Search - Fela Kuti :: Original Suffer Head / Itt

Impossibly Great

A. Schroeder | Columbus, OH | 07/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It seems unthinkable that the "King of Afro-Beat" would have no reviews for one of his releases.

Apparently not enough people know about it.

Yet even an unqualified layman like myself can grasp the meteoric genius of this recording.

It crushes impossibilities in every step:



How can a twenty minute song be absolutely unpretentious and utterly listenable ?

Moreover, I wonder how the group could even remember that amount of material, as it's inconceivable that written music could capture the sheer amount of instrument and voice interaction in each piece. The horns are tight, every note and vocal fits perfectly...it's staggering. Even if it was annotated.

Every moment is engaging and somehow related to the big picture; there's a classical music ethos of building structures, returning to and morphing out of them.



How can politically charged anthems about poverty and government corruption still be upbeat and life affirming ?

The pejoratively termed "pidgin English" spun on this disc is masterful wordplay that smiles in the face of all it decries. And only Mr. Ransome could turn "Water, Lighting, Voodoo, and Housing Problems" into a catchy refrain. The music is a vibrant yet deliberate statement. Almost too much to be contained in one package.



How can something made over twenty years ago, half way across the world be relevant and motivating here and now ?

It's timeless.

Much as the Beatles and Bob Marley, this is simply classic.

The politics and pressures may be somewhat different now...

But the soul remains unchanged.



Pick this up if you're looking for something utterly different.

It will change you.

If only in the smallest way.

For the better.















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