Alagbon Close / Why Black Man Dey Suffer

This chapter in England's Wrasse Records' exhaustive and authoritative Fela Kuti reissue project contains two albums that were recorded five years apart. Why Black Man Dey Suffer was recorded in 1970, but went unreleased at the time -- EMI, Fela's label, felt it was too controversial given its political overtones. It was finally brought out in France in 1986 by Decca's Afrodesia imprint. The album Alagbon Close was recorded in 1974 and released in Nigeria the same year, and in the United States in 1975, marking Kuti's first official American release with Africa '70. Interestingly, the earlier album's production sound is superior to the latter one. Alagbon benefits from a solid sound separation where the keyboards are actually heard in their very natural place in the mix; they have no unnecessary highs or thin ends in the frequency, which is sadly not the case on the latter set, where Fela and his band were put on a budget, even though they recorded very quickly. Stylistically, these albums match well together, the long and loping hypnotic Afro-beat funk and rhythmic punch is detailed well in both pace and dynamic. There are rises and falls over these extra cuts with terrific work by drummer Tony Allen on both. Allen left the band after the first recording and was replaced-temporarily-by Ginger Baker-and returned in 1973. Why Black Man Dey Suffer has been reissued a number of times; thanks to Wrasse and its high production standards, it has finally been reissued definitively. ~ Thom Jurek|