Used LP FELA: Black-President "Afro-Beat" music in Near Mint/Near Mint condition
$
30
Favourite Auctions
To save auctions to your favourites, please login
If you don't have an account, please register
Description
- [Apologies for the pics. My new (cheap) camera insists on using flash every shot, causing glare, and telephoto/wide adjustment is not sensitive enough to frame things properly.]
FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI Black-President. Used LP in Near Mint/Near Mint condition, superior vinyl. EMI/Capitol Records Catalog # SN-16292; 1984
Condition: Vinyl is from a superior batch for mass US manufacturer (Capitol), with very minor flaw of some radial streaks that don’t affect the sound. LP jacket has been protected by shrink wrap since I bought this record, only flaw is a minor wrinkle in upper right as seen from back.
Behind the Music: Nigeria was a relatively quiet outpost of the British Empire until its crude oil reserves were discovered. Then all hell broke loose, with the attempt of Biafra Province to break away—this was in the news big-time while I was still in high school—leading to armed combat and many, many deaths. The violence continues to this day, unfortunately, with struggles to control the oil revenues. Entering this volatile socio-economic maelstrom with his anti-establishment, anti-capitalist anthems, Fela—as he was commonly referred to for short—quickly earned many enemies. Per Wikipedia, he coined the term Afro-Beat. He was arrested and jailed by various governing regimes over the decades, and even formed his own political party and ran for the presidency. Thus the title of this album. This c. 1984 project, done around the time the leader was forming the band Egypt 80, features a very large ensemble drawn from Fela’s band Afrika 70, including backing vocalists and is essentially a Jazz big band in terms of instrumentation. Fela’s music was discovered in “the Western World” when alternative radio outlets were exploring musics from other lands—Reggae, Caribbean, Latin American, even Far Eastern—traditions and styles. One might draw a parallel between the rise of Bob Marley and Fela, and their ultimate trials and tribulations of persecution by the Established Orders in Jamaica and Nigeria respectively. Fela died in 1997, age 58, reportedly of HIV/AIDS, though he himself denied he was infected. The album consists of just three extended selections: Sorrow Tears and Blood; Colonial Mentality; I.T.T. (International Thief Thief). That latter title alone explains a certain (understatement intended!) corporate hostility toward Fela’s political viewpoint.
- About the seller: I am downsizing my personal belongings, and you can benefit. Unless otherwise indicated, all my records have been owned by me alone and treated with loving care. No scratches or gouges. I have been a Jazz radio broadcaster for 30+ years, but my musical tastes are wide-ranging. You will see this as my listed offerings grow. New items added weekly, check back often!
PLEASE NOTE: I will not sell anything for less than $9.99, as it’s not worth packaging the item up and taking it to the Post Office. Sure, you can buy an LP for 50 cents or less at a yard sale, but will it have been cared for like mine? Not likely.
FREE SHIPPING to U.S. address for purchase of any item of $100 or more.
price rating
