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Fela in Co ncert
This DVD 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
These songs were filmed at a concert in Paris on June 30, 1981. True, it's not without its flaws: it's not quite up to DVD standards soundwise, though the camerawork is pretty decent. The worst thing is that you're not getting the entire songs. “Power Show” has no vocals and if you have the “Live in Amsterdam” album Movement of the People Political Statement Number One was a lot longer with Fela doing his famous "underground spiritual game". 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 obtain, 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.
Fela Live
This is a concert performed by Fela in 1984 at the famous Glastonbury Music Festival in the United Kingdom. It was broadcasted by the BBC several times in the 1980’s. The DVD also contains a laid back interview with Fela. The concert consists of two songs: Confusion Break Bone and Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense. The first song is, as always with Fela, a warming-up. This might be the only footage released of Fela doing some percussion. The real gem is Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense with the “Dancing Queens” doing their famous dancing routine towards the end of the song. The crowd seems to be really getting into this song. The sound quality of this DVD is pretty good. The camera focuses on Fela a bit too much for my liking. The director of the footage also directed stuff by the Rolling Stones so I guess he’s used to concentrating on the front man.
Fela Kuti: Mu sic is The Weapon
With the destruction of the sound to the Black President film during the attack of the Kalakuta Republic in 1977 this is the only documentary about Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It was filmed in Lagos in 1981. The DVD contains both the French and the English versions of this documentary that was directed by Stéphane Tchal-Gadjieff and Jean Jacques Flori. The two versions are slightly different so it is advised to watch both. Meet up with Fela in the Kalakuta Republic and hear him discuss life, politics, music, women, religion and much more. Unique live footage from The Shrine is alternated with the interviews. The DVD contains pieces of live versions of Army Arrangement, ITT, Power Show and Authority Stealing. This DVD is a must for anyone interested in “The Black President”. The length of the documentary is 53 minutes. There are no extras.
Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense
Although Music is The Weapon is generally viewed as the definitive documentary on the life and music of Fela Kuti, Teacher don’t Teach Me Nonsense is a high quality documentary from 1985 that contains both an up close interview with the creator of Afrobeat and fragments of his legendary gig at the famous Glastonbury festival in the year 1984. This documentary is available as part of the first part of a Fela Kuti Anthology detailing his entire musical career. Two more installments will be released.
Fela seems calmer and less militant as in Music is The Weapon, but tells us interesting stories about his use of Pidgin (Broken English) for his lyrics, his spiritual awakening through contact with the Black Power movement in the US and the corruption in Africa he so vividly denounced. The film is about half music and half documentary. The documentary is interspersed with fragments from the gig beginning with Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense and then Confusion Break Bone (they were performed at the festival in opposite order). There is English subtitling translating Fela’s pidgin. So this DVD is at present our only chance to catch footage on DVD of this gig of Fela and his Egypt 80 at his/their prime. The only known footage of Fela performing percussion, which is still the heart of African music, is included.
As expected the BBC dug up some interesting old footage from their dusted shelves that includes speeches by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X that accompany Fela’s story. “Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense” was shown by the BBC just after Fela’s famous prison sentence in 1984 and may have played a part in his release through influencing public opinion.
Femi Kuti - Live at the Shrine
 The saying “like father, like son” takes on a totally new dimension with this fantastic DVD. Femi Kuti, Fela Kuti’s eldest son and his successor as the king of Afrobeat is like his father in many ways. He uses his music as a weapon to combat injustice, lives in a commune and owns a nightclub called The Shrine that he uses as a stage for his music and message. Live footage of gigs and documentary footage are alternated in this DVD. The production is superb and so are Femi’s performances. Watching this DVD is the closest thing to actually witnessing Femi’s world renowned live performance with his band The Positive Force. The documentary part is really interesting and gives us insight into the life of the current Afrobeat superstar. The DVD is 133 minutes long. The extras include the videos for Shotan, Water No Get Enemy and Yeparipa and more interviews with Femi. This DVD is an absolute must for all lovers of Afrobeat music. The only thing I regret is that the makers didn’t include an option to skip the documentary parts if you only want to listen to the music.
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