Zombie

Great grooves song after song

So there is a good kind of jazz. Listened 19/1/21

Goede latin/jazz/soul. Nooit van gehoord en echt steengoed.

Jazzy

Weird Reagea-Jazz with very clear messaging. Not much more to say, it was a good listen.

Jazz!

Great jazz swingy trumpets

Guter Jazz, lange Songs, macht Spaß!

Very catchy start and interesting sound! But the songs were too long for my taste or not various enough for this lenght. Would give a 3,5.

F U N K Y

First time listening to this music. Really vibrant! Looking at the history of this record was interesting

Really great energy, I can totally see how Talking Heads were inspired.

Funky/Jazzy instrumental album.

wow ! this influenced the talking heads like nobodys business

I was very surprised to get Fela Kuti after reviewing an album by his son Femi yesterday. Thankfully I enjoyed Fela and his pioneering Afrobeat sound more than his son's more contemporary attempts. The recording itself isn't great, but the feelings be shared are. Zombie calls out the corrupt Nigerian government of the mid-70s, hiding the message in upbeat music. While it may sound fun to dance to, this album got Fela's mother killed and his commune burned down. At the end of the day, Zombie is an important record with a strong message, but the songs are too long for my taste and the backing vocals aren't great either.

The rhythms are strong, the riffs are cool, and the lyrics were pointed enough to get the Nigerian army to destroy his living compound and throw his mother out of a window (killing her). It is repetitive, hypnotically so, and the four long tracks are almost interchangeable - LONG instrumental intro, a few verses, LONG instrumental outro. I feel the rhythm and the power, but it's not a regular listen for me.

corto pero tiene una o dos canciones buenas aunq no me mataron

Fela Kuti is considered the founder of Afrobeat jazz. The songs are mostly long jams with guitar rhythm and horn solos and then some singing in the middle which I liked. The songs are long (more than 12 minutes). I like the album but would have preferred to hear 8 songs with shorter jams than just 4.

Things I learned today: I can sometimes enjoy Afrobeat. The term 'World Music' is now widely considered dated and racist. This guy married 27 women in one day. I was also going to throw in a joke about "my horn section" but I decided against it.

Maybe it was a mistake, but I looked up the meaning behind the album before starting. It made me enjoy it more than I probably would have otherwise. Despite the songs all being 10-15 minutes, I felt like they were each dynamic enough within the song that it didn't bother me too much. But it did still feel a bit much. I really do appreciate the jazzy protest, and it was catchy. As protest music should be. Take a note, Bob.

Nice to listen to. I couldn't really get further than that.

I'd probably give this a higher rating if we hadn't had a Femi Kuti album earlier. They're the exact same music. And I can't get past that. This album feels...redundant? Even though I know it was released first. So this rating is a little unfair to dad. Still really good music.

For what it is—African jazz—it’s pretty solid. It’s not really a genre I care much about, but I appreciate the talent. 6/10

A joy

Fiilistelymusaa. Sopii kesäisen puuhailun taustalle.

låtarna var lite för långa

There's apparently lots of different versions of this floating around...the one I heard had just two songs, Zombie and Mr Follow Follow. But those two songs left me wanting more! The titular track, especially, has a killer groove. It's pretty decent stuff, my first introduction to afrobeat or anything adjacent to it. Imagine hearing this and wanting to raid the guy's commune and kill his mother. Insane.

2.5 - Pretty good. I don’t really have any strong feelings about it.

Good workout background music

6/10

Honestly this is good stuff, not something I would probably play again but I like it

Another album I liked more than expected. Songs were very long though. That being the case, the music was still excellent.

Shnazzy.

Loved the sound of this album. The title track was my favorite. Long songs but they definitely made you dance after awhile.

Nice and chill but not memorable

- What a story about this album... I really appreciate the political statement it's making. - At the end of the day, I just can't get into jazz... this is easier to take than most, but I still get bored quickly. I do like the African elements to it. - The two-song LP is over pretty quickly, but the songs still kind of go on too long for me. - I like the keys on this album. I'm not that into the horn, though - it's fine, but I just always find horn to be a lot. - I'll give it a 3 for the two song LP - it includes the two best tracks and is only about 25 min or something. I like the political statement, and it has a swing that I enjoy. It works as background music, and my cat seems to be into it - I think he's smiling. - 2 for the four song rerelease because the extra songs made it way too long, and I didn't enjoy the first half of Observation Is No Crime).

Another album with obscenely long tracks. Let’s hope this one earns it. The title track: nothing huge to say. The beat is alright, as soon as the vocalist comes in it improves quite a bit. It does go on for too long, but there’s a lot here to like. Mr Follow Follow had a very cute sound to it! It had a fantastic horn part. Observation is no crime was another track with a lovely instrumental! Mistake being a live recording was pretty cool. Similar elements to the other tracks, but it’s nice and cohesive. Overall, a pretty decent album. Not amazing, but not bad either. Nothing really wowed me about it but I enjoyed some of the vocal bits. 3/5 ⭐️ 154/1089

Favorite Track: Mr. Follow Follow

Som da hora do álbum, mas 4 músicas de mais de 10 minutos inviabiliza adicionar na playlist. Arte pura, me imaginei num festival de improviso, tipo JAM no MAM.

Again an album is not really go for but glad I’ve listened to it. I’ve no real critique other than it’s great to drive to

177. nice

First listen

Now this is some [world?] jazz I liked - had more… structure to it, without the wild improvisation.

I don’t usually listen to instrumental stuff, but it had a great political message

For as serious and important a political song as it is, it’s worth noting that Zombie is also just a lot of fun to experience. It doesn’t feel like 12 minutes; the rhythmic bead instruments, enchanting backing vocals, and chanting of “Zombie” are so captivating. Mr. Follow Follow, on the other hand, feels VERY long. It’s extremely repetitive and easy to tune out, and I think it’s a shame that it follows my favorite 12 minute song. If you listen to the deluxe version, it’s similarly split; Observation is No Crime is shockingly low energy for a song with that title and drags, while Mistake’s organ and crowd cheers keep it engaging despite its runtime. It’s an album of two extremes.

No his best album but Bowie is Bowie

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Don’t have a lot to add on this one. I love the ambience of the album and especially like the points when the vocals accompany the tracks. I get this is intentionally more of a jammy vibe with political tones (looking at Wiki), but it didn’t jive with me as much as I’d have thought. I’ll have to revisit this when I’m not zoning out / dissociating.

Pretty good. Nice jazzy feel

Another Afrobeat album by Fela Kuti. This one was good too, but maybe it didn't hit quite as well as the previous album I listened to.

I often hear conservatives tell artists to stay in their places; and to not be political blah blah. And then you hear an album like this that literally criticized and nearly dismantled the Nigerian government; imagine, art, to be so poignant and true that the artist is beaten and his mother murdered. The title song caused riots. Art can change the world. This album is a sword.

Not a huge fan of the interminable jams, but the music is pleasant and interesting.

mid asf

I had a lot more time for this than I expected I would have, even if the songs could have done with being a bit shorter. Not bad at all.

toller Funk

2 songs, 25 mins, political, sure. More importantly, hours after completing this. my first child, my beautiful daughter was born today 🙏

This had some energy and was pretty interesting. Not really my musical style but worth the listen.

A nice little jazzy album.

Liked

Awesome. I'd have rather this be instrumental, but the vocals while not bad at all, were minimal.

Zombie - 3/5 Mr. Follow Follow - 3/5 Observation No Crime - 3/5 Mistake - 3/5

197 / 1089. Afrobeat gives me the joy that reggae should. Fela Kuti's two albums on this list have been illuminating for me. The two added tracks to the original LP are good, but not as great as the title track and "Mister Follow Follow." I'm rating the original two-track LP instead of the CD reissue. 7/10.

I found myself dancing to the African rhythms and quite impressed by the length of the songs and its structure, it's quite interesting to say the least.

Kul musik, den klart afrikanska viben är skön och gör en glad, danssugen. Jazzaspekten är mer sitta ner och njuta, så det känns lite ambivalent liksom.

Ok

This is the kind of thing I would watch on Glastonbury highlights on TV and really enjoy, then never listen again.

Ni bien ni mal, me gusto pero no se si es algo que elijo. Me gusto la mezcla con ritmos afro, me hicieron acordar al candombe.

I can hear how this album probably inspired acts like the Talking Heads. I thought it was a pretty fun listen. I think I liked the previous Fela Kuti album I got better just because some of these tracks just go on too long without significant changes.

unpopular opinion : on en fait un peu trop avec fela 3-/5

Jazzier than I expected.

Listening session: may 4th, while chilling at home Listened to before: no Thoughts: this is the type of music that I like to hear on this project. While it’s not something I’d listen to regularly, I really enioyed discovering something new Favourite track: Zombie

Pretty certain I haven’t listened to this album before, but at the same time, I feel like I have heard it or something a lot like it previously. Strident brass and a great bounce in the rhythm made this an easy and enjoyable listen

idek whats going on here

A nice change of pace.

It's hard for me to judge an album that's only 2 songs long, I feel like I don't have like enough to talk about. I also feel like there's just not that much to say about this one, like there's not enough that you can do with the instruments available to make the songs super unique, so they kinda end up just sounding like the same song twice. But I did like the song, I thought it was a pretty fun song. I was just hoping for more somehow.

Even though the songs are pretty long, I didn't mind it. I was really hoping to have something more different on this list. I had another Fela Kuti record before and I enjoyed that one a bit more, but this was equally as interesting and groovy. It's just something about african grooves.

Gillade! Nog inte för alla :)

3/5. Sjukt att bli så deprimerad över sin morsas död att man gifter sig med 27 personer samtidigt och sedan roterar dem på ett schema.

Me hizo sentir de vacaciones

This album led to a backlash from the Nigerian army (Zombie was what Kuti thought of anyone serving in the brutal regime's military), which almost got him killed. His mother was though. Hard to imagine living under such conditions and producing such unapologetically confrontational music. For that alone he gets props. It's not really my bag but in places, it was worth the excursion and may need a few more goes but for now, a 3...

The saxophone part was nice.

Great but a bit repetitive

Nice rhythm and good energy - found I enjoyed much more than I expected

favs: mr follow follow observation no crime rating 2.5/5

nice sound if the tracks are a bit long

Historically significant, and an enjoyable listen, but nothing stands out

3.5

Me impresionó tener referencias de este álbum gracias a Beyoncé

I get it, he's incredible. But 2 Fela albums in less than 2 weeks? Come on

Всего, даже хорошего, должно быть в меру. 5 за звук, 2 за длительность.

such a history behind this album!

6/10… afro jazz / *1977

Not for everyone, good but too much instrumental for me

Sure

I enjoyed Zombie, the rest was a little too much of the same.

Kanske mest intressant wikipedialäsning hittills. Rätt bra album också. Liiiite bjäring

тут какой-то политический контекст, не могу оценить мой мозг отказывается слушать такое на протяжении 12 минут прикольные партии, но можно было сделать их и короче качество звука приятное, инструментал богатый и яркий 3.0

Madcap Nigerian jazz. Definite Mingus influences. Surprisingly good

Un álbum para escuchar chill. Parece actual. Me gustó mucho.

Interesting African jazz soound

Really interesting. Something I would play during a jazzy dinner party, or while tanning. 6/10

interessante uso de instrumentos, mas algumas repetições vocais me tiraram um pouco do album. apesar disso, tem muita relevância histórica por ser bem político,

4 songs but really strong songs,I actually really like this.If I heard this in public I would be dancing. 3.5/5

5/10 I think reading about this album and the resulting unrest was perhaps a more profound experience than listening to it. I'm not a fan of the genre but I appreciate this album for it's significance in the history of the Afrobeat genre. Best track: Zombie Would I revisit?: No

Very interesting, just not really my style of music.

Long improvisational jams with just the right amount of vocals and vibes for a saturday afternoon.

Colorful and interesting. One of those albums that’s fun to listen to.

Very good album. 3,5

Kinda feels like a lot of other albums I’ve reviewed where this is only really on here for some contextual reason and not because of the actual music. Not to say that the music on this one is bad

The songs are plenty fun and the lyrics and singing is good I just can’t listen to songs this long regularly

I liked it, but I found each track a bit too long. I fully agree with this comment from another reviewer who summed it up perfectly: "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". I loved discovering something new, though and I'm very intrigued to learn more about Fela Kuti. Overall, great music to have in the background.

He has very long instrumental Intros in these songs. I was vibing and looking him up during the first track. Was wondering why everything I looked up mentioned lyrics when I’d heard none yet 😅

Good background music.

Normal, me agradou pouco

3/5 sterren Leuke vibes, soms te uitgerokken, maar dansbaar. Doet denken aan goede zomeravonden en bks

Fela Kuti is known as the father of Afrobeat, a genre that blends jazz, funk, and African folk rhythms. The genre is generally quite enjoyable, both for dancing and as a background track; this album is no exception, but the story behind its creation reads like an episode of "Parts Unknown". Kuti declared his own microstate in Nigeria, consisting of a commune and a recording studio. The government became agitated and told him to stop acting up. Kuti got angry and recorded this album, which consists of just two songs (a reissue is available online, adding two more). In my opinion, the lyrics are simple and rather toothless, but the government was overly receptive to this ragebait and sent the army to burn down the rebel's house. During the process, the soldiers beat the artist and threw his mother out of a window, killing her. Kuti responded by sending the coffin containing his mother's body to the then-president's residence. Basically, this scene (https://youtu.be/UajTvU3sjrY) from "The Boondocks" perfectly describes the whole situation.

6.5/10

Fun, but got bored after a while

nice tunes.

3 Stars. Being disconnected from the time period/culture/politics of it all hurts this one a little and that's probably unfair, but it is what it is. I love the jazzy bits, but could do without the vocals.

Fine as background music

Good jam with a fascinating history.

This album was good, not entirely my vibe but I did enjoy it. On the ultimate plus side just another good use case of this project. I wouldn't have ever known about this artist, but now I know this is the African Bob Marley and grandfather of Afrobeats which is huge today. Musically I will give credit to the instrumentation in this, all jazzy and good, and the bass line is slapping.

funky, groovy, it was alright. though i'm not much of an afrobeat fan

Never heard of it. Didn’t get it. Good music thiugh

Me gustó

Imagine how hard this would go in the middle of the summr

-cool sounds -very chill background vibe -might listen again

Great performances and rhythms, but things start to drag on at points. Highlight: "Zombie"

To be listened - sick

Fun and interesting, love being exposed to new kinds of music. Didn't love some middle tracks here.

Before listening to Fela Kuti’s Zombie, I read a bit about him and the album. It helped — knowing what was happening politically in Nigeria and the risks he was taking made the whole thing hit harder. The title track, “Zombie,”. It calls soldiers… zombies. They “go and kill,” “go and die,” just following orders. It’s blunt and repetitive, but that’s the point — the repetition really sticks with you. I wasn’t super familiar with Afrobeat, so it was interesting to hear. The long grooves and repeated sections didn’t always click for me; sometimes they dragged a bit. But I get why they’re there — it drives the message home. I probably wouldn’t have picked this up on my own, which is why the thousand albums project is fun. I could see this growing on me with another listen, especially knowing the history behind it. Overall, I’d give it a 3 out of 5 — more respect than personal enjoyment, but glad I experienced it.

I enjoyed this on in the background, particularly love the funky feel and afrobeats. But it would be too repetitive for me to sit and actively listen to I think.

Great beat. Lively jazzy tunes and nice brass sounds. Overall a good album.

not a massive fan of jazz tbh, would be closer to a 3.5/5 if this site allowed half stars

First song is great Good jazz vibe, just gets a bit boring tho

Great album did not expect that jazz sound. Beautiful

Interesting

Some decent jazz. Fun and different.

Some of it was good

Jazzova.

The record was a bit overwhelming. I appreciate the energy, but it is not an album I would listen to on a daily basis.

Me gustó el disco. Muy interesante. Me dio vibes del 'Exodus' de Bob Marley pero versión africano. No se si el afrobeat es alguna fusión entre el jazz y ritmos africanos pero suena mucho como si así fuera. Un género que seguramente he escuchado pero que hasta ahora me pare a analizar y tiene muchas cosas muy padres. Compases rítmicos sencillos y a su vez va jugando con una polirritmia muy interesante que funciona como un motor para que los instrumentos melódicos (y armónicos también) puedan improvisar y relucir su virtuosidad. Algo así como el jazz precisamente jaja. El trabajo del ensamble coral sumado a la voz principal es increíble. Carece de momentos vocales pero cuando estos aparecen hace toda la diferencia. Muy buen disco.

Meh

Cool vibe

Short, simple, fun enough, no complaints.3/5

fajny afrykanski jazz xd

At a time where the protest song has returned in strength, it’s fitting to listen to this protest album. Kuti rages against the corruption of the Nigerian government. But where western protest songs tend to be earnest things this is angrily and relentlessly funky. The songs are call and response shouts at the government, but this is politics you can dance too

африканский джаз! прикол

Quite liked this. 3.5

6.0/10 Liked the groove of this.. but a bit too repetitive for me. 4 songs - each over 10 min long was too much for my attention span

Door de repetitieve en zangloze mega lange delen wordt het een beetje achtergrondmuziek en verwatert de belangrijke politieke boodschap

c'est du jazz mais exotique un peu

Groovieee

Liked it but didn’t jump out to me

Fun and lively, but had a hard time enjoying it after reading up on this guy. Music is good tho.

Im not a huge fan of Afrobeat, but reading about this artist and the impact this album had made listening to it very special

I wasn't able to listen to this album in its entirity but I listened to the first 3 songs. I definetly see why it is a favorite for folks.

Zombie is iconic. The opening self titled track is a song you know without even knowing. The album can make even the whitest of whites want to move 6.6/10

6/10

Some nice (mostly) instrumental African music. Not fully my thing, but I can see the value of it having it present in this list. 7 / 10

Nigerian afrobeat, criticized government Zombie

When I read that Zombie was recorded in Nigeria by a label called Coconut Records, I knew it would be either total BS or an absolute banger. Thankfully, it’s much closer to the latter. On a recording level, it’s solid: raw, warm, and full of atmosphere. The groove is there, the horns bite, and everything sounds alive. Conceptually, it’s peak, funny, and fearless, turning the military into brainless “zombies” with brutal elegance. Where it falls short is execution. Not in intention, but in skill. Parts feel loose in a way that isn’t fully intentional, and the band never quite shows the technical sharpness needed to elevate the idea. The groove holds, but the playing doesn’t always convince. Still, the message, the vibe, and Fela’s presence do most of the heavy lifting. Flawed, a bit rough around the edges, but overall very enjoyable. 7/10.

Crazy instrumentals. Great vibe. It’s interesting but I’m not interested. Spencer is going to love this. Ending your album with the applause from your live show is goated.

I like the instrumental part but kinda repetitive, not my cup of tea

Fun but I cannot digest 12 minute songs

ayt

I liked this album. Zombie was a certified banger, others were ok. 1 song saved but a nice listen regardless.

Thought this was a cool Jazz album, liked the song Zombie a lot.

This felt jazzy and fun. 3.5/5

I didn’t love it but I get the appeal.

Cool sound, not my style for so long

Solid enough

A good album but no real standout songs.

3.5

The tracks were so long - it was like reading a book with long chapters and trying to maintain your attention span. That said, the music was kind of infectious and it grew on me as time went on. Didn’t love it; didn’t hate it; ears were opened to something new.

Never would have checked this out. Pretty good.

Excellent. Really enjoyed this music. Would listen to again.

Quite the vibe. Sexy groove, warm and steady, like you just walked into the middle of a jam and decided to hang and get a buzz goin'. I’m pretty uninitiated with jazz-adjacent stuff, so I connected more with the rhythm than anything much deeper. Didn’t move me emotionally - but as pleasant background jamz? Sure! I could also see myself getting emersed in this world and turning into a douchey weirdo TBH

The fact that this man wrote this during a war AND got it played on the radio? Very powerful. Not my type of music, but I still enjoyed listening to this the whole way though (even tho it was over multiple sessions) The man sure had some balls, making fun of the dictatorship at the time. Hell yeah man, art is such a powerful way to protest. Favorite songs - Observation is no crime Rating 1-5 ~ 3

Probably great if you enjoy Jazz.

7/10, werde ich aber nochmal hören und es könnten auch 4 Sterne werden. Heftige Geschichte rund um das Album...

super fun album!! 4 songs and 50 minutes long made me giggle, good vibes

2.5/it’s jazz but like a 4 for jazz Honestly, for jazz I was pretty into it. It had a few lyrics here and there, not in English, but it was upbeat and I found myself bopping my head along to it. I could definitely do some cleaning to this music. I’m between giving it a 2 since it’s jazz and a 3 since it’s groovy

Easy to see why this was such a big influence on Talking Heads.

Jazzy and long

Afrobeat is cool!

Whole ass meal and more

African jazz and desert blues are a cool genre that fused the jazz and blues genres with that African beat. The title track was my favorite.

Historically significant record from one of the most socially conscious musicians of the 20th century. It's solid, unique and technically brilliant but not especially thrilling or emotive for me personally. The fact that so much of the album consists of similar call and response types of bars means there isn't a great deal of variation itself in the record. There are other records and artists I prefer for energetic jazz fusion-likes. Probably deserves a four overall.

Groove awesome but politically a bit challenging

Afrobeats keep things interesting over the jazz. The impact of this album lends more credence to itself - it's believed that the criticism of the government through this album lead to the murder of his mother.

Really fun, just not my style

The instrumentals are good and are especially great on the title track "Zombie". My only complaint about them is the weird electric keyboard (organ?) on the track "Mistake". The vocals aren't bad, but they're definitely the weakest part of the album. The two bonus tracks "Observation is No Crime" and "Mistake" are not as good as the original. They're still decent though.

Throwback to high school academic decathlon - really good music that doesn’t feel as long as it is.

If I could give this negative stars I would

AfroJazz. Protest. Long jam session can be too long. And someone mentioned he had 27 wives? Listened before? N Saved tracks? N ⭐⭐⭐🥱 3 stars and a yawn

I enjoyed this more than the love album. It’s like tribal African jazz. Will totally revisit.

Nice background. Pretty good for jazz and idk what they called it but better than most like this. More interesting

I'm sure it's really wonderful but it's not for me.

A great listen. Propulsive and fun (even if it was a protest album). Would happily return to it, even if that doesn't seem too likely for me.

Mielenkiintoista uutta kuultavaa. Auktoriteettivastaista musiikkia.

Interesting sound on this, not quite jazz but really fun. I dont hate it.

I was apprehensive about this one after seeing it was 53 minutes over just 4 tracks, but it landed much better than I expected. I didn't love it, but it was not hard to get through. It might even be good if you like jazz. 3.3

3.0 RYM

I was not looking forward to this one but was pleasently surprised by it. Fun, groovy album to have on in the background. Reading about the history of the album and governmental response makes me like it even more. He had to have known this would cause an uproar but he did it anyway, risking his family and friends lives. There’s nothing more punk rock than that.

Just discovered him this past year. Some really cool stuff.

Now I know where Talking Heads got a chunk of their inspiration. The best feature of this music is the willingness to find a groove and just sit in it and explore. I found this to be a good listen. I'm not much of a fan of angry political music. But, in this case, I make an exception.

Not bad.

Was unfamiliar with this artist and genre (Afrobeat). Looked him up on google and found out the guy had 27 wives that were all members of his commune. “After the devastating army attack on his Kalakuta Republic, marrying the women offered them legal and social protection from police harassment and false kidnapping accusations.” The guy lived one hell of a life and advocated for human rights so that makes him cool in my book. Music wise this is the longest album this has generated, 53 minutes spanning over only 4 songs. Very danceable but easy listening. Lively. Loved when the words would come in with the almost call and response chorus. Sounds like community and culture. Fav track was the title track, loved the live element of Mistake as well. Not a huge jazz listener but I respect it, and the rhythm of this is undeniable and kind of addicting.

Dritlættis grom musikk. Skikkelig smittende rytmer, perfekt på en soldag på jobb!

I reviewed Fela Kuti and Ginger Baker’s Live! album exactly 901 albums ago. As someone who came into this project completely ignorant of Fela, and not very knowledgeable about African music in general, I didn’t have many strong opinions on that album, other than the fact that I enjoyed listening to it, and I gave it four stars. I have a good idea of what to expect from this album, and as luck would have it, I listened to an episode of Radiolab a couple of weeks ago that talked about Fela and his venue The Shrine, so I feel like I have some extra insight to add to my experience this time. Overall, I thought Zombie was a good album. I enjoyed how these songs utilized the same structure to draw the listener in: a long instrumental introduction, followed by the lyrical message of the song. I thought this structure was pretty effective for the messages that Fela was trying to convey on each song. The lyrics were really great, and I felt like it put into perspective the things Fela and his fellow Nigerians were seeing and dealing with while living under an oppressive regime. Musically, while I appreciate what Fela was trying to achieve with his long introductions on each song, I found myself a bit bored at times on these songs. I’m sure that when Fela played these songs live at The Shrine it was a totally different experience, but for me, listening to it on an LP got a bit stale at times. Some notes on a few of the individual songs: I liked the guitar groove on “Zombie.” That groove was really infectious, and it really hooked me in immediately. The horns were great too, and I loved the militaristic call and response of the vocals and backing vocals. The reveille at the end was a really great touch too, just to add an extra jab at Nigeria’s government. “Mr. Follow Follow” really kept up with the Zombie theme of the lyrics, which I really liked. There was a rhythm to the music that pulled me in here as well, but not in a dance-like energetic way like the title track. I liked that “Zombie” was more of a call to action lyrically and musically, whereas this song was more of a direct social criticism of people who went along with the things that Nigeria’s government was doing. I really lided that piano/keyboard part towards the end too. I loved that keyboard intro on “Mistake,” and Fela’s vocals sounded really good here too. The live aspect of this song really conveys the energy that the whole album was trying to achieve, and this song made me wish the whole album had been live. This song brought the album full circle for me, in terms of energy. I think that Zombie is an incredibly important album in terms of its historical impact, and the influence it had on other musicians, but listening to it was a bit of a chore at times. But from a cultural and historical standpoint, Zombie is definitely worth a listen.

There’s a lot to get your head around when reading the biography of Fela Kuti. The sexiest son of a legendary Nigerian feminist, born into a family of notable polymaths and even a Nobel laureate, raised under the ambition of medical practice, serially unable to accept things happening to him and so entirely self-directed toward a career as a musician. A literal military attack was sanctioned by the Nigerian government in response to this record. The thousand soldier strong attack on Kuti’s compound resulted in his mother’s murder, dying from injuries sustained while being defenestrated by the “Zombie” soldiers her son had so recently, and so funkily – I don’t mean to be glib here, but it’s a worthy paradox to observe – ridiculed. The music here is a special brew of influences, but distinctly Kuti. In that sense, Zombie runs parallel with Kuti’s biography – a global citizen with a dream for elevating Africa’s role in the world. I enjoyed this album. It’s a teasing (cajoling, if you’re the then military government) proposition, full of blasts of horns that ricochet around the rhythms like … well, you know. As protest songs go, these are surely among the most successful.

not exactly my vibe, but a pretty good vibe!

without this record, we have 1) no afrobeat, and 2) significantly less jazz fusion overall. My incredibly lukewarm take is that you can just listen to the title track and be done, but as far as jazz fusion is concerned, this is really quite good. There’s *so* much miles Davis influence here it’s nuts. If we’re not gonna pull an actual miles Davis record (I think or at least hope Bitches Brew is on here?), this is I guess a reasonable substitute jazz is my favorite genre so part of this rating is influenced by my desperation to get a real jazz album soon. still, even though i really do like it, i don't know how often i'd put this one on by choice. i feel it requires a specific mood.

The story surrounding this album is wild and it absolutely heightened the listening experience. Without it, I don't know that I would've listened to this outside of The List existing. But with it, I was locked in. Being a sub-30 minute album made this easier as well. I liked the music as well. It's definitely not the kind of music I would typically listen to. But I had a good time. I'm probably not listening to it again unless the very specific vibe required has been met.

nice. sounds like he might have been misogynist?

Better than Live!, but much of it sounds like falling down the stairs with a load of drums strapped to his back. Seems he was a weird chap.

Like solid album, don't get me wrong. The original issue has two 12-minute songs on it, which like. 24 minutes is short. Plus it's good world music and vocals, but to me at least, didn't exceed the "decent sounding enough, not bad, nothing great" 3 star stage.

Kind of like jazz but way more upbeat and fun

Such a tasty-looking zombie, yum.

Not as compelling as the self-titled album earlier on the list from Fela Kuti; I think the titular track is still the winner here. Insane to read the Wikipedia page on this album while listening. The impact it had just feels so decoupled from the content itself. Certainly makes me feel appreciative of the freedom art has in the west.

Greta reggae grooves!

An extra point for the 27 wives...

African jazz fusion that was written in protest of the Nigerian military government. It was fine, good beats and instrument work. Album was only two songs long (20 mins total), so it didn’t overstay its welcome. 3/5

De ersti track sehr nervig. überfüllte unruhige funky song. Aber de zweit isch smooth as fuck. Funky mit chli reggae und african instrumental gmixt. Vlt gib es 3.

This isn't really my jam, but tough to deny the talent.

It got repetitive and annoying after a point. Likely just not my style

I mean personally I don't think I would every listen and like go out of my way to listen to an album like this, but it was still super enjoyable. I think the fun music throughout with the vibrant energy and the live track played into the enjoyment a lot. I felt myself humming along or bouncing with the loud trumpets and drums. Really solid.

A good album, a toe tapper. Not a great album, a hip swinger.

This was very good. I dont know if there is a different version I was supposed to listen to, but this one was an EP with two tracks a long and short version of the Zombie song. Either way very good song. Looking into the history of the song, everything about it is crazy!

The meaning and history of this album alone are incredible. Jazz is the kind of music which give me thoughts of 'I should maybe listen to this in my free time in the background more often' when I hear in a cafe or bar, but never do. I kind of had the same feeling with this album. Now, I do agree with some reviews saying that the songs are a little too long and you can probably shave off the first and last couple of minutes from the songs. Yes, it is very nice to listen to, but at some point it just gets repetitive and gets drowned out in my head, so to speak. The parts with lyrics I liked (I might have a bias to political music, and this hits hard). Would not hate listening to this more often but would rarely select this album to play when I need to decide what to listen to. Normally I would hesitate giving this a 3 and maybe give it a 2 but the meaning behind it makes me give it a solid 3.

3.4 Not my usual cup of tea but I can appreciate it. First track was the stand out one, saved it down to a playlist. The rest I thought were a bit less interesting, but not bad.

Sadly, I couldn't hang with this. I really liked the other Fela album (Live! w/Ginger Baker), but here... I honestly don't understand what he was thinking tonally with his saxophone playing. The grooves are great and obviously, this is a historically important album. I'll take it as my own failing and give it a 3 and maybe revisit this in the future, perhaps it just hit me at an off moment.

The history of this album is super interesting, and I enjoyed the sound enough, but it was a pretty passive listen for me. The jazz sections were really long and sort of went in one ear out the other. Still cool to listen to though.

Really good and unique. Just the right amount of vocals for this genre.

It’s alright but good to see this album on here

Jazz.... Was really good but 30 mins was too much would revisit though

Appreciate everything that's happening on this album, the story is killer; just kinda died outs towards the end. Zombie is a straight banger of a track. If you can find it somewhere Monkey Banana is solid. Would much rather listen to The Best of Black President 1/2 Had a blast and appreciate this was recommended. 3/5 stars

Fun and lively. ★★★

Pretty chill and relaxing to listen to.

Very interesting jazz album. Every song is like 10+ minutes but it’s able to keep you hooked through out the whole album. Now it wasn’t anything too crazy but I did thoroughly enjoy this and think it does deserve a spot on this list. I wouldn’t say this was the best jazz project I’ve heard but it was still great with insane instrumental in your ears for an hour and just lifting my mood. This is right up my alley so I’m giving it a 7.7/10 3.8/5

3.5

É um disco muito importante e cheio de camadas musicais. Experiência interessante. QoA Vesper.

Enjoyable.

Decent

Zombie oh Zombie!! Nigerian party music!! Pretty fun

not bad but a bit boring

Fela Kuti has made his way onto many of my jazzy playlists. I ended up listening to this album all day, turns out it’s a great soundtrack for being lost in thought as you scurry through New York. I want to give this a 4 because I feel Fela Kuti was such a revolutionary man in both his politics and his sound, paving the way for afrobeats and so many future artists. You can hear it on Zombie, but the whole album as a package didn’t make me want to add the songs to my playlists. So. Gonna go listen to more of his other work today (the Los Angeles sessions!) Side note: so much good music has come out lately it’s been hard to be motivated to keep up with this. But doing my best 🫡

Fun jazz record. Some slip ups, but a good change of pace

Its okay. Kinda generic music that would play in a restaurant.

Not bad!

Solid

Wasn’t bad, not my style

OK

So my biggest gripe with this album is the songs have a lot of buildup. Sometimes it takes up to 4 minutes for the song to hit its stride. I always struggle with aggressively repetitive music, which typically only is a problem for electronic dance music. That being said once the songs got going, they were GOING. Super fun and kind spirited, this would be the type of jazz I’d put on to try and get a younger kid into jazz. This is much more fun and accessible as opposed to like a traditional sounding jazz band like Bill Evans Trio (which coincidentally was the album I got before this one, which also highlighted how much funkier and sillier this is than regular jazz. Definitely check this out if you struggle with most jazz artists, I think this is much more fun and accessible than most traditional jazz artists.

This is fine. Again, I don't feel genre-qualified to rate it above or below a . . .

Okay, but not great. Don’t know the genre much.

3.5/5 - Enjoyed the listen, but this didn't grab me quite as much as the first Fela Kuti that came up on this list. Probably more my mood than anything. Still this is full of fun grooves, and I'm a fan of the sound.

What is the substantial difference between this collection of distended grooves and those on the Eric Burdon album we listened to a few months ago? The Burdon record was a studio indulgence, a project; this sounds like the document of something that was happening, whether the tape was rolling or not. There is a world and a culture that exists beyond the LP, and though it may be exhausting on record, it is also sweaty, alive, and unavoidable wherever it is actually happening. 3 I shouldn’t have read anything about this album. It is very difficult not to build in credit for Kuti’s courage in the making of a political and moral statement here - given what ‘Zombie’ would cost him personally. I don’t want to give in to that temptation. There are different forms of courage everywhere in music making. In the Jazz albums we have encountered so far there is often obvious musical bravery and a spirit of bold endeavour. I give these Jazzers no extra credit for any of that. Context is always important and useful but ultimately I try to keep the stakes no higher than here is some music, what do I think of it. Jazzers usually get 2/5 or so. To give extra marks even for risking life and limb in making your album would unfairly disadvantage those artists who are unlikely to have their family thrown out of a window regardless of the content of their record. So where does that leave Zombie? It is certainly not as dull as an album with this much musical repetition ought to be. The grooves are delicious and the unpolished horn sound has an especially nice edge to it. The simple episodic structures also make this much more digestible over long track lengths than most jazz tracks of similar length. So it is dance music but also much less boring as pure listening material than dance music. Still it feels rather slight somehow. These 4 tracks aren’t quite enough to build a sense of narrative shape over 50 minutes. Obviously the album has musical and lyrical identity but from my scant knowledge of him and his work I suspect that most of what Fela Kuti produced had that built in. 2.5/5

I wasn’t sure why Mr. Follow Follow was named as such until 7 minutes and 18 seconds into the song Fela says Mr. Follow Follow

3.6 Dude is just clowning the troops over some funk guitar. I’m with it

Fine. The amount of songs Fela has on movie soundtracks is wild.

Zombie was fun and full of vibe, but I preferred the jazziness of Mr Follow Follow. In total the album was to short for me to make a n affirmative decision. I see I gave the live album a 4 star rating, but I am not sure this warrants that. I enjoyed it but not that much. 3 stars

4 songs 54 minutes ?!

Amazing artist, great sound and presence - but those songs do go on, especially when they get onto the solos

A decent short album, but I like Femi's works more.

Without Fela Kuti there wouldn't be Femi Kuti, but I feel like where Femi Kuti landed gracefully Fela Kuti is not able to stay afloat - the songs aren't as wonderful, they're too long, but they do have the magic style.

Fun music but always want lyrics

'Zombie' by Fela Kuti is a frentic jazz/Afrobeat album from continential Africa that pulls no punches in calling out the Nigerian government and military. This album resulted in his mother being murdered, himself severely beaten and his commune, the Kalakuta Republic, being burned to the ground by militia. Who knew music could create such a stir like this, but I guess when you refer to soldiers as "zombies" and call out their inhumanity within the confines of a military dictatorship (which Nigeria was under at the time), you're bound to endanger yourself, and that's what Fela Kuti did here. Musically, the album is essentially a straight jazz fusion record featuring just the two songs: 'Zombie' and 'Mr Follow Follow': and without any contextual knowledge, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's just another ordinary jazz record. But when you read into the context behind the album, the brutal fallout that followed its release makes for quite unbelievable reading. In this commune of his, Kuti married 27 women to mark the first anniversary of the attack on the Kalakuta Republic to apparently protect himself from claims he was kidnapping women. He also continued to be a thorn in the side of the Nigerian government in the 80s and 90s, with jail time and various other legal trouble a constant companion. Certainly one of those albums which probably wouldn't be that significant were it not for the story behind it. Best songs: Zombie

i am truly in despair about not liking this more

I'm not a fan of songs that exceed ~5 minutes, so I had a scare when I saw this album is 4x12m, but it was really pleasant to listen to.

This was some fine brassy jazz that had elements that reminded me a bit of a New Orleans brass band I used to listen to a bit called Rebirth Brass Band. A fine enough way to kill an hour, but ultimately not something I'm left feeling a lot about afterward. Each song jams in its own right, though I did find the synthesizer to be quite overpowering each time it made its entry. Also really enjoyed the funky guitar licks throughout Mr. Follow Follow. Solid, but not something I'll be back to quickly -- 3 / 5.

There is some cool stuff in here but its kinda buried behind pretty repetitive parts. It just goes on and on for 10 minutes but then the vocals come in. And the male and backup female vocals are both so good. Maybe its the accent that ill never get closer than Africa but its so great. Also some cool variations on the main themes of each track. But again those sections are too few and far between for my tastes. Still good though. The highs are very high to be fair.

Starter lidt syret ud, men især anden halvdel af sangen Zombie får virkelig én i dansehumør.

Nice nice afro

7/10

I am sure this is better than I am rating it. The deficiencies are all mine.

C'est comme assez fun et dansant en général, mais les winds sonnent faux, particulièrement sur la toune live, et ça ça m'agresse. 27 femmes faut le faire pareil!

Fun. Jazzy with some afro beats.

Never heard of the bloke now 2 albums in 2 weeks

First Fela Kuti album I've listened to and honestly dig the grooves in this. Though I feel like the consequences and history of this album release was more interesting.

i was very intrigued to hear the father of afrobeats! i was not sure if i would like it once i got into the first track, but if you put it on as background music it's actually really fun i would play this to set up the scene in an old vigilante cop movie while shots of the city flashed on screen, giving the audience a feel for the energy and tension to come

Dude, the history behind this album gets me pumped! I wanted to like this before I even listened! Also, guy married 27 ladies. This is a level of charm that might need to be studied. But perhaps it hasn't because he divorced most at once because he ended up thinking that marriage breeds jealousy. Nevermind only having one. This guy released an album speaking against his government at a time where that was deadly. Maybe he thought hiding the message between funky jazz sections made it tough to get to, but that funky jazz was good. The result being what is thought to be the murder of his mother and the destruction of his entire commune. Music is the weapon

Good world music

3,1

fela has a ton of great albums, this is probably his best

so much jazz on this list. I liked it okay but it doesn't stand out to me

Good beats. Definitely not what I expected. Give the album’s Wikipedia page a read if you haven’t!

This album has some really cool percussion, saxophone, and brass. I appreciate the jazz influence on the afrobeat sound. All of the songs feel pretty chill, but it is actually quite a political album (thanks Kerri for referencing the Wikipedia page about the album - the backstory is wild). Fela Kuti seems to have been an important political activist in Nigeria. He also apparently had 27 wives at one point. Knowing the context, I can definitely see why this album is on the list. My favorite song was Mistake. 7/10.

This was an interesting album. The instruments were really cool and same with the rhythms. The vocals and lyrics were very repetitive

Ihan leppoisaa Africa bambaatta rytmimusaa.

Fun album!

Há que se fazer uma consideração importante: o álbum original (1976), de pouco mais de 25 minutos, é composto pelas faixas 1 e 2. São temas mais centrados na mistura de música africana e funk. A versão do Spotify é de um CD lançado em 2010 com duas faixas extras é bem mais interessante, com destaque para os elementos jazzísticos. A última faixa "Mistake" (ao vivo no Berlin Jazz Festival - 1978) é o ponto alto do disco.

Prima

Interesting groove throughout, great musicianship. Not quite my fave but worth listening to.

# 562 : Zombie Zombie – Funky, Political, and 20 Minutes Too Long What a groovy, fun album! Zombie kicks off with its title track—upbeat, politically charged, and somehow still makes you want to dance. It’s a combo I can get down with. The energy is infectious, the groove is undeniable… and then it just keeps going. And going. Four tracks over 53 minutes means you’re getting a lot of jam for your buck—but if you shaved off about four minutes from the start and end of each track, you’d have a banger. Instead, it’s another one for the “why is this on the must-hear list?” pile. Verdict: Three stars for the groove. One for the patience required. If you have to listen to this, look out for : Zombie Listened: 05/09/2025

Fela Kuti delivers a powerful message, even if the music itself doesn’t resonate with me personally.

Hypnotic and really drew me in.

Again jazz, mainly instrumental, nice for background music, nothing memorable.

Nice afrobeat tunes! I’d give it more like a 3.8 out of 5 :)