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| Fela and the best of the Zeroes |
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By Jim Lundstrom Fela: The Best of the Black President (Knitting Factory Records)
Fans of the late, great Nigerian musician Fela have reason to rejoice with a groundbreaking re-release of his discography – all 45 original titles – over the next 18 months.
New York-based Knitting Factory Records has taken on this amazing and important task, which began Oct. 27 with Fela: The Best of the Black President, a two-disc and one DVD set that covers some of Fela’s most popular works such as “I.T.T.” and “Zombie” and “Shuffering and Smiling.” It’s a re-issue of the 1999 release The Best Best of Fela Kuti.
Upon graduation he returned to the newly independent Nigeria (it gained independence from
He was a thorn in many sides. His politics irritated the government and military. His lifestyle irritated the Nigerian middle classes, especially on the day in 1982 when he married 27 women in a single ceremony.
Fela spoke the Queen’s English, but chose to sing in pidgin because it spoke to the folks of many African nations. And its style fit the sound of his music. He was known as The Black President (and he did run for the Nigerian presidency). Fela and his followers/band members were beaten, ravaged and imprisoned.
During one military incursion, Fela’s 82-year-old mother was thrown through a second story window and died from the injuries. In 1984 Fela went to prison on a five-year sentence for a trumped-up currency charge. After 20 months and a new regime, he was released when the presiding judge admitted he was under pressure by the previous regime to punish Fela.
During his trials and tribulations, Fela continued making music. Lots and lots of music. Fela died of AIDS in 1997. His son, Femi Kuti, continues the musical tradition with his band, Positive Force.
The release of Fela’s individual titles begins in February, but in the meantime, The Best of the Black President is a good way to catch up. It comes with perfect timing. The Broadway music Fela! – directed by Tony winner Bill T. Jones – opened at the Eugene O’Neil Theatre on Nov. 23.
Also to its credit, Knitting Factory is doing both CD and vinyl, which means this will be the first time all Fela titles will be released on vinyl in the * * *
Best reissue of the decade after Fela: Luaka Bop’s 2001 CD release of the great and all-but-forgotten 1974 California soul classic Inspiration Information by multi-instrumental wunderkind Shuggie Otis, who was playing with the likes of Al Kooper and Frank Zappa while still a pimply teen. He famously turned down the Rolling Stones for the guitar spot vacated by Mick Taylor. This re-release with four tracks from an even earlier Shugggie outing is his magnum opus, and far too sweet for this world.* * *
And, finally, here is my vote for the best CD release of the ’00s, Bathtub. Lightbulb. HeartAttack. by Oshkosh band The Willis, released in 2006 by the Minneapolis label Doubleplusgood Records. My pal Mahoney describes the music as “math rock,” his term for an overall smart record. And this is a very smart record. It’s also very funny and brimming with great musicianship from the five men of The Willis and their friends, which includes one of my favorite local players, guitarist Jeff DeGoey. The playing is tough, sure and fast, like a good punch in the gut (given, not received). At its core is triple threat wordsmith/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Stephen McCabe, who knows how to tell a story in words and then propel it to a fitting conclusion with brilliant and extraordinary music. We featured The Willis in a story earlier this year when their hilarious (especially if you know a bit of Oshkosh music scene history) song “Jimmy Fallon: The Plan” came to eerie reality. The boys were invited to perform on a non-broadcast Fallon warmup show before he made his late-night TV talk show debut in March. “Jimmy Fallon: The Plan” is just one of many magical, musical moments The Willis make over the course of 11 original tunes and a fabulously punked up version of the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.” Sadly, The Willis website has expired, which often does not bode well for a band. But you can still buy the record at doubleplusgoodrecords.com, which you should do because it deserves to be heard. * * *
Runners up: Tim Schweiger’s Schwim Tiger (2007). Eleven tracks of mostly kick-ass, throwback, guitar-heavy rock ‘n’ roll from the Neenah native, with a couple of well-written acoustic and power pop tunes thrown in, including the final track, a soulful covver of Berry Gordy’s oft-covered “Money (That’s What I Want).” Sam Winch, The Lullabadeer (2005): By day Sam Winch is a mild-mannered Appleton investment adviser. By night, he is The Lullabadeer, a musican with a love of the circus and a flair for music that speaks to your inner clown or netless trapeze artist or lion tamer or whatever circus performer you secretly desire to become. He knows your secrets. |
The DVD is titled A Slice of Fela, and it is just that. You have best seats in the house for performances at the Berlin Jazz Festival and Glastonbury, as well as powerful segments from a 1982 documentary called Music Is the Weapon, which tells Fela’s harrowing story about going away to Trinity Music School in England in 1958 and forming his first band Koola Lobitos.