in the right mindset for this genre today. I have respect for it but this was a one time listen.

got really bored NNN

The cultural significance of this is lost on me, so all I have to go on is the music, and that does nothing for me, I'm afraid. But it's far from the worst I've heard on this journey!

Zombie starts well, a ton of energy and a bright, colourful sound over the top of some deep and politically charged lyrics. Would be an easy 3 if it carried on thar way throughout but it quickly drags, songs going on for far too long without doing enough to keep my attention. Drops it to a 2, disappointing because the first song was strong.

I liked the music a lot, but I felt the vocals were unnecessary. I also realized at the third song that they were all structured the same

Eh, just keeps going and doesn't do anything to even remotely hold my interest.

This is the 3rd album from Fela Kuti/son Femi I've gotten in a pretty short run of albums. The afrobeat genre is fine, but it kind of all sounds the same to me. This is one of those albums that is fine to listen to, but is really only included in the 1001 albums list due to historical and cultural significance. All these years later, that is lost on me. Based on the music alone, I don't mind listening to this, but it is not something I would come back to.