Talkatif

Antibalas

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ninja Tune
• ASIN: B000062T8R
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #201,062 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Brooklyn's 14-member collective Antibalas offers what is easily one of the best live shows around; pulsating energy radiates from the stage. The socially conscious group's name translates as "bulletproof" (literally, "antibullets"), but the musicians fire off lines with military precision. Their sound, while obviously indebted to legends like Parliament and James Brown, is so totally saturated with the spirit of Fela Kuti's Afro-beat that their music would sound as natural in Lagos, Nigeria, as it does in New York. But so often a band is better live than on record, and (scarily enough) the reverse is frequently true as well. Thankfully, Talkatif confirms the promise of Antibalas's earlier record Liberation Afro Beat, Vol. 1--that this band is as solid on record as it is live. The equally welcome news is that this follow-up sounds as fresh and vital as the first disc, although the formula is largely unchanged except for the increased emphasis on instrumentals. The only problem with Talkatif is its length. Clocking in at a shade under 41 minutes, Talkatif gets the party started, but doesn't run nearly long enough to truly satisfy. Even so, it's a must-have, especially as a between-shows fix. --Anastasia Tsioulcas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh my ...!!! Even better than the first one!!!, April 24, 2003

By	Ear (Moods, Zurich Switzerland) - See all my reviews

So FUNKY! So GROOVY! So AFRO!

My dreams came true with this funkdy masterwork! I was absolutely fascinated by ANTIBALAS first work "Vol. 1-Liberation Afrobeat".
Praying they keep their good work, I bought their second CD "Talkatif" and I listened to this 9:36-min-song "talkatif" ten times or more...in one day!
This is not only music, this ist spirit, real spirit! this ist real music! this is real soul, real funk, real groove!!! The beats, the bassline, the melodies makes you crying and dancing and praying and hoping and shaking and shaking and shaking!!!! hope to see them live one day... must be like a fist-time-visit with burning spear!!!
this is an absolutely must-have CD for all groove'n'funk-lovers and any real music lover!!!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Afrobeat Album..., May 16, 2003

By	RADAR (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

Listening to Fela Kuti's Live Album with Ginger Baker got me to start listening to the funky, groovy, boogieing sounds of Afrobeat, But it wasn't until I listened to more afrobeat groups that was where I just got completely hooked.
I came across this brilliant album by accident and I must say this would be one of the best afrobeat albums I have ever heard in a very long time! Even just listening to it would get you completely hooked on this music!
A recommended must-buy album for all fans of Afrobeat!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cool, groove-laden modern Afro-Beat album, September 5, 2002

By	Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

America's finest Afrobeat band, with a fab follow-up to its debut album. Here the Brooklyn-based collective shifts, appropriately enough, from the harder-edged Afro-Beat of Fela Kuti into something closer to the sleek juju highlife of King Sunny Ade, who became Nigeria's next superstar, when Fela's star faded. This is a beautiful record, and probably a lot more accessible to the casual listener who might have been put off a bit by the squonking saxes and rugged rhythms of the first Antibalas album (or the entire Fela catalog!). Hyponotic and graceful, this is a superior space-out groove album. Highly recommended.