Live!

I've been putting this one off for a while and I was missing out. This album is so excellent and groovy. I may not listen to an individual song from this again, but I would certainly through this on. I'm really impressed at how engaging this is and I don't understand any of the (sparse) lyrics on this thing. Light 5/5, totally needed to hear this

Fela Kuti is a legend and this is an excellent introduction to the American-Nigerian crossover Afrobeat that's only gotten more and more popular in the decades since this album released. Also, as great as this album is, it is 2025 and I just kinda got bored.

This was amazing I loved it

Fela Live! is absolutely explosive. Fela as a vocalist is so powerful and commanding. This is sort of my first proper exploration of afrobeat and the intensity and persistence of these grooves blew me away. Track after track, their phrases are simply as infectious as they are ferocious. The playing is incredibly tight and rhythmic as one would expect, but due to the way the drums specifically were recorded, it makes you feel like you're in the room with them. The drums are the star of the show in my eyes because of their meditative rhythmic properties. One does not have to know much about Nigerian music history to appreciate this album, for the energy is immediate and potent as soon as Let's Start kicks off. The instrumentation is just fantastic on every song, with bass and horn passages that mutate and grow or deform as the tracks go on, often time giving way to other instrumental passages and opening a track up to a different but equally intense groove. Fantastic album.

My second album by Fela Kuti! This one was a lot of fun to listen to- it had a lot of musical talent that shined through, and you could hear how much the crowd enjoyed the performance. Really nice background music for working, driving, vibing, etc. Overall- I enjoyed it

very interesting, great rhythms - would've been great to be there !

What an album! The energy and playfulness is off the charts, and the entire band is on point.

Hell yes! Second time getting a Fela Kuti album and second time I'm giving him 5 stars. Never heard of him before this but he's been nothing short of amazing so far. The drumming here in particual was great. 9/10

Thoroughly enjoyable.

At first, I wasn't sure that it lived up to the raucousness of my fav Fela Kuti studio recordings but as it went on I felt more and more hypnotized and really enjoyed it a lot.

This man *explodes* into his music. I have serious band energy envy. Okay Fela is amazing but can anyone else hear how this clearly inspired "Chacarron" by El Chombo? Black Man's Cry is incredible. I am listening to this song while reading a news article about Trump relocating "persecuted" white South Africans to the US as "refugees" after denying refugee status to black and brown people. The persecution these White South Africans face is quite literally them having 20x the household wealth as the average Black South African family as well as 4x lower unemployment rate. Read that and re-listen to Kuti's cries. Ye Ye De Smell is a bop front to back. no notes. Egbe Mi O also stellar. Ginger v Allen is GOATED. Kuti is amongst the greatest musicians of all time. Finally - I like how the nice man talks to the audience between songs

some great grooves but not my thing

This needs to be on some sort of short album list to throw on just whenever. It’s so easy to listen to!

Good album although I honestly only remember the drum solo cut

The songs are too long, not enough is happening. 'Ye ye de smell' is quite okay. But whose idea was it to add a 'la la la'-chant to 'Egbe mi o'? That's silly. Watch out when listening this at Spotify. O totally unnecessary SIXTEEN minute long drum solo was later added to the album, in itself kind of weird because it was recorded in 1978, seven years after the album. Weird.

Really enjoyed it!

Yeah alright, wasn’t in the mood for some jam stuff tho

Very funky. Interesting to hear Ginger Baker in this context

Funky as FUCK, interesting to hear ginger baker drum in a less orthodox way, very fun would listen again

Objectively good but not really my vibe. Bit too much whooping...

listened to first track it ok

What a pleasant and fun surprise. Great recording quality and huge sound. Awesome

Listening to this groovy album was the perfect way to start my week. This album has an infectious groove, you can't not move your body when listening to the first two tracks (or really, the whole album). Black Man's Cry was one of my favorites. Hearing the vocals combined with the perfectly timed instruments lights me up! The production on this album is so incredibly crisp. Each song flows beautifully, to the point where I didn't even notice how long some of the songs were. I could listen to this album nonstop, because it is one of those albums where you hear something new on each listen.

Let's Start What We Have Come Into The Room To Do 1001 Albums Generator 23 (05/05/2025) I was hoping I would get some Mexican music for Cinco De Mayo, but I guess Nigeria is the next closest thing. Mexico is an observer state in the African Union after all. Fela Kuti was a Nigerian musician who pioneered and popularized the genre Afrobeat in the 1970's. Recorded near the beginning of his 70's peak in the famous Abbey Road Studios, Live! was the sixth album released by Fela Kuti and his band Africa '70. In spite of the name, this is not a live album in the traditional sense, having been recorded "live in studio" as opposed to "live in concert". However, it certainly has the energy of a live album, with banter between songs and song introductions by the ever-entertaining Fela. Additionally, Ginger Baker, the drummer for Cream, was featured on this recording after appearing on Kuti's previous album, Black Men Dey Suffer. Baker had spent time exploring Africa alongside Kuti to familiarize himself with the music and rhythms of the continent. Before this album, I had only heard one album from Fela Kuti: 1975's Expensive Shit. The way that Fela mixes western jazz and funk elements with African rhythms and instrumentation on long jams on that album really intrigued me, so I was excited to hear more from him here. What better place to start than the man himself, Fela Kuti? As a Yoruba man from Nigeria growing up in the mid 1900's, Fela experienced a lot of chaos throughout his life. When Nigeria became independent of British rule in the 1950's, tensions between the different ethnic groups in the country (including the Yoruba) were extremely high. Then in the 1960's, Nigeria saw the secession of the Biafra state and the ensuing starvation of over a million of its people by the Nigerian government. This Civil War ended in 1970, one year before Fela recorded this album. Interestingly, this chaos is translated into music not as anger, but as rebellious joy. What made Fela such a unique character in the history of music (among other things) was that while he allowed his circumstances to fuel his music through the lyrics, album covers, and messaging (oftentimes his songs would feature lyrics describing the plight of his people), he did not allow these circumstances to negatively impact the energy of his art. He instead opted to take the disarray around him and focus it into unbridled vitality. And that vitality is infectious. One needs only listen to the nearly screamed vocals of Black Man's Cry or the Hey Jude-esque la la la's at the end of Egbe Mi O to hear this. The man could command a room like no other. In addition to his duties as frontman, Fela found himself behind the organ quite a lot, with my favorite solo of his on this album being on the aforementioned Black Man's Cry. Another key element of Fela's music, and one of the definitional aspects of Afrobeat in general, is the call-and-response between the vocals and the instruments. On this album, this idea can be seen most on the B side, with Ye Ye De Smell featuring Fela's wordless vocals sparring with the Africa '70's horn section. Let's talk about this Africa '70. Africa '70 was Fela Kuti's trusty band, with whom Fela released a huge portion of his extensive output throughout his career. The most notable members are Igo Chiko on the tenor sax and the incredible drummer Tony Allen, of whom Fela Kuti once said "without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat". Additionally on side 2, we get a second drummer, the equally talented Ginger Baker, who, after travelling throughout Africa alongside Fela, fits right in with the rest of Africa '70. The double drumming, along with the percussionists and conga players, make this an extremely rhythmic album. My body was moving the whole time. This really is a nearly perfect album. It is exquisitely played and the mixing is really cool, especially on headphones. Fela's songwriting, while simple in theory, is masterful in execution. While I would lean towards encouraging Expensive Shit as a better introduction to Fela, Live! may very well be just as great. 4.5, rounded up to 5. Favs: Black Man's Cry Ye Ye De Smell Egbe Mi O (Carry Me) Least Fav: Let's Start

Definitelybis repetitive. Seems like a "you had to be there" show to me.

Very fun and groovy album. I had a very fun time listening, I think I would have liked it a little more if the songs were trimmed and they added more songs though. Low 5.

It’s the polyrhythmic drums and Fela’s charisma that carries the day. The whole album just makes you wanna dance.

Was impressed by the musicianship, but got bored pretty quickly.

I thought this was pretty great. The last song, the drum solo, was a bit of a waste though (we were supposed to listen to the one with Ginger Baker, right?)

Fela is one of the greats. This was a lot of fun, although there are multiple Fela recordings that I prefer to this one. The drum solo just went on a bit too long for me (sorry Kyle). I love some drums, but I don’t think the live experience quite translates over wax. 7.5

Very cool

I don't have the benefit of age and perspective to help me understand its impact on Afrobeat, but this album had me groovin real good. Great production values, sick performance, awesome songs. As a drummer who looks down on two-drummer performances and detests drum solos, I actually really enjoyed Ginger Baker's contributions to this album. Knowing the last track was a 15-minute drums-only performance, I wasn't really looking forward to it, but leading up to it with 45 minutes of killer Afrobeat created the right atmosphere and context.

This is one of the few non-US/non-UK albums here on this list, which are really one of the albums you should hear "before you die". It doesn't really matter if you like it or not. If you are interested in music and interested in which musicians have had a big influence and changed music styles through the time, this is one of the albums you need to listen to. It is such a shame that this list of 1001 albums does not have more of important albums like this one but so many mediocre (US/UK) pop albums, which will be forgotten in a few years!

Fave track: egbi mi o

Damn! What a strong opening, great vibes so far. It's Jazz, it's world music, it's danceable.

I’m really glad this album is included in the list, because we all know how underrepresented music from anywhere other than the US, UK, and Canada is. I grooved with the rhythms, but felt that the jazz horns and all that weren’t too interesting. Overall, though, great album. Favorite Track: Egbe Mi O (Carry Me)

peak

live music is so sick

En que momento me he comido unas setas ???

The Good: Live! The Bad: Live! The Ugly: The scratches on my head while I am trying to figure out why I’ve had to listen to 2 albums from this fella… Seriously… Zombie, or whatever the other album was called, already made me wonder why I had to listen to this… and now I get served a Live! album to boot? Seriously? I better get to listen to 3 Oscar Peterson albums, just to cleanse my pallet… This album is getting 2*, only because I am not going by me mood, which would turn it into a 1* album and seriously make me re-think spending another 2 years on this daily journey...

Glad I listened. Tough for me to enjoy fully instrumental but I could tell this was good

Bit mental I think something that grows on you the more you listen something to go back too

Tasty jam sesh

First song felt like it'd be in a busy NY movie scene. Enjoyed some others. Got bored with the drum solo :/

Really cool! The last track with the really long drum solo reminds me of Whiplash. A little hard for me to discern the tracks, since they kind of flow into one big song for me, but I still enjoyed each of them equally, hah.

Unbelievable. This album was so funky and infectious. I am so glad that i heard it and can't wait to add it to my collection.

I was hesitant at first because I usually don’t like live albums, and this album is only 5 songs and over an hour long. I ended up loving it. Super funky!

An enjoyable listen start to finish. I didn’t listen to the 16 minute bonus track of the Ginger Baker/Tony Allen drum solo, seemed like a bit much. Maybe I’d enjoy it if I were high? Nope being high didn’t help with listening to the drum solo. That’s a big ask of someone to set aside 16 minutes for a drum solo. Yeah better off skipping, I still like the album and already gave it another listen. This is the type of album I was hoping to start out with. Artists I was familiar with but not familiar with the album. I know there will be some rough days ahead. #1

Ginger Baker!! Yea. Done. Gimme all of it.

Flowing, funky, hypnotic. Fela Kuti is the afro beat king. Having Ginger Baker on drums is 5 star icing on an already award winning, 5 star cake. Play this one loud. You'll feel like you're sitting in the room with them

a good jazz album to me is when people are going crazy and buddy they're going crazy on this one

Great Africana beats, amazing drums - was a very enjoyable performance.

It was interesting and unique but honestly the length of the songs and the lack of excitement brought the score down a lot.

Not my usual but kind of a vibe

I enjoyed this a lot. High 3 low 4.

Loved it!!!

Repetitive and generally not appealing. Made me irritated and could not finish.

- mostly instrumental - sounds like something that would be in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” or maybe “Baby Driver” - pretty solid

4 dig it

Live! is certainly a livelier album than i expected to be (no pun intended). I guess it might have been helped by the fact that not only did Fela Kuti perform it but also Cream's former drummer Ginger Baker helped out as well (of course alongside The Africa'70). It may not be as good as the other album i have heard in this project that he worked on (Cream's Disraeli Gears to those of you curious) this is still a fun album to listen to. The music had a very nice charm to it with it always sounding lively and upbeat even if it did feel like the album was dragging itself out a bit. There are better albums like this but i still enjoyed this one. Best Song: Black Man's Cry Worst Song: Let's Start

Vyborny, Fela Kuti je moje, predtim jsme to neslysel rad si poslechl.

Definitely not my cup of Cream! Reminds me of a raw James Brown, but definitely not my taste. The songs just seemed to ramble on like they were just having a jam session without a real finish in mind. I can imagine they were having a good time while doing it. Music wasn’t terrible, just not my thing.

I can understand how this album would be influential in its genre, but it’s not my taste. I can see listening to this style of music in an outside bar in the Caribbean but other than that it’s not for me.

I didn't want to expose myself as a jazz listener so early... please dont let this change your opinion of me… but I liked this a good bit. Would've been a 4, but subtracted points for the boring bassist, the fact that a 15 minute drum solo is excessive, and the fact that I saw Ginger Baker live once and he was kind of a jerk.

Repetitive and boring throughout. Not much to say, but I would have rather not listened to it. Not really sure why it's on this list.

This album’s true artistic quality has nothing to do with my rating- I personally was just not equipped with the taste to enjoy it. It reminded me of the parts of live concerts where they introduce the band but it went on for a full hour and that’s just something I do not know how to appreciate.

I thought it was fun, but a much. It was fun in the back at work

Ye Ye De Smell

Fela Kuti never fails to impress. While this album doesn't hold the same significance as "Zombie", it feels like a very fun live performance. The most interesting thing about this album is the appearance on the second half of Cream drummer Ginger Baker. American blues first grew out of African styles that had come to US through the slave trade. Later it evolved into blues rock popularized by British acts like Cream. For Ginger Baker to be performing alongside Fela Kuti, well, it's not exactly that the music came full circle. But it probably says something about the history of colonialism. Why that history was certainly ugly, it's great to find these moments of joy and love of music that manage to shine through.

Immediate love! I had heard Fela Kuti before, but not really listened ( which, like??). Fantastic.

I have listened to and seen Femi Kuti live before. Never thought to listen to his dad before! It's great, like big band/jazz/funk raised a baby in Africa. Even if that sounds like it's not your jam give a listen, it is well worth an hour. I can imagine the energy these folks had live, they must of put on a show!

Did not dislike, but it gets a little repetitive over time. Not necessarily a bad thing; it was sort of entrancing at times.

Pretty good for background music. 3.5/5

Awesome drumming. Adding to my collection and will listen again

Ginger Baker may not smell, but that last track drum duo was stanky. I will definitely be returning to Fela Kuti and the Africa 70

It’s definitely cool, they’re definitely talented, but how much absolute filler are we willing to take here?

SO COOL! I understand why I needed to hear this before I died.

Great to dance while grocery shopping, very upbeat melodies

La la la la la la la la la la la la

marvelous

sickes jazz album aber gab krassere imo

really fun, great vibes, you can feel its age a little bit and some parts are stronger than others but still really worth listening to

Not my bag but pretty cool still.

3.5

not my cup of tea but i like how it is upbeat and funky. fun to listen to.

I liked zombie a bit better than this one, felt a bit flat.

Not for me, but obviously very good

This is the only genre of music that I will tolerate a live album for. Could have done without the 17min drum solo track though... haha. Great jams, really liked this one.

Great listening for work.

Long winded but fun and funky

I love that last song on there. Banger

This was enjoyable but also slightly felt like a chore the songs were so long like I felt it dragged

Amazing! Fantastic album really love all the little ad libs from it being a live album, and the percussion is fantastic

Funky drummers! I’ve not listened to Fêla Kurt before, though I’ve heard of him. Will investigate further.

A joyful, energising album. Will revisit!

First class rhythms from these percussion personalities

great live album. Filled with captivating drums and solid grooves.

This is a great album. I'd never heard of Fela Kuti and have never been interested in Cream as I've always considered Clapton as an Eddie Van Halen for people who didn't know that they weren't cool. Be that as it may I was really impressed with this and love the horns and rhythm. I wish I knew what he is singing but it doesn't distract from enjoying the wonderful music. 4.25/5.

Nice. God hygge musik. Godt humør. Live oldskool blues

Simplesmente fantástico, ginger baker e fela kuti alinhamento cósmico, meteoritos sonoros.

Needs more lyrics

Not my thing

While I could tell I was listening to something put together by skilled musicians, it too often failed to capture my attention, though there were many great moments throughout. I liked the rough vocals throughout, especially the vocal harmonies in Egbe Mi O. Overall, not a bad listening experience, and I enjoyed listening to something a bit outside my personal taste, though the jams may have been a bit to long for me. Favorite song: Let’s Start

Love it.

Sehr drum-lastig. Wenig Songtext. Musikalisch jazz-artig mit afrikanischen Einflüssen. Ok, für mich nicht sehr attraktiv. 2/5

Another album by someone I've never heard of. Kuti's life was very eventful according to his Wikipedia page. The songs on the album are pretty good. Ginger Baker's on this album as well. I also liked the bonus track with Tony Allen. 3 stars for "Live!".

I enjoyed it. Not sure how to review it though. I'd scythes is by far the best "world" album I've heard - the music is really cool and the vocals are great as well. probably a 3.5 but zI'm feeling generous so I'll bump to a 4.

What a great album, so energetic, so funky, and so good. I heard about Fela Kuti, but never listened to his music, boy am I glad I discovered him now. I also just learned that this mix of traditional African music and rhythms, with funk and jazz is it's own genre, called Afrobeat. Didn't consider this interesting combination before, but it works together like magic, these are made for each other. There is not a single boring moment on the album, it just goes full speed all the way. There are 5 long songs, more like jam sessions, on here. Each one tells it's own story and doesn't feel overwhelming because of it's length. It just flows naturally and manages to stay coherent. The melodies and lines are phenomenal, rhythm section is nice and lively, Ginger Baker brings a new dimension on the songs where he makes an appearance. The vocals feature both an English and African lines. The African lyrics and chants convey a kind of down to earth, primal and basic human emotions. Emotions of love, freedom and happiness. What more do we need. Easy 4 stars, funky, soulful and jazzy, African rhythms.

As someone who has played drums for many years, I bizarrely found this very irritating

I was considering a 5 but I’ll go with a high 4 just because Egbe Mi O didn’t live up to the standard of the other songs, it wasn’t bad by any means though I just felt it lacked as much personality and enjoyment the other songs had. Other than that this was a really great live album which honestly made the songs feel a lot shorter than they actually were. Ginger Baker and Tony Allen do an awesome job throughout on drums but especially on the last few minutes of ye ye de smell which is my second favourite on here behind let’s start. I’m not including the drum solo in the rating as well just because it’s a bonus track of a later CD reissue plus it’s from a completely different concert 7 years later (It was good though). Overall this was just a really fun and enjoyable one to listen to (8/10).

own

this freaking rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it.

This felt more like a jam session you walk past at a festival than a life-changing masterpiece. Solid grooves, sure—but 3/5 for me. I came for fireworks, got an incense stick.

Very good

Fun joyous music.

This was fun. Good jazz/funk album

Unknown band for me. an interesting style of jazz. I enjoyed the drums solos which reminded me of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and Sex Machine. Good album.

Not for me but my Ghanaian colleague loved having Fela to listen to at work and told me all about him (Protest singer and his elderly mother effectively killed by the army when she was thrown out the window...)

2,5/5 Ihan hyvää taustamusaa työpäivään. Just ja just taipuu kolmen tähden puolelle.

Drum solo was a bit too much for me but the other tracks were really great.

Not sure if this was jazz or something more tribal, but it sounded good. Especially for being live. Kind of nice to have description for song titles

First track - great, sounds familiar Second track - good as well, liked the first one more Third Track - Ninja tuna sampled lol, good track Egbe Mi O chant at the end is great Drum solo goes on forever but is great Would be a good vinyl

A great listen

I dont know what this was but it was alright

Fun and funky afro jams! Good live album 7.5/10

Always energizing to hear Fela’s music. Translates incredibly well to the live format

First song, didn't know what to expect and then suddenly! Stab trumpets!! Bass!! Funk!! This was so fun to listen to, not my usual cup of tea but i'm very glad it was recommended.

Not really my thing

custom_rating: 7

Fuck yes. James brown era funk, jazz improvisation, African rhythms, impeccable drumming from Ginger Baker, Fela giving a once in a lifetime wailing performance and an unstoppable horn section. Fuck. Yes.

You can listen to it occasionally for a change. In general, monotonous African rhythms and screams are clearly not my thing, so 6 out of 10.

вайбово, понравилось. подойдет для летней пляжной вечеринки с мясом.

I have listened to some of his work, and it is incredible. I had no idea Ginger Baker worked with him. It must have been an interesting transition from Clapton's racism. Okay- listened all day- maybe the first album I have listened to multiple times in a while.

Fett! Her er det ekstremt mye å like. Høres sykt kult ut på litt høyt volum. Perfekt album. Den 13 minutter lange trommesoloen på slutten har nok ikke så høy replay Value men siden det er siste spor kan den lett hoppes over.

Kult men tror ikke det blir en enorm gjenganger

10/10.

Really enjoyed this one!

I am partial to Fela. Been listening to him for decades and actually won his entire music catalog in a contest w Giant Step Records, Lord, 24 yrs ago! And used to see his son Femi every time he came to NYC - AMAZING LIVE SHOWS! Fela the pioneer, here one of his 1st - and a jam sesh no less w Ginger Baker - sometimes it gets tedious, but it's like the Dead - who cares I love it anyway

An incredibly tight, long jam session. Felt like I was outside at the festival with them. After a bit though, It was repetitive- essentially one long song.

I can imagine this was more than a little mind blowing to those who came because of Ginger Baker in 1971 - never having heard Fela/afrobeat, etc. As an intro it's amazing. But I don't know if it's the best representation of Fela. It's got crazy energy. Vibes for days. Cathartic moments when all the elements collide after long instrumental breakdowns. The live in studio recording makes you feel like you're there. There is a joy you feel form the musicians who are having a great time. But what was a great intro 50 years ago today is not necessarily the best representation of a revolutionary artist. But more than worth a listen and then some.

got boring fast, 5 track album lasting over an hour is not for me

what i’ve learned from this process so far is that songs from the pre-streaming era are all either 90 seconds long, or 23 minutes, with absolutely no other options in between. although i do enjoy the change of pace with this one, i do feel like this would be more enjoyable to listen to live, in a musty dancefloor somewhere and probably under the influence. sitting in the concrete prison listening to afrobeats makes me more depressed than i was initially, as it reminds me of how i could be spending my young fun years out somewhere warm, instead of on burnaby mountain where it is currently 9 degrees and raining, and there is homework to be done. every tippy tap of the drum solo was tippy tapping directly onto my sad tired skull.

I liked the style of music but it was a bit too drum heavy for me (which I expected when I saw Ginger Baker and Live). Definitely the kind of album I could put on for some upbeat, energetic background music. I don’t know that I’d listen to this particular album again, but I’d check out some of the artist’s other work.

95% Best: All Tracks Must-Hear? Dude. Hell Yes.

Lively, fun, and brightens rainy days with ease. Also a very nostalgic sound for me since my parents had several Afrobeat CDs including some by Femi Kuti (Fela Kuti’s son)

The drum solo felt a bit short Edit Apr 15 2026: 2 --> 3. I like this sorta stuff more now

Live at Berlin is better!

Not really much ginger baker on here. Decent Afro/jazz/funk

Skön jazz att ha i bakgrunden, avslutar med 16 min trumsolo, underbart 🥁

Not bad

It was good but 16 minute songs are not compatible with my attention span.

I enjoyed it but more as background music.

Fun grooves that won't stop

Amazing album

Great album until you get to the 15 minute drum solo. No one wants a 15 minute drum solo. The first four songs are fantastic though.

Impressive. May become 5 stars after a few more listens

Groove upon groove. Excellent musicians.

16 minute long drum solo HELL yeah

I was replay blown away by the first two tracks. I’ve never heard afrobeat music before so I was blown away by the horns and the drums. My biggest problem with this album is that it’s a lot of filler. Everything after the first two songs were alittle over repetitive and forgettable. But I loved the energy of the album.

Im going to relisten to this when i need to lock in with my dissertation. Because the drums do hit but they also hit a little random when your on the train home from london after a pint.

Kappaleissa on hyvä tunnelma ja soitto kuulostaisi tapahtuvan paljolti improvisoiden. Silti kappaleet tuntuvat välillä pitkävetoisilta. Eli hauska levy, mutta myös paikallaan junnaava.

Suvereniteetti kuuluu. Tulee mieleen Santanan musiikki.muutaman rallin kohdalla en vaihtais kanavaa...

En tiennyt mitä odottaa mutta kävely kieltämättä soljui kovin svengaavasti tämän tahdissa. Tower of power -tyylistä funktorvitykitystä välillä piipahtaen eri soittimien jazzsooloihin yhdistettynä afrikkalaiseen rytmisektioon. Toimii! Tykkäsin siitä että rytmisektio on levyllä koko ajan hieman taustalla, jolloin se sekoittui musiikkiin paljon paremmin luoden kuitenkin koko hommalle selkärankaa.

Standouts: • Let's Start • Black Man's Cry • Egbe Mi O (Carry Me)

Impressive

No Fela Kuti means no Afrobeat, and what a gift that was! Fela Kuti was maybe one of the best bandleaders of all time. A charismatic and outspoken (very) dude who made a life of speaking truth to power, while changing the face of music. This is not my favourite Fela album, with Expensive Shit forever holding that spot in my heart, but how cool is it to see Tony Allen and Ginger Baker doing their thing? A delightfully percussion heavy record, and not to be replicated again in this lifetime.

Tycker det inte är lika bra som senare. Men den sista låter gör på många sätt och vis att den här kan hållas up med dem

Me voilà face à un monument, un nom qui, même pour le gamin que j’étais, enfermé dans les brumes de Manchester et les guitares dissonantes de New York, résonnait comme un écho lointain, exotique et furieusement authentique : Fela Kuti. En 1971, j'avais à peine un an et mon univers musical se résumait probablement aux borborygmes et aux comptines, pendant que de l'autre côté de la planète, au Nigeria, un type était en train de forger une arme musicale de destruction massive : l'Afrobeat. Et cet album, 'Live!' en est l'un des premiers clichés, une photo de famille encore un peu floue mais où l'on devine déjà la puissance dévastatrice et la folle énergie du clan. Soyons clairs, aborder Fela Kuti, ce n'est pas comme mettre un disque de The Cure. On ne parle pas de la même grammaire, du même alphabet. Ici, pas de format couplet-refrain-couplet de trois minutes trente. On est dans la transe, le marathon et les morceaux sont des fleuves qui s'étirent, prennent leur temps pour installer un groove hypnotique, une pulsation qui vous prend aux tripes et ne vous lâche plus. C'est à la fois la force immense de cette musique et, je dois l'avouer, ce qui peut parfois me faire un peu décrocher. Mon cerveau d'occidental, formaté par des décennies de structures pop et de tensions post-punk, a parfois du mal à se laisser complètement dériver sur ces longues plages instrumentales. C'est une musique qui exige un abandon total, une immersion. Ce "Live!" est un document fascinant pour plusieurs raisons. D'abord, il capture Fela en pleine mutation, il est en train de solidifier la formule de son Afrobeat, ce cocktail explosif de highlife ghanéen, de funk à la James Brown, de jazz libertaire et de rythmes traditionnels yoruba. C'est brut, organique, ça suinte la sueur et la conviction. Les cuivres ne sont pas là pour faire joli, ils lacèrent l'air, dialoguent, haranguent la foule. La section rythmique est une machine infernale, un moteur polyrythmique qui pourrait tourner pendant des heures sans jamais faiblir. Et puis, il y a le contexte, la présence de Ginger Baker, le batteur dément de Cream, à la production et même derrière les fûts sur un titre. Imaginez la scène : le dieu du rock anglais, l'un des batteurs les plus iconiques de sa génération, qui vient se frotter au groove tentaculaire de Lagos. C'est plus qu'une collaboration, c'est une validation, un pont jeté entre deux continents, deux révolutions musicales. On sent que Baker n'est pas là en touriste ; il est fasciné, il participe, il enregistre ce son volcanique avec un respect palpable. Cet album, c'est aussi ça : la rencontre de deux mondes qui se reconnaissent dans une même quête d'intensité et de liberté. Mais ce qui rend Fela absolument essentiel, et qui transcende la simple analyse musicale, c'est l'émergence de sa conscience politique. Ce n'est pas encore le Fela des brûlots incendiaires qui lui vaudront la prison, les passages à tabac et la mort de sa mère. Mais les graines sont là. Il chante en pidgin, la langue du peuple, celle qui parle à tout le monde. Et ce qu'il dit, entre les lignes des jams, c'est déjà une critique acerbe du pouvoir, de la corruption, de l'héritage colonial. La musique n'est plus seulement une fête pour le corps, elle devient un véhicule pour l'esprit, une arme. L'afrobeat n'est pas une simple B.O. pour se trémousser ; c'est la bande-son d'une prise de conscience, d'une lutte. Et ça, même si le format peut parfois me paraître longuet, ça force un respect immense. Alors, pourquoi seulement un 3 sur 5, me direz-vous ? C'est la note que je donne à un disque dont je reconnais l'importance historique et l'influence colossale, mais qui ne viendra pas se nicher dans ma discothèque personnel, celui des disques qui ont façonné ma propre histoire. Les morceaux de plus de dix minutes, les jams qui s'étirent jusqu'à plus soif, c'est un exercice qui me demande un effort, une concentration que je n'ai pas toujours. Je suis un homme de tension, de ruptures, de mélodies qui s'impriment en deux minutes. Fela, lui, est un homme de cycles, de mantras, de grooves qui s'installent pour l'éternité. Ce "Live!" est une porte d'entrée parfaite, c'est un témoignage brut de la naissance d'un géant et d'un genre musical. C'est le son d'un homme qui a compris qu'il pouvait faire danser les gens tout en leur ouvrant les yeux. C'est un document historique, une pièce à conviction dans le grand procès de la musique du XXe siècle. Un album à découvrir, mais pas forcément celui que vous aimerez le plus, mais un de ceux qui vous en apprendront le plus sur le pouvoir de la musique. Et rien que pour ça, sa place dans cette liste des 1001 albums est tout sauf usurpée.

Fela a bit more jammy than his usual style. Not the most interesting of his music but enjoyable in a different way. Listened to: at Metrotech. Favorite tracks: Let's Start

I knew I was gonna love this from the first note

I loved it! Can't fully explain it. Don't need to.

Mjög góð grúv, mjög töff.

When I saw one of the tracks was a 16-minute drum solo, my heart sank. That did test my patience, but it turns out it's a bonus track and therefore, under my personal project rules, it doesn't have to taint the rest of this joyous, groove-filled album.

This is a great fun live album. Did I need a whole side that’s basically a drum solo? No, but the rest is just great

A voyage - into the unknown.

this album wasn't my thing

Not available on iTunes. Amazing album.

What an incredibly fun album, full of rhythms, solos, and vocalizations. This combination of jazz and world genres explores an inherently rich world of cultures. Just so much fun.

Great stuff

ginger went crazy

Great beats, must listen again

Not for me

Nice Jazz Album

Pretty good. I loved the call and response parts

Groovy! This was something i was truly unfamiliar with so it was a nice treat to get a chance to listen. Very enjoyable and the energy is electric!

Overall, a lot of fun. Nicely funky. I admit that the bonus track duelling drum solo (duo) lost me a bit after a while - 16 mins is a long drum solo!

2/3

Excellent instrumentation.

there are 10+ fela kuti albums better than this get ginger baker out of here

Listened: 24/02/2025 Album no: 27 % rating: 78% Fave Song: A Black Man’s Cry One tight as fuck live band holy crap.

Repetitive, percussion-dense funky grooves. They find their beat and baseline and hold steady, allowing for improvisations and flourishes from keys, guitars, and horns /saxes. It can be quite fun, exuberant, and danceable at times, and quite intense at others - but it doesn’t always hold that feeling consistently for the long track lengths.

Hypnotic, serves well as background music, Fela Kuti jamming with his band and augmented with Ginger Baker. Whats not to love about this? Maybe not if you want pop songs, but thats not what Kuti did. 9/10

what if they made the whole plane out of solos

n my perspective, Live! by Fela Kuti is an electrifying experience that perfectly captures the raw, unbridled energy of an Afrobeat pioneer in full flow. The album delivers a relentless, groove-driven performance that manages to be both politically charged and musically mesmerizing—a live snapshot of Fela at his absolute best. What really blows me away about this record is the groove. The rhythm section is utterly hypnotic, with tight percussion and basslines that keep you locked in from start to finish. The horn arrangements are brilliant, bursting through the mix with an intensity that injects each track with an unmistakable vibrancy. Fela’s vocals is raw, unfiltered, and full of passion demanding your attention as he belts out his message with an unwavering intensity that’s hard to ignore. The production on this live album is lush for a raw recording. It’s impressive how well the mix captures the atmosphere of the performance, balancing the intricate instrumental layers while still letting Fela’s commanding vocals shine through. Every instrument has its space, yet together they create a cohesive, exhilarating soundscape that feels both spontaneous and meticulously crafted. That being said, it's not all flawless. Some of the extended tracks can feel a bit overlong, especially if you're not in the mood for a marathon of Afrobeat grooves. There are moments when the repetitiveness might leave you thinking, "Alright, mate, enough already," even though I appreciate the hypnotic quality of the repetition. Also, the live setting means there's a bit of roughness in the sound, it's raw and unpolished, which adds to the charm for some, but can be a tad off-putting if you're after a cleaner mix. In the end, Live! by Fela Kuti is an absolute banger that transports you right into the midst of his legendary live shows. The vibrant energy, killer percussion, and soulful horns create a lush, immersive experience that I genuinely dig. Despite a few minor quibbles with its length and raw sound quality, it’s a must-listen for anyone who appreciates authentic, hard-hitting music. For me, it scores a solid 4.8/5 stars – a rousing, unforgettable ride into the heart of Afrobeat.

Within seconds after the needle dropped, I lifted it back up and said, "This is a 5*" I was right

He changed his name to Anikulapo (meaning "He who carries death in his pouch", with the interpretation: "I will be the master of my own destiny and will decide when it is time for death to take me").

9/10 Stellar, one of the most exhilarating and groovy live recordings you should listen to, Fela Kuti and his band the Africa 70 bring together a spiritual adrenaline through Jazz, Funk, and West African music on 4 extensive grooves. Kuti’s vocals guide these songs all the way through with anthemic words, hypnotic rhythms and passion. The strong backbone on this album is the percussion section, mainly Tony Allen and collaboration with Ginger Baker of Cream, it’s indulgent, intricate, and addictive, these uniting forces make for an absolutely killer live performance. It’s a stepping stone to the band’s more essential and politically charged work, but it amounts to a near perfect collaboration at the same time. https://youtu.be/M8fz9_SZrEs?si=dLV3DsHLN5afGkZN&t=180

Great for dinner time

If you love drums this is a fantastic album

mietitään genretystä... jokaiselle gebrelle sopisi 3.0 a g... eli mitä täll?.... lh ei ole aovan hullunkurista aika mid menoa niin kolme..

Afrobeat not really my thing tbh. But the music is quite nice and good chill music. drum solo kinda crazy Ngl. I’d give it a 1/5.

Interesting album! I appreciate it even though it's not what I love traditionally.

Jag gillar Afrobeat och Fela Kuti är gudfadern till Afrobeat men just detta livealbum skänkte mig ingen större njutning. 2 av 5

3.5

8.35 ★★★★

Afrobeat is usually always cool, but in this case, as is the case with quite a few afrobeat albums, it ends up a bit repetitive in the long run. 3.5 stars

Not totally my thing, but it is pretty cool. 3.5.

4.5

It’s live. It’s a jive. Drums thrive and thrive again times eighty-five. Grooves are a big bounding restless beehive. Fela Kuti is the headlining feature along with Cream’s own cutey Ginge Baker but the latter is only on a couple of tracks so he kinda takes a skive. This Fela guy is great and definitely worthy of a deep dive. The whole album is a giant yes from me, Clive.

I really enjoyed this. A good mix of rock, african beat and some soul. would definitely try and remember the band and pick up an album if i came across it

Pretty sweet way to start my Monday. One of the better worldwide selections I’ve received.

Banger of an album, but the drum solo in Ye Ye De Smell did drag on a bit.

No, thank you

Simply an awesome album. 5 great tracks, the last being a quarter-hour long drum solo, with great musicianship and an infectious energy throughout.

So this was a cool live album, but it all kinda just felt the same, nothing wrong with it just didn't peak my interest also when an album restarts and I don't know it seems like not a good thing haha

Hell yeah! Fela is a great performer and Ginger is a great drummer. What an awesome live show

Fantastic

Jazz, Afro-centric, World music all flowing through Fela's music. And to close out his percussion heavy album with a 16+ minute drum solo with Ginger Baker??? Perfection. 5/5

Surprisingly good for a live album. Never heard of it at all but the songs are long and complex and quite impressive. Favorite is Ye Ye De Smell

I love this live jazz progressive feel!

good stuff- love the drum solos at the end.

First? 3/5 Again? 2/5

This would not be an album or music that would ever be on my radar if it weren’t for this project. I enjoyed listening to the album for something new but would not return to it for listening pleasure. That said it wasn’t bad but I would have liked it more if the songs were shorter.

classic

Sooooo much percussion, wow. Feel sad i'm not nearby a campfire

A really cheery set of tunes. Sounds like a bunch of guys having fun making music

This was a fun record to listen to. I appreciate the rhythms and jazz/funk stylings throughout. Not much else to say, but it's a good listen. 3/5

YUUUUUUUUP

Wow. This is fabulous. I had heard of Fela Kuti, but never listened. Not sure if Ginger Baker is bringing much to the party.

Very interesting music, but the over-16 minute long drum solo brings this down from a 4 to a 2.5.

fantastic album. the grooves do tend to overstay their welcome after a while though.

New music definitely for me Imo instrumental was kinda catchy ngl especially the drum solo towards the end But 3/5 Not really my type but I’m glad I gave it a listen

Never gonna listen to it again, but I’m glad I did. Super unique and fun just not my genre

This album is an absolute banger. From start to finish it was a pleasure to listen to.

Pretty good! I could see myself having this on in the background if I was trying to get some work done. My arms hurt after just listening to that 16 minute long drum solo!

Eh

Blast of some live afrorock. Always love me some fela.

Funky, energetic, meditative and fun! I am often less of a fan when it comes to live albums, but in this case it totally makes sense.

I actually really enjoyed this, and I can't even explain why. I think usually because it was a live album, and I tend to enjoy those more, especially when the artist tells some back story or engages the crowd.

This is the 21st album I’m rating. What is this? I am going into this completely blind. This better not be a live double album like Space Ritual. Let’s Start - Adding to my Playlist. Is that Ginger Baker from Cream? This song is fantastic. Black Man’s Cry - Adding to my Playlist. This is a fantastic album so far. Ye Ye De Smell - Adding to my Playlist. I think this is the only Afrobeat I’ve listened to in my life and it’s great. Egbe Mi O (Carry Me I Want to Die) - Adding to my Playlist. A really fun album all around. Although it might be sad if I could understand him but I can’t hear the words in English too well. All in all I liked 4/4 songs. Great album and one of my top 20 albums. I haven’t heard anything from this genre and it was really interesting.

Lots of good music here. Not always the fan of drum solos longer than normal songs, but I guess he's Ginger Baker and he gets to do that. (8 known/14 new)

Fantastic

Certainly a unique and enjoyable album, I'm glad it's on the list. However, it loses a bit of touch as the super long songs get rather monotonous after a while. Still cool to get to know Fela's work a bit. A strong 3.

Geburtsstunde des Afrobeats. Fela Kutis Band umfasste bis zu 40! Mitglieder, da ist Koordination gefragt. Tolle Soli. 5 Lieder in 1 Stunde, das ist schon extraordinär.. Ja, und darum sind die Songs auch langatmig, es kommt kein Instrument zu kurz. Wäre eher kein Konzert für mich. Meine Aufmerksamkeitsspanne ist zu kurz😂Als Person war Fela Kuti kontrovers.

das isch funky. fela kuti legende vom afrobeat. ha sin sohn mol gseh am paleo. nöd so geil. das isch am cooke doo. das macht gad no spass zum lose. lieb wie wiederholend de bass isch. und s keys solo drüber super. drums grooved au hert. was macht de ginger döt?? yeye de smell geeeeile titel. es isch sehr moderne jazz und ich lieb wies d soli lebe loht und d instrument chönd soliere. aber s isch scho repetitiv

okee han gad sehr gueti luune hahaha also ich han nöd nöd mega vill dezue z sege aber ich liebs bis jz d perkussion isch insane bin huere froh dass de ginger baker nöd smelled hahahah find d atmosphäre vom konzert megaa schön, jz wos zemme singed gits eim richtig es heimeligs gfühl. via!

Catching this live in some African jazz club in the 70s would’ve been something. I hadn’t heard of Fela Kuti before but I’ll have to dig through the catalog a bit as this is pretty awesome on the first listen. 3.5, might round up after a few listens.

4.3 This is the 2nd Fela album we've covered on the list. And by far he has been the one person/group that I have instilled in my music rotation. Beware of Mister Baker is a pretty good doc if you haven't watched it before, covers a bit into gingers journey into Fela, African Music and African Women

Pa dosta kul, znamo ih slušati nekad. Mogu se zamisliti da odljepljujem na tom liveu, ovako mi se možda malo od tog druma dogodi zasićenje, ali sve u svemu, apsolutno zasluženo mjesto tu i jedan od legendi tog doba. 4/5, 7.5/10

Vrh. Obožavam ga. Totalno me uvuče u glazbu i svijet koji stvara. Kao ovo je afrobeat funk, ali meni je ovo dosta jazzy. Ritam sekcije kidaju, melodije su catchy, njegov glas mi je super, sviđa mi se što je dosta politički orijentiran iako se ne kuži uvijek na prvu. Njega si rado pustim za aktivno ili background slušanje

duran caleta las canciones

3.4 - Yeah it was good, not much else to say tbh

This wasn't quite as fun as I was expecting. It becomes quite repetitive and not much stuck out from this one for me. Great vibes as always, but I prefer some of the studio work. The 16 minute drum solo track is a bit of a test. 3.3/5

I liked it, except for the repetitive two minutes at the end of each song.

Not for me

So, if you like concerts that have long drawn out songs that are mostly instrumental riffs, you’ll like this album. Also, I think there’s a special place in heaven for those who appreciate and even more so, like drum solos. Me, I just kept asking myself, when will this song be over? Needless to say, this one just isn’t for me. Two stars.

muy bueno

I really enjoyed this 7/10 - was different to what I usually go for, made me want to go and dance in a sweaty room.

rocks. music: appreciated. (⌐■_■)

Hell yeah, obviously

Still can't fully get on board with 10+ minute long improvised jazz, but this was more accessible and enjoyable to me than most I've heard

i mean. it’s obviously technically great. i can hear how good it is. and the third track is definitely my favourite. i’m just not a fan of 12+ songs and hour long albums: can’t you say what you need to in less time? but for mr fela i can let all that go and appreciate the importance of the album

Incredible musicianship, nothing but respect, jazz ain’t my thing

This was very cool. Knew Ginger Baker from Cream, but was not expecting this album. Crazy percussion and energy. Actually let the algorithm run for a few hours in the garage to see what else it would play, I knew none of it but liked damn near all of it.

This was such a cool album. Fun to listen to. If I get back into running it will be part of a long run playlist

Groovie!

I love Fela so much...

YAY

In the immortal words of Ringo Starr, “you can’t play Imagine on the drums.” Really enjoyed this. Not keen to hear it again, mainly due to the endless drum solo, and the 15minute tracks.

I can tell this is the progenitor + blend of multiple genres I enjoy to this day. So delightful!

Cool! But very boring.

Great live album. Great vocals.. I just don't think the 16 minute drum solo was needed though

I really like this one. Afro fusion rhythms

Very funky but I prefer lyrics

Reading

sehr nice energy. Das drum solo war der hammer.

6,5/10 This was good. In-studio live, high vibes and focused on African rhythms. Everything played so well, you could feel the soul in the vocals. Could have done without the 16 minute drum duel at the end. Best: Black Man’s Cry

Ended up liking this a lot more than I expected. I’ve been getting into live jam music more lately and that’s exactly what this is. Five songs and just over an hour. It’s a lot of horns and bass and drums and keyboards in a funk direction but I can get down with it

Fela Kuti - Fela With Ginger Baker Live! Really fun album to listen! It's groovy, straight to the point music that makes you want to dance all day and night long. While it's not something I would listen to any day, I appreciate that albums like this exist for anybody to check in the future, and just reminisce how life felt different during those times, that being the 70's. Overall, this is REALLY great! 1.- Let's Start = 9/10 2.- Black Man's Cry = 8/10 3.- Ye Ye De Smell = 10/10 4.- Egbe Mi O (Carry Me) = 8/10 FINAL SCORE: 8.7/10

meh, very jammy, was okish. 2/5

4/5

6.8/10

Fun listen.

Good 70s jams music. Haven’t heard a drum solo in a while.

Great jam album but can get repetitive

Its quality music, energizing, just not the genre im crazy about

It's good music, would be fun to see live. Will I listen to again: 15%

Just so much fun. The grooves are immaculate.

Man they were on some good gear in the 70s.

It's just jazz 😐

Worth the listen. I got in to the 60s keyboards. The rest of the music is a bit repetitive for me.

Really cool, fun, semi experimental live album.

This was my first time listening to this type of album, and I absolutely loved it.

I love Fela Kuti. I don't know this album as well as some of the others, so I was surprised this one is on the list (others to come I assume). I also love Ginger Baker's drums, so it was a treat to be reminded of this gem.

yes. all of this.

Extremely my shit!!!!!!

My second Fela Kuti album on this list. I didn't think this one was quite as strong as the first, although it's still great.

This would be a great album from the 1970's, but only an okay one from the 2000's

Zou ik zonder de 1001 challenge ooit naar dit album hebben geluisterd? Nee. Ben ik blij dat ik het ontdekt heb? JA! ik hou van al de instrumenten, de mensen op de achtergrond en de stem van Fela. Ik kan er mij surprisingly heel goed op concentreren. Het album is een vibe! Certified banger.