Product Description This extraordinary DVD features Nigeria's explosively charismatic superstar, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, at his very best in this historic concert DVD, entitled Fela in Concert, recorded live in Paris in 1981. Fela was not only the most celebrated African musician & composer of his time, but a revolutionary, cultural, and political symbol whose contributions were often overlooked in the Western world.The African rhythms of his music were profoundly influenced by the sounds of Jazz icons Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Mile Davis, but equally by the Jamaican Reggae of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Burning Spear, forming a new musical style called Afro-Pop.As a charismatic performer, keyboard player, saxophonist, & composer, Fela's influence extends outside the limits of rhythm and melody, as he using his music as a canvas to reject the imperial trappings of power. He led a political party in Lagos, named The Movement of The People, and was its candidate in the Nigerian Presidential elections of 1983. Pan-Africanist and libertarian, Fela represented the uprising of Black Africa, both politically and musically.This historic show was recorded in Paris in 1981 during an exclusive, all-night concert. Punctuated by the exotic and suggestive tribal dances and rituals performed on stage by 15 of Fela's wives, this exceptional event was captured by multiple cameras, enhancing this special DVD presentation.Fela was a musician, a politician, a spiritual chief, and an agitator all at once, but however one views the man, he was undeniably a symbolic icon of struggle & revolution, as well as one of the most beloved men in Africa. In Nigeria, Fela claimed that he was better known than the President. It was probably true.Selections include:Instrumental SoloArmy's ArrangementOriginal Suffer HeadPower ShowDVD BONUS FEATURES:Fela Kuti BiographyDigitally Mastered Audio & VideoDigital Dolby Stereo AudioMulti-dimensional Interactive MenusInstant Access to Songs and Instrumental Solos Review One of the ten Greatest videos ever: hypnotic, cutting and defiant. --Jon Pareles, New York TimesThis video is an exceptional document of the live performance experience; if Fela decides to run a second time for President of Nigeria, this should be a mighty weapon in his arsenal. --Reggae & African Beat MagazineFela's act is highly visual… Fela is someone Americans need to get familiar with, and video is certainly the best way to his music. --Joe Blum, High Fidelity Magazine
T**3
A pretty killer jam that should be owned by any fan of Fela.
I love his music and primarily that is what gets 5 stars as the recording is definitely dated but not terrible or even bad, just dated. There are only a few titles, surprise, but these are highly enjoyable jams. I am sure it would have been so much better to have been there which makes all 6 people at this gig lucky. Well it seems in some shots that there wasn't a lot of people there but I don't really know, I'm being silly. In the end, if you are a fan of Fela then you should own this as it was a moment in time worth being remembered or seen for those who have not.
E**G
Transy Trippy Funky Afro Dance Grooves
Ever try to imagine whats going on on those tripped out FELA grooves...? When you listen, you imagine a tribal gathering, perhaps even war rally... with fire, dance, soulful rhythms, chief Fela at the helm... This is not far from the truth. While the video is set in 1981 Paris, the energy transcends all time places and cultures. - - Felas stage presence and charisma are mind blowing. Though the band often sounds like a symphony of chaos, great musical moments occur. The depth of Felas solos are easy to miss amidst the synergy. His dancers gyrate on the floor answering his vocalizing in unison... he prowls the stage bare chested with tribal face paints saxophone in hand - - dances, soloing, rarely standing still, the horns accenting the rhythms. - - This IS a FELA album brought to life and an opportunity to look into the eyes of a firey legend and see the sounds that were and are uniquely his and part of an era. Known as THE BLACK PRESIDENT and THE AFRICAN JAMES BROWN, for sure he lived up to his reputation on the night this video was shot. A MUST HAVE is an understatement.
T**S
Fela in Top Form
Fela Kuti was in top form for this Paris concert. If you like this one, you should check out his other live concert DVD, at Glastonbury, England. I only wish I had been there for this show.
C**N
Fela In Concert
Another terrible Kuti video! He and son Fema are great musicians with great bands but, I have videos of both and they both suck! This one is supposed to be remastered but has bad sound, bad video, and bad content. Look for them on eBay. I won't watch them again!
J**H
Not flawless, but vintage Fela
Don't be put off by the negative reviews of others: this is a unique document of a unique man and musician. This is the correct track listing:1. Movement of the People Political Statement Number One2. Army Arrangement3. Power ShowTrue, it's not without its flaws: it's not quite up to DVD standard soundwise, though the camerawork is pretty decent. The worst thing is that you're not getting the entire songs outside of Army Arrangement. Power Show has no vocals and if you have the Live in Amsterdam CD Movement of the People Political Statement Number One was a lot longer with Fela doing his famous "underground spiritual gear". It's a shame this was left out, as I suspect it was. The best thing about this DVD is the close-up shots of Fela's amazing dancing wives during Army Arrangement. The other Fela DVD available which is at present very hard to get called Fela Live focuses too much on Fela and less on his dancing wives though it has better sound quality. And if you ask yourself which of the two you should buy. True fans should buy both.Julio Punch (Webmaster of The Shrine: The Unofficial Website for Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti and Afrobeat Music)
M**O
Inspired performance, but poor recording quality
A great performance by Fela and the band, but I was seriously disappointed by this DVD. The earlier reviews are of the VHS version, which perhaps is a more forgiving format for a recording of this poor quality.Yes the music is great, but the sound cuts in and out and the video looks murky. Also, the stage lighting is so dim that you can barely see the horn section, the background singers, or the percussion players. As a result, the cameras focus strictly on what is happening at the front of the stage, basically just Fela and the dancers. It makes the whole experience feel flattened and two-dimensional. You start wondering just what is going on back there in the dark.Worth buying only as a historical artifact.
J**O
NEED MORE..
We owned this on VHS when it came out the sound quality wasn't exactly the greatest but hey if you never got to see him in concert before he past this might be a treasure. I personally would like for someone to put out another concert performance of his that's top to bottom straight up concert footage, perferably during the era with Tony Allen but that might prove to be difficult. I was fortunate to see him before he past in the late 80's once in Seattle Washington and once here in my home town both shows were effective and both were over two hours although it seemed like only 3 tracks were played. They were long sustaining and seductive grooves that hypnotized you much the way is music does on studio sessions except he was there in your face.. wicked!!! Lets hope that somewhere out there there's a vault and in that vault contains some rare unseen concert footage of this very intense, passionate and talented individual. T.
E**I
as bad as it can be
There is absolutely nothing good about this DVD - the sound and picture are so bad that one can hardly judge the performance of the band and Fela Kuti (although I am very suspicious it was more than mediocre).I have over 20 Fela's albums, all are very good and will not keep this DVD for sure. I don't recommend watching it even for free.This is a lousy recorded VHS tape miserably transferred to DVD.I'll try to find something decent from Fela, he deserves it.
P**S
qualitys not great..
I'm a bit of a die hard fela fan so I'm givin it 4 stars ....qualitys not great ...but havin said that there's some great moments....
T**A
genialer Ohren-und Augenschmaus
Fela Anikulapo Kuti ( früher Fela Ransome-Kuti genannt) ist in den letzten Tagen des Kolonialismus in Nigeria aufgewachsen als Sohn eines englandorientierten Pastors und einer führenden Frauenrechtlerin, und fand erst bei seinem Studium in England zu seiner afrikanischen Identität.Seine einzigartige Musik, die er auf dieser DVD- einem leider ein klein wenig laienhaft gemachten Mitschnitt eines Auftritts in Paris im Jahre 1981 - mit einer Big Band präsentiert, sollte nicht nur gehört, sondern auch geschaut, mit so vielen Sinnen wie möglich aufgenommen werden, um voll wirken, voll erfasst zu werden zu können.Sie wird Afrobeat oder Afrorock genannt, ist aber an sich Jazz, dem er mit Elementen aus der afrikanischen Folklore einen eigenen Sound gab; aber da sie auch fetzt und rockt, wird sie eben nicht Jazz genannt.Die einzelnen Stücke sind immer sehr lang, und teilweise minimalistisch - denn er wiederholt endlos immer dasselbe Thema mit nur geringen Abwandlungen - aber einem kräftigen Rhythmus, der zum Tanzen animiert, zumal Fela und seine Truppe und besonders seine 27 Ehefrauen atemberaubende Tänzer/innen nach genau diesem Afrorhythmus sind, was auf der DVD vorgeführt wird.Er bedient sich auch des sog. Chorus Response : ist Sänger aber auch Vorsinger für einen hauptsächlich aus seinen Ehefrauen bestehenden Chor, der die Refrains als Echo zurück gibt, wieder und wieder und wieder.Das alles verleiht seiner Musik eine hypnotische Wirkung.Er singt seine Texte auf Pigeon-English - dem kindlich und dümmlich wirkenden Englisch, das seine kolonialisierten Landsleute sprechen ( besser: ihnen nachgesagt wird, dass sie nur so falsch sprechen können)- was schon Teil seiner politischen Agitation ist.Die Texte sind auch inhaltlich wachrüttelnd ; die meisten eher gesunge politische Ansprachen, die er oft unterbricht, um mit seiner dunklen Sprechstimme wirklich kleine Reden zu halten.Dabei stampft er entweder in einem immer gleich bleibenden Rhythmus - dem afrikanischen Grundschritt sozusagen- über die Bühne, oder tanzt, oder imitiert einen Tiger auf der Pirsch ; wenn er nicht gerade irgendein Instrument bedient.Seine unnachahmlich lässige und zugleich mächtige Häuptlingsart, sich auf der Bühne zu bewegen, zu singen, Saxophon und Keyboard zu spielen und mit seiner dunklen Sprechstimme politisch zu agitieren - alles fast immer mit einer brennenden Zigarette in der Hand oder im Mund, was früher noch cool war und auch heute jedenfalls von ihm noch cool rüber kommt -MUSS man einfach mal gesehen haben.Ebenso den atemberaubenden, wilden Tanz seiner Frauen und deren noch sehr afrikanische Kleidung und ihre gemäldehaften Gesichtsbemalungen.Ich habe die DVD ungezählte Male verköstigt, und zwar ebenfalls tanzend oder wie Fela um den Fernseher herum stampfend.Macht SPAß und befreit.Also, 5 Sterne.
T**S
schade....
Fela und seine Musik sind wirklich genial, die Bühnenshow auch...leider ist die Qualitätdieser DVD unterirdisch schlecht! Mit dem schlechten Bild kann man noch leben, es isthalt eine alte TV Show so wie es aussieht, aber der Ton ist unterirdisch! Mal lauter, mal leiser...echt übel!
C**1
bon dvd mais...
ce dvd reste plutôt un document dans la mesureoù tout n'était pas réuni pour avoir la qualité àlaquelle nos oreilles sont habituées.En cd il existe des titres qui auraient été dequalité pour un concert live , mais si on aimel'afro-beat c'est ici..Dommage ..Fela parti un peu trop tôt
S**R
Déception
Pour ceux qui connaissent Fela, ce produit est décevant. Qualité du son approximative, réalisation idem. Et même le morceau interprété par Fela n'est pas parmi ses meilleurs.Vraie déception, telle a été mon sentiment après avoir visionné ce dvd.
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