Fela Kuti - Complete Works Boxset Limited Edition (UK 2010)

Roddus Music purchase of the decade.

This post isn't so much a review, but more of a Rave from an excited school boy wanting to share about his latest very cool acquisition. I only discovered the fantastic music of the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti within the last 18 months. I had already heard of him but was totally ignorant of his music. I have been exploring African music for nearly a couple of years now, especially the wonderful 70s Afro funk of Nigeria and her neighbors. It was inevitable that I would come across the music of  Fela and I finally did find a copy of his "Zombie" album from 76' on some blog after reading about it in the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". I also found several of his other albums online and  started to really get into this very groovy music.

 I knew that eventually I would have to add some of this Afrobeat to My CD collection, but this ment getting Online and importing this stuff myself as I was unable to find any in our local shops. Fela had been pretty prolific in his lifetime and had released over 50 albums of consistently brilliant music, therefore it was going to cost me quite a bit of money to acquire an essential collection of Fela's music. I almost orgasmed when stumbled upon this recently released Boxset(Nov 10) on Amazon. 26 Cds and one DVD, 46 Albums covering the bulk of Fela's music released from 1965-1992. Not quite his complete works(that would be nearly impossible) but certainly the bulk of his most important work and considering I picked it up for under $200 NZ , a bargain in any ones book.

I don't have the time to go too much onto the actual music in detail, except to say that Fela's blend of  Jazz, James Brown funk, African Highlife and  his pigeon english lyrics dealing with social and political issues of Nigeria and indeed Africa in a larger sense, is one of the most powerful styles of music ever recorded. I find the saxophone melody's he entwines into his funky african grooves just mindblowing and his music consistently brilliant. Although I haven't listened to all this monster set yet, I am already familiar with most of it and I can safely say that along with the excellent audio quality of these discs the total set must be rated 5+/5

Buy this essential music HERE

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Strictly Personal (USA 1968)

Another Roddus Review

In light of the sad passing of this legendary figure of the music world, on December 17, I have been listening to my favorite albums from this master of psychedelic acid blues and other weirder musics. "Strictly Personal" was The Captains second album in 1968, following on from his 1967 debut "Safe As Milk"

This album has been near my top 20 for 25 odd years after I had it on cassette and use to torture my friends with it on road trips. I just love the acid drenched atmosphere of these psychedelic blues that knocked me out at a time when I was  delving more deeply into the history of the blues. The Captain sets the tone on the first track "Ah Feel Like Ahcid" with its foot stomp and  a mean Son House impersonation singing an adaptation of Son's "Death Letter blues" introduction before those acid blues guitars and captain's harp chime in to make the song one of his own. Awesome and the Captain's singing sounds like he is already a 90 year old delta bluesman.

The Captain then links back to his first album with "Safe As Milk", a more full on psychedelic dirge with more of that great guitar style, that finishes with a stretched out avant garde style ending with great treated drum sound. "Trust Us" is another classic, very cool melody's on the guitar and like the rest of this album offbeat and a little weird. No commercial potential. I dig the bass lines later in the song. The rest of the song changes tact somewhat but stays very cool throughout and ends with another very cool Son House style blues section. "Son Of Mirror Man..."  is more weird psychedelic blues and is a theme he will revisit on future albums.Not one of my favorites but still a good song. I love the start of "Beatles Bones...." with it's minimalist Blues guitar and "Strawberry Fields" reference in the intro and "Gimmie Dat Harp boy" is classic Beefheart with some great harp playing. The album ends with "Kandy Korn" which has some great parts, of which The Buzzcocks based a song on 10 years later, but degenerates into a dirge and is my least favorite track on the LP. Overall rating 4/5,

Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) R.I.P 17th December 2010

Just found this out only a couple of minutes ago. The great and awesome Capt' Beefheart passed away on my birthday yesterday. he was 69. Bugger!  The clip below is the Capt' preforming what I believe to be his first single from my birth year of 1966 and it is one of my all time fave 60s garage songs.








Also this awesome Acid blues from  his second album "Strictly Personal"

Made in Dagenham

A Roddus Movie Review.

Off to town on a super hot day today so Mrs Roddus could shout me to lunch and a movie for My birthday, which was yesterday. As it was for my birthday,  I got to pick the movie this time and after checking on the net last night, there was very little I really wanted to see, but this one was still showing and looked interesting as I had seen the trailer. This two hour movie starts a little slow, but gives you a real  feel for industrial 60s London.

 Things pick up when Rita O'Grady(Played by the hot Sally Hawkins, In the red dress above), a reluctant and  a little unsure of herself upholstery sewing machine operator in the Dagenham Ford factory becomes an inspiring leader in the fight for equal rights and pay for women by leading a strike by 187 women employed at the Ford factory. The film is based on an actual strike at the ford factory in June 1968 by the above mentioned women, which, after the intervention of Labour secretary of state Barbara Castle, led to the 1970 Equal pay Act. Although I assume Rita is a fictional character, Barbara Castle wasn't and it was inspiring to see then both stand up and fight for the improvement of the rights of their fellow women especially in light of the possible personal risk and loss that could have befallen them if they had failed. This film also highlighted for me the exploitation of the capitalist system of the people who are essential to making it work, all so they can make bigger profits. Those at the top of the capitalist ladder always seem to battle the improvements of their workers by claiming that they can't afford to pay more or whatever and that their businesses would be uneconomical, yet they always survive these improvements and usually still make the obscene profits they feel they are required to make. This film certainly has a dig at this aspect of the capitalist manufacturing machine and also a dig at the unions of the time by depicting them as male dominated, communistic and self interested.

Still the capitalists today have got a lot of their way now by closing most of their manufacturing plants in the western countries where workers rights and pay are a lot better than they were back then and most of their products are sold, by moving them to 3rd world countries and exploiting the workers there and claiming they are helping the locals improve their lives. An entertaining, inspiring and also thought provoking movie. 4/5.

The Upholsterers - Makers Of Highgrade Suits(USA 2000)

A Roddus Music Review.

I just got a copy of the excellent DVD "It might get Loud" with Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page. In that movie Jack plays part of a song from this early recording he made with his Upholster boss and friend Brian Muldoon. Now this 3 track 7' rarity was  released in 2000, which is well after he had already released the White Stripes first album. From what I can figure from info on the net is that Jack worked with Brian from the age of 15 or 17 but there is no info as to when this was actually recorded. Did they record this before Jacks stint with Goober & The Peas and the other bands he played with pre White stripes or did they actually get together in 2000 and record this? Listening to this now, it certainly has all the hallmarks of early White Stripes, Brian Played drums with Jack playing guitar and singing. The music is very raw and exciting and if this is a very  early recording, Jacks playing is already well developed. Brian's Drumming is a lot more sophisticated than Meg Whites beautiful minimalism. Jack really attacks his axe with that dirty swamp blues style we all love from him so much and i just wish they had recorded more than just these 3 excellent tracks, of which only one is a White original. I rate this 4.5/5. The cover of Pain ( gimme Sympathy) by the obscure Jack Starr is just stunning.