Fela: The Life And Times Of An African Musical Icon

Arrived as described with a few lines highlighted... overall I'm super happy and excited to read this great perspective on Fela, through the lens of the Ethnomusicologist Michael Veal!!!

This book contains a lot of interesting information concerning Fela Kuti(family background, historical, cultural and political environment) but sometimes I had the distinct feeling I was reading a scientific research report. A little more fluency in writing would have made reading more enjoyable

I have mixed feelings about this book and while any book about Fela Kuti is to be welcomed, I don't think this is the definitive one and I do think that Fela's legacy deserves better.There is no doubt that the author is probably the most well informed of all those who have written about this iconic figure, the man who was the most important musician ever to come out of Africa. The research is unquestionably thorough and there is as much detail as any admirer would wish to know. The problem, for me, is that any biographer should be invisible in the work he's writing. Michael Veal, unfortunately, isn't and at times his presence looms larger than the subject of his book.Throughout the narrative there are long sections where the author writes an analysis of Fela and his relationship to the African experience. These passages are written in the most stilted and uncomfortable academic manner. The effect of this is to give the impression that the work is a cut and paste job between outside sources and one of the author's academic theses, an impression which renders the book an uncomfortable mix of good biography and dull collegiate essaying. There were times when reading these sections I wondered just what Fela would have made of this awkward literary style - and I suspect he would have been dismissive and written a song which parodied it.The other fault with the book is the distinct lack of objectivity from the author. That Michael Veal is in awe of the man is not in doubt, but awe is not the best starting place for a biography. The dichotomy of the contrasting aspects of Fela's personality is acknowledged on many occasions, but there is absolutely no attempt to analyse the negative aspects of his character. There is no examination of how Fela's stance in representing the poor and downtrodden contrasts with his ill treatment of his band members, there is no analysis of how, later in life such a forceful personality came under the influence of such an obvious charlatan as Dr Hindu and there is no mention, whatsoever, of the violence and brutality meted out by Fela's own people to those who lived in his commune. Details of which are well documented by other authors and numerous journalists. A biography should look at all aspects of the subject's life and this one fails the reader with excessive bias and a lack of balance.Michael Veal's involvement in maintaining interest in Fela and his music is to be welcomed. His active support in the ten years since the death of this icon and his involvement in facilitating the current availability of much of Fela's early, and more obscure work, is nothing short of admirable. Perhaps the final step would be a wholesale edit of this biography to produce a balanced and more readable work. Then, perhaps, we would have the definitive story of Fela Kuti.

Really not a good biography. Reading the previous reviews, I was expecting much more than this boring, often academic-written book. Some parts of Fela's life are really obscure in this book, just few words about his mother's death (almost nothing!), nothing about characters as Dr Hindu.Even musically, some fundamental masterpieces of Fela are almost not mentioned, see "Confusion", "Coffin for Head of State".Then, the worst thing is the lack of energy in this book - impossible to hear the spirit of Fela, impossible to find an african feeling, anywhere. This is a huge fault."Fela: This Bitch of a Life" remains the best book about Fela and his striking indomable spirit. A complete, objective biography on Fela is something really far from this book.

I have just finished this book and it was a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening read. To be sure, this is an academic book, and it reads like one. But Veal is an excellent writer and his tone is appropriate for the depth he brings to his subject. This book takes the reader on a rich journey through about 50 years of African popular music. But it also does much more than that. I learned a huge amount about Fela's roots, the political background of his family, and the cultural and political backdrop of post-independence Nigeria. Since I am interested in African music and African culture, I read this book alongside Karl Meier's "This House Has Fallen" and they made perfect sense together. I really understood Fela as an embodiment of Nigeria's triumphs and tragedies.The review by "spice-the-cat" leaves me baffled. It doesn't sound as if this reviewer has read the same book as the rest of us. Yes, Veal does take an admiring stance on Fela, but throughout the book he also takes Fela to task for all of his inconsistencies. There are several sections that examine the inconsistent and problematic aspects of Fela's behaviour toward women. Fela's poor treatment of his musicians is touched on several times. There is an entire chapter devoted to the theme of Fela's privileged origins, the de facto class advantage it gave him over the musicians, women and other members of his "Kalakuta" commune, and his abuse of this advantage. The physical "discipline" meted out to commune members is also chronicled several times (chapter five and seven), and again, Veal takes a clearly critical stance. Fela's relationship with the "magician" Professor Hindu is presented in a way that reveals it to be fraudulent and delusional. Veal's way of highlighting these points is not polemical or simplistically judgmental. He presents all of the available evidence, pro and con, and allows the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. I think this approach is appropriate for such a controversial, complex and hotly-contested figure as Fela. I agree with the other reviews on this site, all of which praise the book's objectivity.As far as the academic tone of the book, I think it is great to have a topic in black/African popular music treated with the seriousness that it deserves. This ultimately does justice to the subject.I urge anyone interested in African music to read this book!

Given the limited choice of books about Fela, I thought I'd start with the most "serious" one.It turned out to be the the Master's thesis of an ethnomusicologist, which sounds fine in principle, but the reality did not match my expectations. There was precious little musicology in evidence, but lots of dense, turgid text about his attitudes to gender, race and colonialism. These are legitimate areas of enquiry for such an artist, but when they are heavily refracted through prevailing Western academic theories, the whole effect is somewhat dispiriting. In essence, the book is light on his achievements and hard on his "omissions", which is quite unfair I think. Choose any notable male performer from the 60's/70's and chances are, you are looking at somebody with questionable attitudes towards women.I would have loved to have seen a page of one of his scores, or at least a description. How much was formally composed, and how much reached through improvisation? How did he construct his epic works, and how did his techniques change over time? Pull some of his polyrhythms apart! Musical comments were short and unilluminating "he was bringing in more modal harmonies by this stage", "the track begins with a strong bass line, before congas and other percussion enter".Album covers were frequently discussed, but not illustrated in the book.A lot of lyrics are reproduced, with the original and standard English versions alongside.Fela himself is frequently absent from the narrative, usually while some theorizing takes place, before a short quote pops up in the margin. It rarely felt like the author had actually met the man himself, even though he clearly had.The author does have a good grip on the serpentine twists of post-independence Nigeria, and the interplay between the various "vagabonds in power" at any given time.Finally, the cover design does a great disservice to a subject who clearly had a keen sense of visual spectacle. A poor photo badly solarized and plastered over a "crumpled brown paper" background, with his name pointlessly split in two. The "designer" should choose another profession.