Customer Reviews

Yellow Fever / Na Poi

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

 

 

This CD has all the rythmic subtlety of Fela's best recordings. Anything with Tony Allen's drumming deserves four stars!

"Yellow Fever" is definitely a more accessible album, more directly linked to the mellow, hypnotic Nigerian highlife/juju pop style, while "Na Poi" is more of an experimental, difficult-listening album. It's interesting to hear the two different versions of the song "Na Poi," both extended Fela-style jams, but with radically different approaches... give you a pretty good sense of the kind of stylistic range these guys had. I agree that "Yellow Fever" is more fun, but hey... as long as they're gonna throw an extra album's worth of material on the same CD, I ain;t gonna complain. #8-)

Mid-70's Afrobeat gem by the legendary master and tortured politico who was (rightly) elevated to status of sainthood upon his passing in 1997. The two LP's one this cd are not among his best, but fans and lovers of funk, global beat and world music are encouraged to explore all of his work, as no one had more of an impact than he. 'Yellow Fever' is comprised of laid-back, simple yet sublime grooves peppered with punctuating horns, sparse and hypnotic percussion, the meter-defying drumwork of Tony Allen and, of course, the manditory horn solos and organ noodling of leader Fela Kuti. 'Na Poi' is comprised of two 13 minute tracks, and features the up-tempo James Brown-like funk of 'You No Go Die... Unless You Want Go Die' that smokes throughout. While not as killer as 'Inside Out', 'Afrodisiac/Open and Close' or 'London Scene/Shakara', IMHO, it's essential nonetheless. So get the fever and worry about a remedy later...

I lost my cassette recording of the album back in 1982. After all those years it's still as beautiful as ever.

Yellow Fever is very good and catchy, typically excellent Fela. Na Poi is one of my least favorite. It's ok, but nothing really reaches out and grabs you.