Fela Ransome Kuti & The Africa '70 - Afrodisiac (Nigeria 1973)

Off The Shelf

There is a fantastic video on You Tube of Fela playing some damp club in Nigeria in 1971 and filmed by Ginger Baker. The sound quality is crap but the music is phenomenal and none of the later concert footage I have seen on dates in Europe and the UK can compare with the spectre of Fela playing on his home turf.

The track they played in that video is " Je'Nwi Temi (Don't Gag Me)" from this album and after watching the clip again tonight thought I would listen to the studio recording of that song which then led to me checking out the rest of the album. 

I really dig Fela and none of his early 70's releases are bad. Chock full of fantastic and infectious grooves with Sax melodies that become instantly recognisable and like totally blow me away. This set is mindblowing all the way through and doesn't let up. I can't review this stuff, I can only rave about it. If you haven't yet experienced Fela then start now and this album is as good as any place to start. Rating 5/5.