Product Details

• Actors: Fela Anikulapo Kuti
• Format: Color, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: View Video
• DVD Release Date: October 30, 2001
• Run Time: 57 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005O6OJ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,682 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #5 in	Movies & TV > Music Video & Concerts > Jazz > Concerts
  #31 in	Music > World Music > Africa > Nigeria

Editorial Reviews

Jon Pareles, New York Times
ONE of the ten GREATEST VIDEOS EVER: hypnotic, cutting and defiant.

Product Description
Was he a musician? A politician? A religious chief? An agitator? Was he a Miles Davis-James Brown-Malcolm X who decided to marry his 27 dancers and singers, and his first wife, all the same day, in a great tropical ceremony? In any case, he was one of the best loved men in Africa. In Nigeria (over 80 million population) Fela claimed that he was better known than the President. It was probably true. This extraordinary program features the most famous Nigerian musician and composer, FELA ANIKULAPO LUTI. Fela was the most celebrated black African musician of his time and a revolutionary, a cultural and political symbol oftentimes ambiguous to the Western mind.

The African rhythms of his music are profoundly influenced by Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Mile Davis as well as Marley, Tosh and Burning Spear, forming a new musical style called "Afro-Pop," somewhat akin to "Jazz-Rock," but with deep African roots.

A charismatic performer, Fela projects the imperial trappings of power. His music is punctuated by exotic and highly suggestive tribal dances and rituals performed on stage by 15 of his 27 wives.

-FELA, BLACK PRESIDENT-
He led a political party in Lagos, the "Movement of The People," and he was its candidate in the Nigerian Presidential elections of 1983. Panafricanist, libertarian, Fela represented the uprising of Black Africa, politically and musically.

This historic show was recorded in Paris on June 30, 1981 during an exclusive "all night" live concert.

SELECTIONS
1. Instrumental Solo
2. Army's Arrangement
3. Original Suffer Head 4.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Inspired performance, but poor recording quality, April 12, 2002

By	Mark S. Lo "Mark Lo" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Being on DVD doesn't Help this weak sounding Fela Happening, November 24, 2002

By	Steven Parrish (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews

How they could ever rerelease this great "video" release of an obviously great Fela show with the same audio problems. Makes this an extreme rip off for lovers of not only Fela,but for what the format of DVD can do to clean up hurting analog releases. I recomend the 1984 festival DVD and hope for some quality in the archives to be released soon.The 81 DVD is for extreme Fela lovers only. Trust Me, the audio will bum you out........

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transy Trippy Funky Afro Dance Grooves, December 21, 1999

By	Eddie Landsberg "(just about) 10 years review... (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Fela in Concert [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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.