Track Listings (2) - Disc #1| All Artists: Fela Kuti Title: Coffin for Head of State/Unknown Soldier Members Wishing: 2 Total Copies: 0 Label: Mca Release Date: 4/4/2000 Genres: International Music, Pop Style: Africa Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPCs: 731454737920, 0731454737920, 5060001270760 |
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Search - Fela Kuti :: Coffin for Head of State/Unknown Soldier
 | Fela Kuti Coffin for Head of State/Unknown Soldier Genres: International Music, Pop
Fela Kuti made some frantic albums in his career--ones that popped with his enthusiastic political disobedience and ones that roared with fury at the Nigerian system and Africa's disadvantaged position in the late-20th cen... more » |
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Amazon.com Fela Kuti made some frantic albums in his career--ones that popped with his enthusiastic political disobedience and ones that roared with fury at the Nigerian system and Africa's disadvantaged position in the late-20th century. But Coffin for Head of State is a different tiger. It's a downturned, sad, melancholic 22-minute work that signaled how Fela would make his previously general criticisms of Nigerian politics very specific. He recorded the album in 1981, several years after the Nigerian military's destruction of his self-declared Kalakuta Republic (a residential compound, in truth) and the ensuing, relentlessly violent assault on its residents, including his mother, who later died as a result of her injuries. Coffin finds Fela castigating Muslim and Christian leaders for idling while the government raped and pillaged, and it boasts a visionary quality in the antiphonal "Amens" that gets bounced through the band. Filling out this double-length CD is Unknown Soldier, a pointed musical assault on the government's position that "unknown soldiers" had perpetrated the Kalakuta attack, when Fela well knew that the 1,000-man rampage was officially sanctioned. The 30-minute track that comprises Unknown is still Fela in a keyed-down mode, railing against the attackers with his customary electric keyboard, a battery of percussionists, all of it stewing for 15 minutes before he bellows in with bright backing vocal chants. After Coffin's melancholy, this is uplifting enough to make you share in his indignation. These sessions mark an unparalleled peak for the musical display of fury and political criticism. --Andrew Bartlett Similarly Requested CDs
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CD ReviewsSimply touching Abolaji Ogunshola | CT | 07/13/2000 (5 out of 5 stars) "I would agree with the other reviewers but I think they have it the wrong way round - while "Unknown Soldier" as a title is more famous, the better song is "Coffin For Head of State". His chorus would actually make you think this was a Christian religious song if you didn't know better. It is quite stirring to hear how Fela describes one of the problems most people have with the apparent contradiction between the Christian philosphies of ascetism and giving and the actual behavior of Christian leaders, who are in many case affluent beyond belief. He also accuses the leaders of Nigeria of using religious authority to back up thier statements, thereby getting people to agree with them not by reasoning, but by yielding to the authority of God.Kind of sad that Obasanjo outlived this man.If you are interested in Nigerian history, both songs are related to events surrounding the destruction of Fela's home and the murder of his mother. IT was beleived that the attack on the hous, carried out by armed soldiers, was an order from the higher ranks of the military, whose leader was General Obasanjo. "Unknown Soldier" is a reference to the murderer of his mother ( she was thrown down a flight of stairs and died from multiple injuries) and "Coffin for the Head of State" is a dirge like song that describes the droping off of a mock coffin by Fela and his followers at the official residence of the Head of State of Nigeria, who was then General OBasanjo.You have to like Jazz to have an appreciation for the music, but if you are a Fela fan, this is a CD you can buy without any regrets. IT is kind of sad that these songs were written in the late 70s and early 80s and are still relevant to the Nigerian situation today." One of Fela's best stbob | 07/30/2000 (5 out of 5 stars) "I would say this is Fela's best piece of work, were it not for C.B.B., a 26-minute lush jewel filled with unusual horn harmonies and haunting rhythms. This is a great example of how Fela was able to threaten and frighten the "government-of-the-week" of Nigeria using only music, and why his music was such a force. I was lucky enough to hang with his band backstage at Kilimanjaro in Washington one night in the 80s, as I was doing some work with the opening band. What a beautiful scene they created, wherever they went. Of all the works listed on Amazon, this is the one to buy, unless C.B.B. appears." Unknown Soldier: My Favorite Fela Song Emilio D. Lia | 02/03/2006 (5 out of 5 stars) "Keep in mind, I am a hard-core Fela fan. I love this CD, especially Unknown Soldier. I am not sure though if this is a good CD for the uninitiated. Perhaps, the "Best Of" or something like that. I think songs like Gentleman or Lady are better if you've never heard Fela before. Remember to start slow and work your way up.
Unknown Soldier is a song that goes beyond anything you can imagine. It is 31 minutes long, and super-dope. I don't know what to say, it's like describing the Grand Canyon to someone who's never seen a picture of it. They walk away with a vague understanding, but no idea of its true powers. Just curious if anyone else does this....I never turn a Fela song off once it has started. It has to play itself out. I can leave the house but the stereo has to stay on. Anybody else do that?" |
