The Best Best of Fela Kuti

The Best Best of Fela Kuti is a 2-CD compilation album by Nigerian Afrobeat artist Fela Kuti, released in 1999 by MCA Records.[1] It was issued in the United States in 2000 as part of a reissue series of Kuti's albums.[2] The album was reissued as The Best of the Black President in 2009 by Knitting Factory Records and received universal acclaim from music critics.[3] A companion 2-CD compilation, also released in 1999, was reissued in the U.S. in 2013 by Knitting Factory as The Best of the Black President 2.

The Best Best of Fela Kuti
Compilation album by
Fela Kuti
Released1999
Recorded1972–89
GenreAfrobeat
Length157:43
LabelBarclay, Universal
ProducerFemi Kuti
Alternate covers
Barclay reissue, 2002
Alternative cover
Knitting Factory Records, 2009

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Detroit Metro Times[5]
Down Beat[6]
Mojo[7]
Pitchfork8.1/10[8]
PopMatters9/10[9]
Rolling Stone (2000)[10]
Rolling Stone (2009)[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[1]
The Village VoiceA[12]

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau said that The Best Best of Fela Kuti is the essential album from Kuti and "a masterful piece of compilation for an artist who deserves the best." He applauded the decision to edit or "unceremoniously" reduce the exhaustive lengths of the original songs in half, adding that they feature "top-notch tirades, explosive horn blasts", and riffs Kuti could "never improve no matter how often he [tried]".[12] Christgau named it the fifth best album of 2000 in his list for the Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[13] Vibe magazine's Harry Allen said that it has Kuti's "finest work".[14] In 2005, Spin magazine ranked The Best Best of Fela Kuti the fourth best world music album of all time.[15]

The album's 2009 reissue by Knitting Factory Records received universal acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, it received an average score of 93, based on 5 reviews.[3] Allmusic's Thom Jurek recommended the album even for listeners who own all of Kuti's previous music: "this is a killer mix and needs to be in the collection anyway."[4] Michaelangelo Matos of The A.V. Club credited it for doing "the impossible by summing up a singular performer who liked his songs to jam on out to a half-hour or more.[16]

Pitchfork critic Mike Powell wrote that, although it does not have "all of Fela's best material", the album "isn't just a good place for someone starting out, it's probably the only Fela album many will need to own."[8] In a less enthusiastic review, Will Hermes of Rolling Stone magazine said that the music is "killer", but criticized the lack of recording info in the liner notes: "The music speaks for itself, but presidential history deserves better."[11]

Track listing
Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Lady"Fela Anikulapo Kuti13:49
2."Shakara"Fela Anikulapo Kuti13:26
3."Gentleman" (edit version)Fela Anikulapo Kuti11:02
4."Water No Get Enemy" (edit version)Fela Anikulapo Kuti9:50
5."Zombie"Fela Anikulapo Kuti12:25
6."Sorrow Tears and Blood"Fela Anikulapo Kuti10:15
7."No Agreement" (Part 2)Fela Anikulapo Kuti7:54
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Roforofo Fight"Fela Anikulapo Kuti15:41
2."Shuffering and Shmiling" (Part 2)Fela Anikulapo Kuti12:25
3."Coffin for Head of State" (Part 2)Fela Anikulapo Kuti13:22
4."I.T.T." (International Thief Thief) (Part 2)Fela Anikulapo Kuti13:42
5."Army Arrangement" (Part 2)Fela Anikulapo Kuti17:02
6."O.D.O.O." (Overtake Don Overtake Overtake) (edit version)Fela Anikulapo Kuti6:54

Personnel

Credits (such as they are) for the album are adapted from Allmusic.[17]

References
  1. Hull, Tom; et al. (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 472. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  2. Pareles, Jon (23 February 2001). "Critic's Notebook; A Universe of Music". Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  3. "The Best of the Black President Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  4. Jurek, Thom. "The Best of the Black President – Fela Kuti". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  5. Gabriel, Larry (29 March 2000). "Father and son get it done". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  6. "Review: The Best Best of Fela Kuti". Down Beat. Chicago: 76. April 2001. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  7. "Best Of The Black President CD". Rakuten.com. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  8. Powell, Mike (12 January 2010). "Fela Kut: Fela: The Best of the Black President". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  9. Miller, Michael (6 January 2010). "Fela Kuti: Fela: The Best of the Black President". PopMatters. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  10. "Review: The Best Best of Fela Kuti". Rolling Stone. New York: 95. 2 March 2000. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  11. Hermes, Will (9 November 2009). "The Best of the Black President : Fela Kuti : Review". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2013.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. Christgau, Robert (20 June 2000). "Shuffering and Shmiling". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  13. Christgau, Robert (February 2001). "Pazz & Jop 2000: Dean's List". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  14. Allen, Harry (May 2000). "Revolutions". Vibe. New York: 176. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  15. "Top Ten World Music Albums". Spin. New York: 86. July 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  16. Matos, Michaelangelo (20 August 2009). "Vintage Afro-pop". The A.V. Club. Chicago. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  17. "The Best of the Black President – Fela Kuti : Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 May 2013.

Further reading
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