Customer Reviews

Soul Explosion

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a re-re-release of an album that came out in the early 1990s, and was re-released towards the end of the decade. It was a celebrated musical hustle; the group was made up of about a dozen or so mostly twenty-something mostly white guys from Brooklyn, who had no personal connection with Fela Kuti at all, apart from being moved by his music. Nonetheless the packaging and song titles etc gave the impression that they were a real African band from the 1970s, without explicitly lying. This was their only LP, and the group went on to become the Antibalas, who still exist and tour.

Even if you don't care for the backstory, this is a fun record, although it's very much background listening; if you're expecting a body-poppin' dance craze you'll be disappointed, it's mid-tempo and sounds like a small brass band with a funky drummer. It goes on too long and it's too one-note to be a masterpiece, but it's pleasant enough. As many people have pointed out, if you write "Eltsuhg Ibal Lasiti" backwards it spells "It is all a big hustle".

This is an incredible, funked out, horn blastin, juked up, make you happy to just be alive albums. Anybody will love this.

Even James Brown admitted it. In his biography he told how all the cats in his band, even Bootsy were over on tour in Africa and really digging seeing Fela, "The African James Brown" kickin' it, and how a lot of his rhythms would later wind up in his music. - - A case of what goes around comes around. - - And its come around again. These Fela alumni seem to have brought back the "tight" pre-Egypt '80 sounds of Fela (in the late '60s and early '70s especially) when he was still Fela Ransome - - its that sharp, pulsating "popcorn" rhythm that is virtually impossible not to dance to. - - Its so haunting, when you see Fela's son on stage with his own band bringing the sound into the 21st century, with a world beat/pop sensibility and having his Dad's voice, then hearing these guys, and getting transported back in time to Africa Shrine in the '70s - - Folks, Fela may be gone, and James Brown may not be hitting hard like he once was, but you can have your cake and eat it too. - - Mind you, these guys are no mere copycats... they came from the tradition and are authentically keeping it going ! So... Get it !

Thank God someone still knows how to make funky music. Forget Greyboy Allstars (not that they aren't a good band). The Daktaris make original, African funk in the only way funk should be made-- RAW. This band and other Desco bands are helping to save the soul of music.

Oh my god. Heard "Quiet Man is Dead Man" on the radio and rushed out to pick it up. A non stop afro-explosion of deep bass, deeper barritone, and spine breaking drumming. All classic analog recording. The rythm section is flawless and fearsome. Earth moving, butt shaking grooves that will propell your party to the outer limits. Awe-inspiring superfunk. Especially mystified by the drumming on the cover of James Brown's "Give It Up & Turn It Loose" Ployrythmic to the extreme. 4/4 groove with a 3/4 snare. Mind twisting perfection. A must for any JB, old school, analog soul fan.

But in reality, the Daktaris were Brooklyn-based studio musicians, many of them white, many of whom had already been assembled by Desco heads Gabriel Roth and Phillipe Lehman as the label's house band, the Soul Providers. Besieged by inquiries about the music's origins and demand for a Daktaris tour, Roth and Lehman soon acknowledged the hoax, but given the quality of the album, the backlash wasn't enormously great. There was no follow-up to the Daktaris' initial session, but some of the members formed a new Afro-beat revivalist group called Antibalas in the spring of 1998. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

If you are into Fela Kuti/The JBs(68-75) you can stop reading, and start smiling, because this is so close to the afrofunk of Fela that it`s impossible not to dig it. Yes, it may be a hustle, but it`s done with conviction and style, and you will find enough funk and afrobeat on this album to fill your socks.

This was quite a celebrated musical hustle; the group was made up of about a dozen or so mostly twenty-something mostly white guys from Brooklyn, who had no personal connection with Fela Kuti at all, apart from being moved by his music. This was their only LP, and the group went on to become the Antibalas, who still exist and tour. Even if you don't care for the backstory, this is a fun record, although it's very much background listening; if you're expecting a body-poppin' dance craze you'll be disappointed, it's mid-tempo and sounds like a small brass band with a funky drummer. It goes on too long and it's too one-note to be a masterpiece, but it's pleasant enough. As many people have pointed out, if you write "Eltsuhg Ibal Lasiti" backwards it spells "It is all a big hustle". The original record went out of print but was re-released in 1998 or so.

Unbelievably good. Easily one of the best African albums I've ever heard. Deeply funky--like James Brown, yet more rhythmic and complex. Joyous, heart pounding fun.

Quite possibly the finest funk being made today