On the Playlist 2JAN2019….

Happy New Year to everyone! Decided to start the new year with Fela Kuti and his album/track "Beasts of No Nation". This track which took up the whole side of an LP at 28 minutes is a classic Fela Kuti track. I only wish that I had a chance to see him in concert as that would have been an amazing experience. If you have not heard of Fela Kuti he is one very interesting character as well as being a great musician. He was born in Nigeria, was the founder of the Afrobeat style of music, was a human rights activist and a major pain in the Nigerian government's side as he lived in a commune that declared itself independent from Nigeria. There have been several documentaries of his life that go into all the details of his life but enough to say he was a character. 

This album/track is a classic of the style with a great rhythm with a great saxophone solo on it and then an amazing vocals track with a choral back-up that goes on for 28 minutes. The recording I have has a bit of digital brightness to it but is still amazing to listen to. 

The cover of this album is quite a trip too famously showing Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Pieter Botha with devil horns and fangs. It was based on a quote by Botha regarding the anti-apartheid movement that "this uprising will bring out the beast in us!"

Fela Kuti - Beasts of No Nation