Zombie

OK. Nice African Jazz.

Good overall, better as background music than something to really focus in on

LP

Great groove, but not my kind of genre. Overall a good listen though! Excellent merge of jazz and funk

There's really nothing that sounds like Afrobeat. And this is the quintessential album of that genre. Obviously it belongs on the list, and I happen to love it already. Easy 5.

Probably alright, but really not my style. 2/5

It's really full of energy. Songs are very long, though.

Engaging. It took a few listens, but i'm onboard with the afro-beat vibe. The historical notes on the influence of Zombie are particularly interesting. Definitely worth listening to.

Think I only got the main track. Alright.

Fela is amazing, Zombie is that one

Fela Kuti belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

This is awesome. I don’t know a lot about jazz, world music or the Nigerian politics that went into this album, but that didn’t affect my listening experience. This just rules.

Powerful politically charged music, Kuti as his most essential.

A classic. Zombie alone would give that all 5 for me.

Just not my genre

I thought the story behind the album and the reaction Zombie caused was interesting. In all honesty, I found it more interesting than the music itself.

boy are these kinda boring with how long they are

• Honestly I was actually really pleasantly surprised by this album • I really liked the sounds, although I did find that the songs were a bit too long for my personal taste • I would listen to this album again • Favourite song: Zombie

Relevant, but not easily digestible this is the music of a revolution and the soundtrack to change in west Africa. A mix of Afro-beat and Jazz that as anthemic as it is intricate.

Okay this was super interesting to listen to actually, never heard of this guy before, was really intrigued by the impact he had. Of course I don't think I would listen to his stuff every day, but it had a nice jam and it was pretty good! 3/5 stars.

While I recognize the cultural impact, this album had, and the musician ship included, I simply did not connect with the genre

funky funky funky

I've been looking for this album for awhile I lost the name of it. First song is Great other 3 not as good.

Fun and colorful

Funky jazz beats. Long tracks with a freestyle session vibe. Chill background music - will return to this.

My second Fela Kuti album and this one is another masterpiece, I love how a protest album can have such a great vibe to it. Mental to think how brave it must of been to release this album and the consequences he then faced due to speaking out. The least I can do is give him the full 5 stars.

Not something I would have found before, not sure if I will end up listening again but did not hate it

While the lyrics are quite tame now, when this came out it ruffled a lot of feathers with the government. Musically I thought it was good but not great. Often long-winded.

I joined this to find music & genres that I'd never listened to before. I've heard 2 Fela Kuti albums now, love them both and they are now in my vinyl rotation. Definitely exploring thus genre further.

Well…

Funky album. Nice and fun

Wow amazing afrobeat origin

Cracking title track. The rest is pretty damn good as well.

Groove

I was not kuti with this felas album

Super fun

Fun album

I appreciated this Afrobeats fusion album. I found this tidbit interesting from Wikipedia: "The album was a scathing attack on Nigerian soldiers using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the Nigerian military. The album was a smash hit with the people and infuriated the government, setting off a vicious attack against the Kalakuta Republic (a commune that Kuti had established in Nigeria), during which one thousand soldiers attacked the commune. Kuti was severely beaten, and his elderly mother Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was thrown from a window, causing fatal injuries. The Kalakuta Republic was burned, and Kuti's studio, instruments, and master tapes were destroyed." Protest music at it's finest and ugliest. RISE UP!

Pretty good! With such long songs though, it's pretty good working music or background music. I just can't sit down and listen to a 12-13 minute song on the regular.

Very cool in or out of context.

A breath of musical fresh air! The more I hear of Afrobeat the more I like the genre. Tragic to hear about the repercussions that this artist suffered for making his music... That's something to reflect on.

Cool music. Crazy dude.

Great album, cheered up Tuesday

Klasični fela

I like a bit of Fela, and this is a strong album. Limitations really that (sorry) it's great working music rather than something that makes me stop and actively listen.

Mejor de lo que pensé que iba a ser. Cuando ví que solo eran 4 canciones, me asusté, pues pensé que serían eternidades alargadas por falta de creatividad, por suerte, resultó ser mucho mejor de lo que creí. Tampoco es que crea que es la obra maestra, pero las 3 estrellas las tiene más que merecidas.

Was unfamiliar Fela Kuti. Album is listenable but not a album I would add to my collection.

Good tunes AND anti-establishment? Nice.

The first two tracks were quite nice. Pretty upbeat and interesting instrumentation, but I was absolutely done after 20 minutes. It got more of a slog as it went on. The third and fourth tracks I didn't like at all.

Is this the best album on the 1001 Albums list to criticise Nigeria's military dictatorship? I'll let you sift through the reams of other Nigerian protest albums to be found here before coming back to me with an answer. What is clear is that the story behind "Zombie" would fill any songwriter's whole career: at the time this album was released, Fela Kuti was living in a commune which he'd declared an independent "Kalakuta Republic" seven years earlier. After numerous provocative swipes at his government, and sublime pioneering exercises in Afrobeat, "Zombie" became Kuti's culmination of all-out protest. Its popularity resulted in one thousand soldiers ransacking Kuti's home, burning it to the ground and murdering his mother (herself a prominent women's rights activist). As a shamefully ignorant Brit, this wasn't how I first heard of Fela Kuti: that was a few years ago, when I read about how he'd influenced Brian Eno and David Byrne in their creation of one of my all-time favourite albums, Talking Heads' "Remain in Light". This is where the grooves began, and "Zombie" delivers them in spades. It's defiant, angry, passionate and joyful, and it only lasts for twenty-five short minutes. Across this album, Kuti personifies every single soldier in the Nigerians' military regime as a "zombie", following orders, unfeeling and unable to follow their own instinct. The culmination of the magnificent title-track sees Kuti barking out multiple orders ("Fall in! Fall out! Fall down! Get ready!") as the rock-steady groove holds relentless underneath, the horns rising in a breathtaking crescendo. Political commentary aside, it's a brilliant party, with some of the most sing-along-able horn parts I've ever heard. It lasts for twelve minutes, and I'd happy have let it go on for twice as long. The second and final track, "Mister Follow Follow", is a little more languid and slightly more sombre, but still a rhythmic powerhouse. A little more material to fill the space in between, matching the energy of "Zombie", would have lifted this score all the way, but as it is, we're left with a solid album and an absolutely remarkable story of a controversial icon.

Just a good groove throughout. Favorite tracks: "Zombie", "Observation Is No Crime"

This was an absolute joy. Powerful jazz mixed with afrobeat and with a message to boot.

In your head, in your head

Pretty cool jam sesh. Pretty neat to hear such a vibrant style and performance, but just not for my listening pleasure

Pretty good. Jazzy, with an African beat. Songs can get repetitive given how long they are, and they all followed the same formula, instrumental for 7 minutes or so, some singing/chanting for 3 minutes, then instrumental again the rest of the way. So, not something I would probably seek out, but fine to listen to for this list.

Not what I usually listen to, but thoroughly enjoyed it!

Let's give this a listen. Interesting name and album cover art...jazz? Yep! Only 4 tracks for a length of 53 min. Zombie, has lyrics. I love it! It has a very African sound to it that I'm enjoying.

It's a fun jazz kinda thing? Four tracks, all stupid long. The first time I'd ever heard Fela Kuti, the boss I had at MTV put it on in his office for a friday "team building" lunch we had. It's the kind of music few have an actual connection to, but plenty of hipsters act like he was some seminal artist that affected them deeply.

Such a dark, bloody background for such a level of groove.

8/10 - very jazzy, not something i would go out of my way to listen to but still good

Great jazzy record. Couldn't spend enough time to listen to it properly but what I heard was great.

Cool stuff. Cool artist

Gang-i-den-jazz, mange instrumenter, lidt vokal, nice nok

4/5. Crazy story behind this one that truly elevates the listening experience, however it was still pretty banging even before that. The title track alone brings this one to a 4. It’s not a 5 because the second track is a little slow at times.

Only 4 tracks and all of them are 12-14 minutes long. Uh oh. I’m suspicious. You know? I like this! It’s really jazzy and fun. I don’t have any context for understanding it, but I looped through it a few times and just really enjoyed it. Very cool record.

Tällainen jammailu toimii levyllä vaikka live on varmasti hyvä. Jos biisit on pitkiä niin kannattaa olla sitten kunnolla pitkiä

Soundillisesti/tuotannollisesti korvia hellivää. Ja kun skippasin jazzin synkkyyteen vajoavat trumpetti-/saksofoniosuudet, mielenkiinto pysyi yllä jo pelkästään sanoitusten perusteella. Todella hyvät sanat. Miinusta heikosta uudelleenkuunteluarvosta (huom. edellä mainitut "osuudet").

Loved. Influenced Talking Heads and later hip hop. Brave warriors.

I didn't enjoy it that much. Not my genre or cup of tea, and the songs take too much time to "set in".

Groovy and experimental, always love to see only 4 songs on an hour long album

Cool album I wouldn’t normally listen to.

I kind of got the picture by the first song. Sure, it was pretty jazzy and catchy, but I would probably never go out of my way to listen to this again.

Politically charged and funky

Highlights: "Zombie" Few notes, really. Rare to have an album that influences multiple genres so quickly, from jazz to rock to pop, but it gets there by being a successful synthesis itself -- of Nigerian music, jazz, and funk. This propulsive opener has to be one of the most significant direct international influences on American music since bossa nova, Afro-Cuban jazz, or Hawaiian steel. Thinking about how afrobeat works its way through the next forty years, along with reggae, I was wondering if the rampant exoticism of the 80s says something about the post-Vietnam ennui, as though after MIC called the public's bluff, people found themselves looking outward to relive their own thwarted romantic expectations of art as protest. It's more charitable to think there was real recognition or appreciation; people intuitively felt Cesaire's claim that fascism is colonialism turned inwards.

Nice jam for the background. 6 out of 10

Fun

Easy listening but all very samey, not my sort of music but I can appreciate why others would like it

Jazzy

Felt like I was waiting on a hummus and a double chicken wrap. Enjoyed working to it. Normally give these type of albums a 2 on account of it not being my thing but this has a little something extra

Was played some Fela Kuti a couple of months ago and thought it was pretty decent, gives me vibes of the When We Were Kings documentary soundtrack. Enjoyed this as well, a high 3.

Decent enough and better for me than others I have commented on that were not for me. So rather than the usual 1 I will give it 2 but that is it. Leave me alone

It’s pretty fantastic in style but not very smooth nor pleasant.

Three stars, because I felt this album a bit stale... didn't have any ups and downs, felt a bit monotonic to me

New genre. It was fun and groovy.

oh goody

Liked the jazz, nothing really grabbed me.

Didn't make it all the way through the album because the tracks were long and repetitive. Still good to experience a different time and place in music.

it’s a 53 minute album with only 4 songs on it, it’s bound to be pretty cool.

very cool

I liked it a lot, surprisingly. Very rhythmical.

No one man should have all that power. Fela Kuti's commitment to dismantling the corrupt system within Nigeria was and is a testament to his ever-reaching legacy that enlightens and influences many who come across his path. With Zombie, an album released in a most tumultuous year of his life 1977, he and his Afrika 70 display with all their mighty power many of the Afro-centric musical stylings that would soon characterize the genre that would be best known as Afrobeat. That's not to mention Fela's incendiary commentary on the militaristic goons that occupied his country and its government and it was those people who would later inflict the most soul destroying act upon an artist of Fela's stature. Without that commentary, the music would still be great but would lack that necessary punch. But what a punch it is, when all is said and done. No wonder we continue to look to Fela as an inspiration for our defiance of authority and Zombie is one of the many iconic works to gravitate to.

First time listening to Afrobeat properly. Great listen, good instrumentals with catchy melodies.

This was a first time listen for me, so I had no idea what to expect. I was surprised. A politically charged album that’s an interesting mix of jazz, funk and African music. This isn’t my usual cup of tea but definitely an album I’ll listen to again. My favourite song was Mr. Follow Follow.

Wonderful stuff. Fela at his inimitable best for four strong pieces.

Skimmed through, not quite my jam. Very skillful jazz like african music, passionate.

its cute

Well, I'm no expert about Fela but I did know this album already, and it is nothing short of transcendent. Such an infectious energy here. I felt a nonplussed by that one review complaining about the "call-and-response" at the end of the title-track. Well, that's part of that infectious energy I was just talking about, is it not? "Zombie" seemed like a good place to start exploring Fela Kuti's discography. It's now high time I digged further. Thanks to all the reviewers who left suggestions about other albums here. Number of albums left to review: 641 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 181 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 84 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 101

Good, liked the instrumentation. The mastering or mixing sounded a little harsh on the high end for me. Will have to revisit

Good background listening if in the mood for some jazzy sax and horn repetitions. Not a style or genre for continuous listening, definitely feels of the 70's.

Really good

Revolution has never been so danceable

The first song didn't convince me, but it got good real quick after that. Great jazz!

Fela is one of my discovery of last few year. Nice one !

Explosive grooves, tasteful brass, epic singer, great guitar, varied percussions... What do you want more? The best of afrobeat and funk.

Definitely good but I was hoping for some more development. There are many Fela Kuti songs that have this element of fierceness to them, but this album is kinda lacking that. I felt having that aggression, that spice, would have added another layer that I think was needed. Still has change and power, but I wanted heavier contrast. Fave: Observation Is No Crime

Interesting story behind the album. I think I am listening to it in the wrong environment to fully appreciate. Not really my thing, maybe in the summer.

Not sure I'll ever listen again but enjoyed it. 4

Not just an amazing album but a very culturally significant one. Fela kuti was an insane person. music to get thrown out of a window to.

A great jazz album. The songs are long and progressive, but this suits the style well. An all round bop

Not really my taste, but enjoyed listening to it for the 1001 project.

This song is a banger, but really it's just the one 20 minute song broken to into 2 parts.

Better than I expected but hard to think of a time where I would be in the mood for this type of music

Awesome album

To me Fela Kuti is one of the greatest artists of all time so I went at this with high expectations, even though I’ve heard one of the songs before it still surpassed them. I love afrobeat/jazz/funk, it’s arguably my favourite genre. Some of the best djs I know drop these tracks in the middle of a house set and it’s incredible. I’m gonna listen to this album another 4 times this week at least

4 songs and 53 minutes long? Thought I was going to really enjoy this or really not and thankfully it was the former of the two Ended up listening to twice as I enjoyed it so much. Never heard of the guy but definitely going to listen more in the future. In fact I hadn’t listened to this genre for a few years so it was quite refreshing.

Too Jazzy?. Not my genre but still kind a f'ed with it it. Felt very 70s. Real Rating 3.5/5

I looked into the history of this one and holy shit. I really do rate the wind instruments in this but musically that's about the only praise I can really give it. Not enough happens in this to hold my attention and each song is too long and repetitive. Not the worst thing I've ever heard though

Afrobeat for everyone. It's like jazz but funky. Just great music. The context behind it is hardcore too - people dying and property getting destroyed all because of the title track. Fela pissed of the authorities. If only more musicians did that. Best Track: Zombie

Short and sweet at just over 25min long, not must experience with the genre but it's very lively and a good head bob and involuntary feet movement are inevitable, Good jazz moments for the sax and an over all good time, this goes on my world playlist for sure.

Hell yeah

That opening track is a killer

I am not a huge jazz fan but this was very entertaining as background music. I do not know how often I would re-visit this album, but the backstory of this album combined with the instrumental parts that go somewhere and progress through the song makes it a worthwhile listen.

Loved it. Jazz. Great message.

Relatively interesting engaging jazz. Still held back by general listenability as per normal jazz for me. Solid 5.9/10.

Great listening while programming. Enjoyed the Jazzy vibes. This isn't a normal genre of music for me but this album was very easy to listen to.

Not something I'd choose to listen out of blue, but what a great listen! Great blend of funk, soul and bunch of other influences that I can't name. Also interesting read on Wikipedia about this album and Fela Kuti in general.

I'm not really into jazz but this is pretty cool in a hip, free styling way.

Fela Kuti lived a very interesting life. This album got him into quite a lot of trouble with the Nigerian authorities and may be the reason his mother was murdered and his commune destroyed. Aside from its critique of the Nigerian government, this album features strong funk and jazz elements wrapped together with traditional Nigerian music. The result is a heady Afrobeat which is heavy on the funk rhythms.

Awesome jamful jazz record with a great live finishing song (which is 50 minutes long, but goes by in a breeze) from Berlin Jazz Festival, 1978

loved it

Jazzy

Pretty clever album with enjoyable rythms and a solid composition.

Fine to listen to in the background but quite repetitive.

Badass. For an album with such a shocking backstory, this was a great amount of fun! This is exactly why "The Great Curve" is the best song on Talking Heads' "Remain in Light". Might have to look into African jazz.

Nice story and all but just not feelin' it.

Really like the energy of the title track The rest kind of blended together for me

Back to back funky & fresh, killer jazz music supporting a tight theme/ strong antiwar message throughout. Zombie, Mr. Follow follow, mistake (just realized that’s 3/4 tracks!) 4.5

Fela Kuti is a singer songwriter from Nigeria, who is credited with creating the Afrobeat genre of music. Afrobeat is a combination of African musical styles and American funk/jazz/blues. It also has chanted vocals. This album is very politically driven, focusing on the unrest and violence in Nigeria at the time. The album title, Zombie, was a metaphor, referring to the Nigerian military's methods. It is believed that this album triggered the attack on his commune, and the resulting murder of his elderly mother. This music is spectacular, and doesn't feel like 12 minute songs when you listen to it. There is something about it that pulls you in and keeps your interest. The Spotify link is for the re-release, which happened in 2009, and included 2 more songs, so this is the one I listened to and reviewed. Overall, fantastic music! Thoroughly enjoyed discovering "afrobeat", which is a genre I didn't even know existed. Will definately listen again. Favourite songs: Zombie, Mr. Follow Follow Least favourite song: Mistake (Live at the Berlin Jazz Festival) 4/5

What a cool album. Beautiful jazz vibes, and love hearing jazz as a form of protest--Charles Mingus would be proud. Favorite track: Mistake

I liked this.

Surprisingly good

great

Great album. listened to it twice and it is now on my wantlist. This sounds like a lot of things, jazz, funk, latin music, reggae, etc. I don't know the first thing on afrobeat but if this is it I want more.

wow! great record, fascinating history. love socialist records. funnily similar to the RATM record from the day before, thematically. glad to know it.

This was my introduction to Fela and it's a great place to start. Never has political activism been so booty shaking. An important album for the man, his country, and music in general.

Lovely afro- centric jazz. Great change up album

Simply not my kind of music.

Notes - Anti Nigerian government and military protest album - Afrobeat style that kuti is largely credited with creating - Groove based music - lots of accessory percussion, drums, rhythmic guitar parts - Political and direct lyrics about the actions of the military in Nigeria - Part of his signature style is 15-20 minute songs which caused his music to not gain too much popularity outside of Africa - He’s been described as a combination of che Guevara and bob Marley lol - Really fantastic saxophone playing all over this thing Fav - Zombie - I can definitely see why this song made an impact Least fav - There’s only 2 songs on here so by default its mr follow follow 4/5 - really interesting and significant

Very enjoyable.

Track Ranking: 1. Zombie - 7 2. Observation Is No Crime - 7 3. Mr. Follow Follow - 6

Awesome. Exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to find with this.

Zzzz

Funky and great!! doing best tracks for a 4 song LP is a bit silly they’re all good

Had a great beat

Funky Worldbeats. Can’t argue against it.

Bonzinho

Probably the definitive Afrobeat album - politically charged and incredibly groovy, it's such an important record and also just so darn good to listen to

Eh Nah.

Puts you in a trance so you can be a zombie oh zombie. Song is long but actually kept me engaged. Steel drums were cool. Song is a critique of the Nigerian army, so political and dancy.

Eh, it was alright. Great background for the right activity, but not really revelatory or interesting as a primary focus.

I would've immediately forgotten about this album right after listening but reading the wiki really changed my perspective. The fact that this album led to the death of his mother and the destruction of his commune at the hands of the Nigerian government is pretty crazy and makes me admire this album more than I would have otherwise. Also would've appreciated it more if I could've understood the lyrics. Taking away that context, however, it just sounds like Afro music and is perfectly alright. The two bonus tracks were definitely worse than the original two tracks though.

Good vibes and rhythms, sparked a revolution in Nigeria!

Zombie!

This is an Nigerian funk jam band. The story behind the album is more interesting than the album itself. It's a protest album against the Nigerian military. Its release resulted in the military attacking Kuti's cult compound. This is a weird combination of a brain washing cult actually being right about the government. Anyway, the music is protest music in the vein of funk jam. None of which interests me.

Absolute fucking legend. Move your ass, and your mind will follow.

Tarinankerronnallista jatsia hyvällä flowlla! Loistava miksaus!

This music is fantastic, and the story behind the album is tragic and horrifying. We are absolutely enriched by artists like Fela Kuti, not just for the art they create but for their courage and strength.

I don't use the word 'iconic' lightly. The opening guitar riff on here, then the saxophone line and of course Fela himself are all the epitomy of iconic. And countless iconic moments abound. This is easily one of my most frequently played albums. The two bonus live tracks on the deluxe edition are not to be missed. Rate it 5/5 soldiers, knowing not what or who they fight for, knowing not they're already as good as dead. 🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️

Groovy, but I won't be coming back to this sound world again.

I'm not sure if you can really separate this from its crazy political context. Purely as music I'm not sure it makes it to my top tier of music I've listened to by Kuti. Though second tier is still pretty great.

An hour long album with only four tracks. If improvisational jazz is your thing look no further

Very different from any album I came across here. The tracks are very long, above 12 minutes each, but for this kind of music, I think it isn't really that big of a disadvantage. Because if you go for that sort of music, you basically there for wonderful instrumentals and solos, which are all part of this album. I think it was very well-composed and I found it enjoyable. The music puts you at ease, it's perfect to just sit down and take time for self-care with this playing in the background. I especially liked the parts were African influences were the most visible, because cultural diversity in music is something I'm really fond of. I wasn't able to establish which one is the best and worst track for me here since there are only four of them and I decided to keep it like that-I liked everything.

Classic Fela Kuti.

Such richness of soul, groove and funkiness that so much of contemporary pop music is put to shame. And yes I suppose I mean "Western" or non-African anyway. This would be a genre worth learning more about.

Esto estuvo muy bueno. Inmediatamente agregado a mi biblioteca

i mean this is sick af, idk how to criticize it tbh, ig it’s j a little long and don’t develop quite enough, and i think maybe the tone could be a little cleaner/more controlled

I feel I like Fela is better in small doses. This album really started to sound samey the further I got into it. Decent, but slightly irksome. 2/5

Unanimous 4* from my car

Pretty fun. Jazz with African styled percussion

Top tier Fela, though my personal favorite remains Everything Scatter.

Day 8. November 1. Love that this album showed up. Sounding really good so far. Not exactly an album for focused listening, but works nicely as accompaniment. The songs could be shorter to make them more concise and sweet, they're a bit bloated now. But consider my interest in Fela Kuti and Afrobeat piqued.

A jazzy Afro centric album that was easy to listen to but nothing that impressive. I don’t have a ton to say about this one other than it was better than expected but I don’t think I’ll revisit it. 3.2/10

Jazz with the tribal chanting over it was cool at first but now all these albums literally the exact same

I was expecting a pretty decent smooth jazz album. Nothing really jumped out at me that would warrant a second listen, but this was a nice album.

Extremely interesting, even without its historical context. There's a consistent "fire" through the album that grabs you, very passionate!

African activist jazz. Fantastic.

very good sound, enjoyed it a lot!

Maximalist in the best sense. Makes one wish equally one were a dancer and a political revolutionary. There's a sense of humor, too, the little folk song quotes at end of title cut. When it comes to FK, one's definitely up to Follow Follow.

Its really good I just don't see the need for each track to be upwards of 12 minutes long

Meh

I'm always intrigued by 4 song LPs like this one. I did like it, the style is somewhere between Raggae and Afro-Jazz

Funky!

Ooooooojeahhh!!!!! Timangia! En oo kaikkii Felan levyjä kuullut mutta niistä mitä oon on tää yks parhaista paketeista! Diggailen. Teksi mieli antaa febonen. Hitto annan mä febosen! 5/5

Loistava, varmaan parasta genressään.

Hieno levy ja siistiä kuulla tästä länkkärivaltavirrasta poikkeavaa vastarintamusaa! 4/5.

decent, but got bored after the first song. album just all of the same... ok for study but i'm not adding it to my spotify

Nice grooves. Kinda dig it.

When I saw this album I had zero expectations, no previous knowledge of the artist. But it turned out to be this very cool jazzy and (despite its political message) joyful record. Maybe the build-up phases were a bit too long for my taste and usage of repetition too frequent but nevertheless lovely sounds and mood level 100. But making one track out of four a live concert recording segment instead of studio one - I have to consider that a Mistake.

Excellent album. Wonderful jazzy afro funk. Brilliant long build ups to great long groovy tracks. Fela's charisma shines through but isn't overpowering. Iconic

Decent

cool afro jazz

The funkiest album. So good it will make you want to throw your grandmother out a window.

Chill monday, hang

More Fela! I love this album. I especially love Fela's spooky Farfisa. The whole record is a solid groove, man.

Best story behind an album I’ve heard in ages. Cool music. Reminded me of the band Magma a couple of times

I enjoyed it. Great to listen to when working

Best Song: Zombie. The song is very wide-ranging, but I liked the part with the choral vocals of "zombie". Worst Song: Mr. Follow Follow. By contrast, the vocals here did not work for me at all. Overall: It's a nice jam, but doesn't do much to hold my attention. I can imagine throwing it on in the background while I cook or clean though.

Average.

Yesssss

African jazz. Interesting, I can hear how this may have influenced other bands, bringing some of the style into their own music.

Never been a fan of jazz, but always give it a try if I have the chance. This album didn't manage to change my opinion about it. Just feel empty and nothing else while listening to it. They do know their instruments though and their vocals don't sound any bad. /2

Wow, very into this. I’m gonna be looking up the discography. My first 5 star moment. Come through Fela!

Okay..this is valid Kinda skimmed this one, wasn’t in the room the whole time - but this is definitely an experience. You can feel the liveliness..and it makes me want to wiggle. It’s hard to think this guys mother was killed over this record (it’s criticisms of the Nigerian gov), but I trust the bio - that’s just bananas. But again, this is swag 😎

This was so impressive

Ik vond dit heel leuk voor op de achtergrond

Oke heel lange nummers en je moet ervoor in de mood zijn maar het is wel goed voor op de achtergrond

Stupendous as always.

Never seen or heard this one! Not something that i would listen to normally, but as like a background music for cleaning for example it's perfect for me. Keeps the mood up! Nice, jazzy vibe, nice vocals, cool beats and everything! Too long songs for my taste tho Haven't really looked into this kind of music so nice experience :) Overall 3/5 for me!

Love Fela’s commitment to the cause and reflecting that in his music.

I like this music but other than background music this one didn't catch me all that much.

Rebellious, life affirming and powerful. Music here as protest with serious consequences in the real world. Talent oozing from these musicians, jaw dropping polyphonic rhythms, stabbing horns and those charismatic vocals, some record here by Fela.

Awesome funky afrobeat jazz. Loads of groove and very very tight rhythms. Brilliant title track. Slower second. Extended album featured the excellent live “Mistake”. Nonetheless, Zombie on its own is so good.

p370. 1976. 2 stars African jazz-funk background music. Pleasant enough, but outstays its welcome. Probably best enjoyed outdoors at a music festival on a sunny day when smoking a quality spliff. Unfortunately you rarely any of those in Stoke. Unlikely to listen to this again.

..interesant dar cam multe trompete pentru gustul meu 3/5

FINALLY NOT ROCK JAZZ WOW INCREDIBLE AMAZING First track alone my goodness, so much texture, so fun, great to work to

Very cool!

Very cool mix of Latin and African rhythms, and Jazz. Reminds me of something I would hear at the International stage at Montreal Jazz Fest. Definitely very cool, and I will revisit this album in the future.

I dont like jazz

Liked it a lot.

Good tunes, wouldn’t have listened to it typically. But was good

Amazing jazz album. Could re-listen to this at any time.

A phenomenal album with a funky sound, an artist with an admirable commitment to freedom, and lyrics that are easy for an English speaker to understand but with hidden depths and a biting political message. No complaints.

Not usually a fan of jazz, not bad!

A few 12 minute jazz band pieces to really bop to.

I definitely need to listen to more Fela Kuti. I just haven't taken the time to do much of a deep dive. This is a great album, only 4 tracks but each 12+ minutes in length and fun overall sounds. Good background noise - would be a great vinyl to own.

Zombie was quite a fun track, very upbeat and makes you want to dance, so the length didn’t bother me too much. Mr. Follow Follow isn’t as fun as Zombie, so drags on a bit, but nothing about the song loses me. Observation No Crime again is an interesting fusion of genres, but too long for me to truly get into. Mistake (Live At The BJF 1978) was just more of the same “Afrobeat” Kuti was known for, so the effect of the genre-blending had worn off by this point. Overall, the album was ok, it started off on a high then started to lose me, nothing about the album was bad, it was just 4 fairly long songs, so lost interest after some time. I don’t see myself going back and listening to it again, but I’m glad I’ve heard it once. 3/5

Completely new to me, an unexpected treat. Fun, funky afro-jazz, with huge history

Love this. It is hard to listen to knowing what happened though.

Exact reason I signed up for this, I would never have found this otherwise. Excellent vibe on this album!

Top 3 Songs: 1 - Mr. Follow Follow (2) 2 - Zombie (1) 3 - Observation is No Crime (3)

Pas trop trop mon truc mais ça change un peu

j'ai beaucoup aimé écouter cet album en commençant ma journée

A very good album with a very intesting backstory. I never would listen to this if it wasn't recommended to me. It was neat learning and researching this album Each song is around twelve minutes longs with nice jazzy sections and sing song type vocals. The song ZOMBIE has some some very unique intro mental. Then it break out into some protest vocals. If I has to critical of this album the song MR. FOLLOW FOLLOW Is kinda of boring in some place, but other then that this is probably beat on generated for me so far

Great sax in title track

It was fine. Good rhythm and bwats but nothing insane

Catchy Album

Sonzao nask

Fela Kuti buen jazz

All bops

Enjoyed it a lot.

Definitely 10/10 for distracting yourself from an incessant inner monologue. I can fuck with any sexy wind instrument.

This album was amazing!

Definitely not my style. This music maybe better suited to being played during the ending credits of a 70’s cop show or blacksploitation karate movie.

Meh

Jazzy(?) and fun. Upbeat and feels like a good album to play in the background while cooking with my mum

It was Jazz.

Jazzy, funky, and mostly danceable. Good party music with minimal lyrics.

I only knew this album from GTA series before, but listening to it all the way through for the first time this is excellent Afrobeat.

Fela Kuti est tellement important dans l’histoire de la musique. Il a influencé plein de gens. Cet album est peut-être un peu tard dans sa discographie. C’est bon pareil.

J’aime beaucoup ce que fait Fela Kuti sans avoir entendu d’album complet avant celui-ci. Il a produit beaucoup d’albums et la charge historique de cet album fait en sorte que c’est le bon choix pour cet exercice d’écoute.

This is the second album that I have gotten and both have been quite enjoyable. A new artist that I like that I probably would have never heard of if not for this 1001 albums music project. Thanks for the recommendations.

Really solid political jazz album

Very very cool. Not heard this before but really enjoyed it.

Fela Kuti's brand of afrobeat music is interesting to me, in that all of the albums of his that I've heard sound very similar to my ears, but still I like what he produces. The background information about this album is fascinating, as it is likely one of the most politically significant albums of all time. Kuti treated his music as a force for social and political change, and this album was certainly received that way, both by his fans and his enemies in the Nigerian government. 4/5

Afrobeat. Entretenido. Venga, un 4.

The song 'zombie' was so good!

It was really interesting to read about the history behind this album and how it led to an attack on Kuti's commune. Still I liked it slightly less than the other Kuti albums I've listened to over the years (and on this challenge). Can't really say why but it just didn't click with me as much as the others.

Wow what an amazing album. The title track is a true de force of infectious African poly rhythms and jazz melodies. An amazing song. The rest of tgealbum; more of the same. Reminds me of the revelation of my first listen to Miles' In A Silent Way 5 🌟

Wow, this album seems to have quite a tragic and bloody history, which I guess makes the lyrics some of the most potent ever. Musically, there's nothing I don't like, per se... but if you were to cut off ~4 minutes at the start and end of every track (leaving the call-and-response vocal bits) I'd probably rate it a lot higher. It's the kind of music which, if a live band was performing it, I'd have an absolutely great time dancing to for 5-10 minutes... before gradually losing enthusiasm over the next hour until I was swaying out of habit only; a little dead behind the eyes and secretly, desperately wondering when it was going to end. 2.5 stars.

Good sounds. Play loud

Now I don't like jam band music, where there is little structure and lulls to the music. This album seems to shape up as jam music, but at least the first song has a fast tempo, where you're supposed to get lost in the beat to dance.

Good grooves

A great long-form jazz album – keeps a steady, enjoyable groove while being melodically diverse enough to maintain interest. The addition of the live track is brilliant, as the impromptu energy of the performance heightens the sense of freedom and playfulness hinted at in the earlier songs.

NamesAre4TombStones: "It doesn't really meaThe song "Zombie" was about soldiers and their mindlessness during the dictatorship. Fela accused them of having no brains, being zombies and just following orders without thinking for themselves. And sometimes you would often see soldiers just prancing about doing nothing, just walking about for no reason really, and that is what A joro jara joro was referring to, it is gobbledygook, just like the mind of the soldiers." Un álbum divertido de escuchar y con buenos significados detrás, un ritmo con el cual es inevitable ponerse a bailar.

Жизнерадостная музыка, тяжелый текст.

Very enjoyable to cook by. Upbeat and bouncy. 3*

Better.

Love it

First album and artist in this list I'd never come across before.. some pretty interesting Afrobeat sounds and cool to learn about him being a real pioneer in this music genre.. wouldn't normally listen to this kind of stuff in rotation, but glad to have expanded my music knowledge!

Pretty funky sound. Glad I had a listen.

Fela kuti e så boss maaaaan

Fela had the winning formula; Half an hour, 2 tracks, all groove

Ömm... dansade hejvilt till denna...

Thought it was a really interesting story but I don’t smoke enough pot to enjoy a song for 30 minutes. Appreciate the history though!

Thank you for giving me this. It's the album I need to play when I'm in a certain mood, but didn't know it existed, so I played some twaddle instead. Mint.

This was pretty cool. The background on this album was quite something as well. The only problem is actually in the scoring. I think my overall honest assessment would be a 3.5 but it's going to get up to a 4 for how bad ass it really is.

Sesión jazz chula

Absolutely love the percussion beats throughout this album. The fusion of genres are interesting and add a nice dynamic. Where this album loses me is with the horns. They're used to great effect when accenting the lyrics or to convey emotions, however every song begins with a 6-8 minute build driven by the horns without introducing any ideas or emotionally resonating. As such, I found myself struggling to continue, despite knowing I would enjoy each track by the 9 minute mark.

Very funky Sax player, that lyrics are very strange indeed...

Not my style but very talented musician.

Like it.

I think I listened to this last week and forgot to rate it. Decent but loooong tracks. Kind of a latino jazz prog album. Didn't hate it though. Decent in the background.

A lot of passion in this

Solid Afrobeat album.

Musically it's really lively and addictive and very accomplished. As a political statement it goes way beyond anything I know of according to Wiki. Difficult to separate the two but outstanding overall.

Far more pleasurable than I expected! Bouncy fun with a real groove to it. As I may have said before, 12 minute songs are rarely a thing I enjoy, but here there is so much movement and variation I really enjoyed them.

Classic Fela Kuti: infectious grooves to get you on your feet, coupled with powerful political and social messages. The horns are brilliant throughout as are the baking vocalists. Genius.

3.75

I'm not going to lie you. I spent an inordinate amount of time today wondering how Fela Kuti would feel about gas prices. You know, just to see if I get into his thinking space. He wouldn't give two shits about gas prices at any point in history. He'd overhear people griping about gas prices and immediately lose interest. Fela would be more concerned with drivers who fail to yield, and even that concern would be minor. Fela was likely a huge fan of invention, but I'm guessing overall he didn't see the automobile as a necessity for him. He was more concerned with creating a perfect musical landscape, an offshoot of which would suggest listeners take an edible and just live in his music. Fela would have LOVED that. No, gas prices would never be a cause of concern or interest for Fela Kuti. He always had bigger and better themes in mind.

The music was just there and at points it got a little long. The music itself is difficult to describe. It has a lot of horns. I didn't get into this album. I won't be revisiting it. I will round up.