Customer Reviews

FELA In Concert

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

I read the above reviews regarding the sound quality and thought "I love Fela; I'm sure I'll enjoy it anyway." So I bought it. Well, never having had the opportunity to see him live, I was happy to see him in action; however, the quality is so horrible I can't imagine watching it again. Not only is the sound muffled, but the camera operator constantly cuts away from what is interesting. There is one segment in particular in which Fela is really getting loose, dancing like some kind of karate rooster, and the camera keeps cutting to the friggin' audience. Man! I imagine if you're into Fela as much as I am, you'll probably wind up buying it anyway. No harm.

True-blue Fela fans must buy this video. Be warned that the jacket lists the tunes wrong, listing Original Sufferhead as one of the songs. It isn't there. You wouldn't miss it, as the versions of Army Arrangement and Power Show surpass any recorded version you can find. The first tune is merely listed as Instrumental Solo, and I suspect from discographies I have seen that this is actually Movement of the People Political Statement No. 1, which is currently available on no CD. It's an excellent track, esp. Lekan Animashaun's baritone sax solo.

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 One
2. Army Arrangement
3. Power Show

True, 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)

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.

Nigerian superstar Fela, who sings, plays tenor sax, and fuses funk and jazz with traditional African music, was inspired by Bird, Marley and Miles. The New York Times critic Jon Pareles described his 1981 Paris concert video, featuring exotic West African dances performed by 15 of his wives as "hypnotic, cutting and defiant... one of the ten greatest videos ever."

#1305 (57 min, Hi-Fi Stereo)

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.

It was just nice to see him live. For somebody that understands what he was saying, an issue with strong language may arise.
I have always liked Fela but certainly, a DVD of some of his older records may put things about him and what he stood for, in a brighter light.

His performance of "army arrangement" was great apart from the begining where he went of the bend with strong language. The intoduction with prolonged intstrumental, in my view, did not help much. People who knew him always liked to hear him sing, in his own lingo- "yab". Not that great at first listening but you will get to love his performance after viewing the DVD many times over.

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!