Unknown Fela: Stratavarious

In 1971, after several years of musical experimentation following the breakup of the super-group Cream, British drummer Ginger Baker made his way to Lagos, Nigeria, where he helped set up EMI's new 16-track recording studio. It was here that Baker re-united with his friend Fela Anikulapo Kuti (then known as Fela Ransome-Kuti) and recorded Stratavarious (Atco SD 7013), one of the first collaborations between an African musician and a Western rock star.

To the best of my knowledge, Stratavarious has been out of print ever since it was released in 1972 and consigned to oblivion shortly thereafter, although one or two cuts from it may have been included in compilations. It is very much Ginger Baker's "thing," although Fela plays an important role on several tracks. Also present is Fela's American girlfriend Sandra Izidore (credited as "Sandra Danielle").

Strativarious is a fascinating look at a magic time when rock, jazz and Afrobeat were taking their first tentative steps toward each other, and a harbinger of fusions to come. It certainly deserves more attention than it's gotten. Like the recordings featured in the last two posts, Stratavarious was originally posted on Uchenna Ikonne's With Comb & Razor blog.

Fela and Sandra Izidore take center stage on Side 1 of Stratavarious. Izidore provides vocals on "Ariwo," an adaptation of a Yoruba folk tune, and Fela sings lead on "Tiwa," with Sandra included in the backup chorus. Fela plays keyboard on both tunes:

Ginger Baker - Ariwo

Ginger Baker - Tiwa

Fela's keyboard work also features on the next two tracks. Both are notable also for the lead guitar work of Bobby Tench (here credited as "Bobby Gass"), who had previously played with the Jeff Beck Group:

Ginger Baker - Something Nice

Ginger Baker - Ju Ju

Fela Ransome-Kuti plays no role in "Blood Brothers 69" or "Coda." "Blood Brothers" was apparently recorded in London in 1969, a collaboration between Baker and renowned Ghanaian percussionist Guy Warren, later known as Kofi Ghanaba:

Ginger Baker & Guy Warren - Blood Brothers 69

Ginger Baker - Coda

Stratavarious can be downloaded as a zipped file here.



Stratavarious was by no means Ginger Baker's first experiment with African music. Not only had he previously recorded Fela Ransome-Kuti & the Africa '70 with Ginger Baker Live! (Signpost SP 8401, 1971), but his two LPs with Ginger Baker's Air Force had a definite African "feel," notably this tune from their first album (Atco SD 2-703, 1970, right). Compare it with "Ariwo," above:

Ginger Baker's Air Force - Aiko Biaye

This series of posts was occasioned by the recent announcement that Knitting Factory Records plans to reissue the "complete" Fela discography, although as I pointed out here, there are a few titles missing. In addition to Stratavarious, Perambulator and I Go Shout Plenty!!! the 1985 Bill Laswell "remix" version of Army Arrangement (Celluloid CELL 6109) is long out of print with no plans for reissue (it was released while Fela was in prison and he is said to have hated it). Toshiya Endo's Fela discography lists a number of other tunes that have never been released in any form. Notably, Knitting Factory plans to release the "entire" catalog of recordings Fela made with the Koola Lobitos in the 1960s. This is good news indeed.

Unknown Fela: I Go Shout Plenty!

Here's another Fela rarity for your musical enjoyment: The Afrodisia disc I Go Shout Plenty!! (DWAPS 2251), released in 1986 but apparently recorded earlier. Like Perambulator, featured in my last post, I made this available to Uchenna Ikonne's With Comb and Razor blog a couple of years ago, and as it is no longer online, I'm making it available again.

According to Toshiya Endo, Side A ("I Go Shout Plenty") was recorded in 1977 as DWAPS 2038 but never released (the B Side was to be "Frustration of my Lady" or "Frustration," which later became the B Side of Perambulator).

Side B, "Why Black Man Dey Suffer," was also recorded in 1977 as the A Side of DWAPS 2036 (Side B was to be a song titled "Male," which I don't believe has ever been made public), but also not released. This is a different version of the tune of the same name that was released as African Songs AS001 (and recently reissued on CD) in 1971 (that version features Ginger Baker).

No personnel listed, but I wouldn't be surprised if Lester Bowie played on these tunes also. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if these tracks were recorded in the same set of sessions as "Perambulator" and "Frustration." These aren't really primo Fela tunes, and he is said not to have approved their release. I suspect that in 1986, however, shortly after the Black President was let out of prison, Afrodisia Records thought it could make a few Naira off of the attendant publicity and put them out.

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti & Afrika '70 - I Go Shout Plenty

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti & Afrika '70 - Why Black Man Dey Suffer

You can download I Go Shout Plenty!!! as a zipped file here. In my next post I'll be discussing Ginger Baker's LP Stratavarious, recorded with Fela in the early '70s.

Unknown Fela: Perambulator

By way of Undercover Black Man I learn that Knitting Factory Records intends to remaster and reissue the "entire catalog" of Nigeria's late Afrobeat King Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in the next 18 months.

I'm wondering what the difference is between this project and the extensive Fela reissue that saw the light of day about 10 years ago. Not that I'm complaining, of course, but I can think of several Fela pressings that are not among the "entire catalog" of 45 recordings listed for reissue on the Knitting Factory website. A few years ago, before Likembe got started, I made these available to Uchenna Ikonne to post on his With Comb and Razor blog, and as these are no longer online, it seemed like a good idea to put them out there again.

Perambulator (Lagos International Records LIR 6) was released in 1983, following a rather fallow period in Fela's career, and just before the jailing on trumped-up charges that would bring him back to the world's attention. "Perambulator," the song, was apparently recorded a number of years earlier. Toshiya Endo writes in his Fela discography that it was the B side of the French issue of Shuffering and Shmiling (Barclay 829 710-1) in 1978 while "Frustration" was recorded as "Frustration of My Lady" in 1977 as the B side of an Afrodisia LP that was never released.

If you look closely at the credits on the back of Perambulator you'll see Lester Bowie credited as a "guest artist" (I think that's his trumpet solo about 6 minutes into "Frustration"). Bowie lived with Fela in Lagos for three months in 1977. A co-founder of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, he was also married for a time to Fontella Bass, who did the awesome 1965 R&B hit "Rescue Me." So contrary to the record cover and label, I don't think Perambulator is a "true" Egypt '80 record, as it was recorded several years earlier, when Fela's band was still called Afrika '70. The record was not included in the "official" Fela CD reissue of the late '90s, although it did come out combined with Original Sufferhead (Lagos International Records 2, 1981) on a CD in Japan in 1998, a pressing that is no longer available.

As to why Perambulator is not considered part of Fela's "official" canon, I suspect it was an unauthorized release. While it may be sub rosa it is certainly not sub-standard. "Frustration" in particular is a killer track. Enjoy!

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti & Afrika '70 - Perambulator

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti & Afrika '70 - Frustration

You can download Perambulator as a zipped file here. In my next two posts I'll discuss two more "unknown" Fela releases.

Let's Start!

First of all, let me introduce myself: My name is John Beadle, and I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. From January 1985 to June 2001 I produced and hosted a one-hour program, "African Beat," on WYMS 88.9 FM in Milwaukee.

For a number of years I have posted my discographies of African musicians on Dr. Toshiya Endo's African Music Home Page. I've also compiled a couple of "African Serenades" for Matsuli Music and contributed music to Comb and Razor. More than one person has suggested that I set up my own audioblog and after some resistance to the idea (I've got a lot of other irons in the fire) I couldn't think of one good reason why I shouldn't.

The thing that's so wonderful about the Internet is its democratic nature. We all contribute what we know - there are no "stars." I've learned so much from some of the other blogs that are out there and I hope to pass on some of the knowledge that I've gained over the years. Likewise I've heard some wonderful new sounds and hope to return the favor with selections from my collection.

The name "Likembe" refers to the Congolese version of the thumb-piano, an instrument that can be found across Africa, that in various versions is called the mbira, sanza, kalimba, ubo, etc. While the name is Congolese, that country probably won't be the main focus here; for one thing, there are quite a few places on the Web that deal with Congolese music already. I expect to spend a lot of time on Nigeria, as that's my main area of interest, especially Igbo music, but my interests run the gamut: Kenyan and Tanzanian music, Ethiopian funk and Senegalese mbalax, you name it. Maybe I can shed some light on some of the more obscure, little-known corners of African music, but I expect I'll learn a lot from you, too. And I reserve the right to write about things other than African music!

Like many, I was intrigued by the sounds of the Afro-Rock group Osibisa when I first heard them in the early 1970s. What really got me going, though, was, purely by chance, listening to Fela Ransome-Kuti's Live with Ginger Baker in 1973. Maybe you know the feeling: from that point there was no going back, as I spent every dollar I could spare on these strange and wonderful sounds from the African continent - Afrobeat, Soukous, Highlife, Benga, Makossa, Kwaito. . . and so on and on.

When I started "African Beat" in 1985 it seemed only proper that I should open my first show with the opening track from that 1972 Fela LP, which appropriately enough is entitled "Let's Start!" Likewise it seems a perfect tune to initiate this blog. Let's start!

Fela Ransome-Kuti & Africa '70 - Let's Start!