James Brown had Fred Wesley. Duke Ellington had Billy Strayhorn. Sun Ra had John Gilmore. All musicians of quality. All men who chose to remain in the shadows of their respective bandleaders. All men to whom the music was more important than fame. Fela Kuti had Tony Allen, the hypnotically pulsing drummer of Africa '70, the greatest Afrobeat band to stalk this earth. Lucky for us, Allen cut these two remarkable records, both of which feature most of Africa '70 as his band. The same pulse is there, the same driving rhythm. This is as invaluable to Fela fiends as JB's records are to James Brown fans. Is it as good as the master's records? Not really. The swagger and sheer force of Fela's personality is missing, as is the palpable sense of menace he brought to the table, forcing you to shake your ass while you choked on his message. But the groove is solid. Fans of the style shouldn't be without it. ~ Rob Ferrier|
Rovi