Customer Rating:  
Summary: Very poor product despite a great show
Comment: Horrible mix and very poor images for an unbelievable and legendary performance in Paris I had the chance to attend.
This video makes me angry !
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fela Rules!!!!
Comment: The Fela in Concert DVD was a fantastic find. My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough (1hr in length). However, I couldn't stop dancing around in my living room to Fela's infectious "AfroBeat".
Customer Rating:
Summary: NEED MORE..
Comment: We owned this on VHS when it came out the sound quality wasn't exactly the greatest but hey if you never got to see him in concert before he past this might be a treasure. I personally would like for someone to put out another concert performance of his that's top to bottom straight up concert footage, perferably during the era with Tony Allen but that might prove to be difficult. I was fortunate to see him before he past in the late 80's once in Seattle Washington and once here in my home town both shows were effective and both were over two hours although it seemed like only 3 tracks were played. They were long sustaining and seductive grooves that hypnotized you much the way is music does on studio sessions except he was there in your face.. wicked!!! Lets hope that somewhere out there there's a vault and in that vault contains some rare unseen concert footage of this very intense, passionate and talented individual. T.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not flawless, but vintage Fela
Comment: Don't be put off by the negative reviews of others: this is a unique document of a unique man and musician. This is the correct track listing:
1. Movement of the People Political Statement Number One
2. Army Arrangement
3. Power Show
True, it's not without its flaws: it's not quite up to DVD standard soundwise, though the camerawork is pretty decent. The worst thing is that you're not getting the entire songs outside of Army Arrangement. Power Show has no vocals and if you have the Live in Amsterdam CD Movement of the People Political Statement Number One was a lot longer with Fela doing his famous "underground spiritual gear". It's a shame this was left out, as I suspect it was. The best thing about this DVD is the close-up shots of Fela's amazing dancing wives during Army Arrangement. The other Fela DVD available which is at present very hard to get called Fela Live focuses too much on Fela and less on his dancing wives though it has better sound quality. And if you ask yourself which of the two you should buy. True fans should buy both.
Julio Punch (Webmaster of The Shrine: The Unofficial Website for Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti and Afrobeat Music)
Customer Rating:
Summary: as bad as it can be
Comment: There is absolutely nothing good about this DVD - the sound and picture are so bad that one can hardly judge the performance of the band and Fela Kuti (although I am very suspicious it was more than mediocre).
I have over 20 Fela's albums, all are very good and will not keep this DVD for sure. I don't recommend watching it even for free.
This is a lousy recorded VHS tape miserably transferred to DVD.
I'll try to find something decent from Fela, he deserves it.
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.
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