(5 out of 5 stars) No lover of folk music should be without this album. OK, It s Raining is corny, but take that song away and you are left with an incredible parade of songs made all the more timeless by one of the truly great groups ever. The singing is so graceful that only if one really concentrates does one realize how intricate and complex the solos and harmonies are, transforming ordinary songs into extraordinary ones and excellent songs into anthems. Autumn to May, on its face a silly children s song, is a magical fairy tale in their hands. Where Have All the Flowers Gone, a fine enough song in the original, becomes the lament of a generation. And so on. Perhaps because of their close association with children s music or perhaps because they mostly covered songs of other artists this trio does not get enough credit as serious musicians, but in my opinion this album (as well as In the Wind, another masterpiece) shows they are truly worthy.
5 Reasons Fela Kuti Should Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Fela Kuti was fated for greatness but not the musical kind. Son of Nigerian elite, Kuti was raised by a father who served as an Anglican minister and teacher s-union organizer and a mother who was both an aristocrat and a women s-rights advocate.
Then he landed in London, where he discarded a promised career in medicine – both of his brothers were already doctors – and quickly became a fixture on the club scene. Something new had sprung to life inside of Kuti, who quickly formed his first band and began constructing a sharp new mixture of traditional West African sounds, soul and R&B with a touch jazz.