"Music Is the Weapon is a triple-disc package that contains both volumes of The Best of Fela Kuti volumes and the terrific documentary the title of this set comes from. There are a total of 13 tracks over the two discs, ranging from "Shakara," "Zombie," and "Sorrow Tears and Blood." Some cuts here, such as "Gentleman" and "Water No Enemy" are edited versions, while still others, such as "Shuffering and Shmiling," are the second parts of album-length jams. Nonetheless, while it's a bit irritating to not have entire tracks, this set makes for a quite decent sampler of Kuti's glory years". (Allmusic)
"This CD collects albums from 1980 and 1982. "Original Suffer Head", from 1982, stands as the first release from Fela Kuti's new Egypt 80 band. At this point, the compositions are still relatively tight and riff-heavy. The music is getting a bit more complex, but not so much as would be notable later. The album makes criticism of the lack of basic necessities for African citizens, despite a wealth at the time from oil deposits. The accompanying laid-back "Power Show" hearkens back to the lyrics of the '70s, wherein he simply mocks lower-grade officials. This time through, he makes fun of various civil servants flexing their authoritarian muscles for respect. "I.T.T." is a direct attack upon the then-president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, and International Telephone and Telegraph head M.K.O. Abiola. These high level officials were in collusion with foreign business and exploiting the average African. Musically, one can note a small progression toward the deeper sound of the '80s." (Adam Greenberg, Allmusic)
Fela Kuti, de man die zo'n belangrijke rol speelde in de eerste golf van waardering van 'wereldmuziek', met name de Afrikaanse, onder een breed publiek in de Westerse landen. Die ook de Afrikanen de waardering voor hun eigen tradities en vernieuwende creativiteit terug gaf. Dat verdient een box. (GR Muziekbank) "Nigeria's Fela Kuti is difficult to anthologize, since his groundbreaking Afro-beat fusion of funk, bebop, and James Brown seldom led to tunes clocking in at less than ten minutes, and they usually ran much longer. As a case in point, this three-disc box set has only 16 tracks, but don't fret, the circular, urgent path of this exciting music pulls you in to Fela's world, where time moves according to his recipe. Novice listeners should probably pick up The Best Best of Fela Kuti double-disc first, but this set makes a good second purchase, since there is little overlap between the two collections. King of Afrobeat includes a 36-page booklet and extensive liner notes by David Toop." (Allmusic)
Twee LP's uit 1976 op één CD; beide met twee nummers van ongeveer een kwartier. "The rhythms on "Ikoyi Blindness" were a little tighter and more highlife-influenced than they had been on albums from earlier in the decade. The title track was pretty typical of Fela efforts from the period, both in its structure that built up to a call-and-response vocal and in its taut two-chord melodic base. "Gba Mi Leti Ki N'Dolowo (Slap Me Make I Get Money)" is a little more interesting due to its choppier rhythms, more vibrant percussion, stuttering low guitar riff, and extended haunting electric keyboard lines. By the time of 1976's "Kalakuta Show", Fela's releases were starting to seem not so much like records as ongoing installments in one long jam documenting the state of mind of Nigeria's leading contemporary musician and ideological/political dissenter. The lyrics go far outside the usual funk/pop spectrum, detailing his harassment at the hands of the Nigerian police." (Richie Unterberger, Allmusic; 4 uit 5 sterren)
Samenwerking tussen de in augustus '97 overleden eigenzinnige Nigeriaanse saxofonist/zanger/bandleider Kuti en vibrafonist Ayers uit 1980. Twee lange tracks vol repeterende elementen en politiek getinte teksten.
Twee LP's, uit 1974/75, op 1 CD. Beiden bevatten lange nummers, in z'n bezwerende afrobeatstijl met funktrompetten, freejazz-uitspattingen, hypnotiserende Nigeriaanse percussie en drums, maar ook zweverig orgelspel.
2 LP's uit resp. 1974 en 1973, op 1 CD. De hypnotiserende afrobeat, met stuwende drums van de niet te onderschatten Tony Allen, neigt soms naar free- en fusionjazz, mede door abstracte patronen uit toen hippe instrumenten als Fender Rhodes.
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