Customer Reviews

Music Is the Weapon (W/Dvd)

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There is nothing bad I can say about Fela, there really isn't. The man was a cultural and political phenomenon inspiring countless amounts of fellow Africans to take a stand. Think in the terms of Bob Marley, but do I dare to say Fela was more important? Uh, yes. (Meanwhile, I just made the entire faux post-hippie movement choke on their bong smoke).

"Music Is The Weapon" prooves to be the perfect title for Fela's 'best of' songs. He fought soley with art and became so powerful at it that he opened and performed religiously at his own night club, using it as a politcal pulpit. After gaining international acclaim, Fela was eventually gunned down after a concert so he could be kept quiet, only to survive and continue his fight. Parallels could be noted about Marley, however, Nigeria had more urgent problems than Jamaica.

Fela was a versatile musican, not only did he sing and write his own compositions, he played keyboards and saxaphone while directing his band and singers. Many people compare him as Africa's James Brown because the music uncontestedly FUNKY. It is a fair agreement. JB is the Godfather of Soul and Fela is the Godfather of Afrobeat, although Fela is much active in his human rights awareness. And smarter, seeing that James Brown endorsed Richard Nixon.

In whole, this collection is a great starting point for getting into this truely one-of-a-kind artist. It acts as a 'greatest hits' despite the two problems I have with this release:

1- It does not highlight the broad range of music and time eras Fela recorded in, but remember, the music selections are by no means poor examples of greatness and originality.

2- Many of the track selections are only parts or edits of the full-length versions, but keep in mind that some of these 'edited' versions are still 8-14 minutes long. If they were not cut, we would be looking at half an hour jams right up there with electric Miles Davis funkiness.

"Music Is The Weapon" also contains a third disc that documents Fela's musical life and political beliefs on DVD while displaying live performances and interviews with the man himself. Fela's mission was to make you aware while making you dance, both in a gracefully artistic manner.

I suggest researching the life of Fela. In turn, the music will make more sense to us living in western society.

Fela is a genius of his time and most likely any time. This set, that includes a dvd will not only document why, but also give you listening, that will explain why he is one of the greatest musical artists of the 20th century.

One of my best friends turned me on to Fela back when I was too stupid to realize the music. By chance, I heard a Fela song again while working at UofM's radio station and since then I collected all of his works.

This is a quality and complete collection of his best and what makes it the BEST is the dvd.

GET THIS NOW... RIGHT NOW!