Expensive Shit/He Miss Road

Amazon.com
For He Miss Road and Expensive Shit, Fela still carried his original last name--Ransome-Kuti (which changed to his more radical moniker Anikulapo-Kuti later), but he had grown since his early 1970s albums in two important ways. First, Fela had been radicalized beyond his introduction to U.S.-style Black Power and had been framed by Nigerian authorities, who placed marijuana in his possession. He promptly ate the dope, after which authorities arrested him and waited for him to defecate so they could test the dung for drugs. Not a sexy scheme, and not even a workable scheme, but it did give Fela fodder--specifically the tune (and album title) "Expensive Shit." His second advance came in the form of using the studio as a virtual instrument, one that makes He Miss Road a trippy, stuttery, reverb-laden intersection of lean Afro-beat and '70s astro-funk. Ginger Baker was at the controls for Road, and Fela shone through the weird studio ambience. Africa 70 was a band given to leaning back into the percussion weave the drummers--led by Tony Allen--laid down. Their inherently languid pacing was enhanced by Baker's studio play, and the results are outstanding. So too is Expensive Shit, which has the earmarks of radicalized urban musical poetry without all the pretensions of strict meter or the pop market. --Andrew Bartlett

Product Description
Two Releases on One CD

Expensive Shit/He Miss Road,Fela Kuti,Mca,Africa,African,Afro-Beat,Afro-Pop,Highlife,Int'l & World Music,Nigeria,Pop,World Music

Average customer rating:
Expensive Shit/He Miss Road
Fela Kuti
Manufacturer: Wrasse Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Africa | International | Styles | Music
Nigeria | Africa | International | Styles | Music
General | International | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000CCZQI2
Release Date: 2006-01-24

Tracks:

Expensive Shit
Water No Get Enemy
He Miss Road
Monday Morning in Lagos
It's Not Possible

Average customer rating:

Live from the Kalkuta Republic...
Great Music
Sounds vibrant and fresh even 30 years later
fela rocks !
...where is the exposure????

Expensive Shit / He Miss Road
Fela Kuti
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Africa | International | Styles | Music

Nigeria | Africa | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music
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Zombie
Open & Close/Afrodisiac
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ASIN: B00000JOEY
Release Date: 2000-03-21

Tracks:

Expensive Shit
Water No Get Enemy
He Miss Road
Monday Morning In Lagos
It's No Possible

Amazon.com

For He Miss Road and Expensive Shit, Fela still carried his original last name--Ransome-Kuti (which changed to his more radical moniker Anikulapo-Kuti later), but he had grown since his early 1970s albums in two important ways. First, Fela had been radicalized beyond his introduction to U.S.-style Black Power and had been framed by Nigerian authorities, who placed marijuana in his possession. He promptly ate the dope, after which authorities arrested him and waited for him to defecate so they could test the dung for drugs. Not a sexy scheme, and not even a workable scheme, but it did give Fela fodder--specifically the tune (and album title) "Expensive Shit." His second advance came in the form of using the studio as a virtual instrument, one that makes He Miss Road a trippy, stuttery, reverb-laden intersection of lean Afro-beat and '70s astro-funk. Ginger Baker was at the controls for Road, and Fela shone through the weird studio ambience. Africa 70 was a band given to leaning back into the percussion weave the drummers--led by Tony Allen--laid down. Their inherently languid pacing was enhanced by Baker's studio play, and the results are outstanding. So too is Expensive Shit, which has the earmarks of radicalized urban musical poetry without all the pretensions of strict meter or the pop market. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Details

Two Releases on One CD

Customer Reviews:

Live from the Kalkuta Republic..........2006-01-12

If you know Fela's work then you most likely have your own favorites. Fair enough. you can't really go wrong. For me, this reissue brings together two of the finest Fela releases. Kudos to MCA for taking the time and resource to create top notch and true reissues. Expensive S**T is my favorite and, by any account, a standout album. His mocking title aside(a jab at Nigerian police who were tricked into testing the stool samples of various inmates in an attempt to find Fela's dope laden sample), Fela is no mood for jokes. You only need to hear the opening salvos from 'water no get enemy' to see why Fela is a master musician.

A shamen of musical styles, Fela took Jazz horns into new stratospheres making them at home in his distinctive multi-movement tracks. As though in an argument with himself his sax would blair angrily against a steady rythym section... then reconsider and join the trance like funk chords alongside cheers from the band...only to rebel moments later and uleash another defiant solo meandering above the beats until, earthbound, he drops down into the groove. No one else can pump out 17 or 23 minute tracks. No one else should try. If you're a first time Fela listener, I envy you and encourage you to buy this album and play it over and over again. You won't get bored, and you may just find yourself ready to drop everything and join the forces of the Kalkuta Republic.

Great Music.......2005-08-08

Fantastic stuff. "Expensive Sh*t"'s title track is one of those Afro-beat workouts that Talking Heads and Brian Eno and various new-wavers ripped off direction from in the late 70's and early 80's. It is loose but perfectly together, great and funky. "Water Get No Enemy" is one of the more remarkable Fela pieces I've heard. The horn unison part, with Fela singing on top, is as good as music gets.

The second album, "He Miss Road", is great too. The title track features Fela getting funky on organ over a chopping rhythm with a spacey vibe, "Monday Morning in Lagos" features that great boisterous unison horn playing that I'm coming to love in Fela's music, and the third track kicks up a storm rhythmically very well - actually, every track on the CD does that.

I can summarize this CD in a single word. The word is - awesome.

Sounds vibrant and fresh even 30 years later.......2005-04-07

This single CD is actually a twofer featuring "Expensive Shit" and "He Miss Road," two classic examples of the infectious, wide, deep Afro-beat groove. Up-tempo and rollicking, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his stalwart band and choir generated a funk-laced, organic stew laced with psychedelic pacing and jazzy spacing. The musicians deliver a hypnotic river of sound, powered by drummer Tony Allen's superb energy, which propels the various guitars, keyboard, sax, and other solos.

Sometimes the beat is menacing as on the title track on "Expensive Shit." (Just read the liner notes for the lowdown on the title-it's quite a tale!) Other time, the band slips into a flowing froth as on Water Get No Enemy.

The tracks on "He Miss Road," while less political, chronicle more of the life and times of Fela, who must have had quite a sense of humor considering the abuse he endured. When you listen to the 17-minute final track, It's No Possible, all of a sudden you understand one of the main sources for derivative bands such as Traffic. Compare this track with Traffic's jams on the "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" and "Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory."

All five tracks are all long jams: typically the instrumental solos build up to Fela's vocals. Though he was the heart and brains of the outfit, he doesn't hog the limelight but lets everyone have some time to shine. And what an instrument his voice was: wailing, strutting, and vexing. These sessions are a true group effort. Both the band and choir churn along in deep grooves, the equal-is not better--of any soul or funk back from what George Clinton and James Brown were dishing out in the `70. For the record, Ginger Baker produced (but does not play) "He Miss Road." All the tracks sound vibrant and fresh even 30 years later, and the sound quality on the combined CD is excellent.

If you want to try Fela Kuti and do not know where to plunge in (his discography is amazingly long and there are some uneven sessions), I would recommend this CD as a fine place to start.

fela rocks !.......2004-08-29

contains one of the all time greatest fela tunes, water no get enemy, but all the other songs are awesome as well. but let's face it, there really aren't any truly bad fela songs. this is music that really grooves, performed by a true musical pioneer.

...where is the exposure????.......2003-10-26

...folks are sometimes scared of jazz, i know this...
and combine that with the words "afrobeat" and i guess folks jus dont know what the heck to expect... i think people expect a 'national geographic' special to jump out they speakers or somethin... i dont know; i cant explain it...

yes, fela was a true activist... but i'm not gonna muse about his political experiences right now... i'm jus here for the music! i want yall to focus on that for the moment, because fela anem done did a powerful thing with this album... initially, i was turned onto the afrobeat sound when i discovered the music of his son, femi... and now i am truly converted to the sound... this rendition of the jazz sound is relaxing, uplifting and fulfilling all at the same time.

cannonball adderly would have fit in rather well playin in this band... as would have anyone, from charles mingus and duke ellington to najee and kirk whalum...

any serious (or beginning!) jazz fan needs some afrobeat in their collection; this aint too bad a place to start!

Expensive Shit and He Miss Road
Average customer rating:
Expensive Shit and He Miss Road
Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Manufacturer: Musicrama/Koch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000DEMJO
Release Date: 1999-10-13