I bought this 2-CD compilation of Fela Kuti's more or less on a whim. I'd heard a little bit about Fela Kuti's music, I'd seen a video of his son Femi on one of the Bonnaroo DVDs, but the tipping point was reading the Music as a Force article on Fela over at the Soul Shack.
Boy, am I happy I did! Fela's music is something special and then some... Actually, the groove of the first track on this "best of" had a catchy yet familiar groove but it was only when the singing started that I realised that I knew Lady from Hugh Masakela's live Hope.
Infectious groove, luscious horns, funky guitar work, jazz meets afro-pop, I'm sure all of these things have been said about Fela Kuti's music, and it's all true, but none of it really helps you grasp it until you hear it. Rarely have I listened with such pleasure to transe music. Of course I have records by the Drummers of Burundi, and I love jam rock, so you could say I was predisposed to loving this stuff. Sure, you have to enjoy getting into a groove over 10+ minutes, but these grooves are irresistible.
This best of entitled just Fela Kuti has only 13 songs but over two hours of deep groovy music. Besides Lady, I particularly love Zombie, which has something more menacing about it. Roforofo Fight, with its primal beet and deep horn riffs is also a killer. But all this is not saying much. I got this compilation for less than 10 EUR and it's the best money I invested in recent months! If you like world music, if you like jazz or funk, if you like jam bands, you should be right at home with this!
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