Unofficial band director and drummer extraordinaire for Fela Kuti 's groups from 1968 through the late 70s, Tony Allen is arguably as important in the development of Afrobeat as Fela himself. A master of subtle precision and a purveyor of deep, classic funk, Allen released this pair of LPs in the mid 70s to step out of the shadow of his boss and pull his own contributions to the forefront. And while this is certainly the Tony Allen show, it's by no means a one man affair. It is, however, a massive attack of percussion. With Africa 70 providing backing and Fela contributing heavily on keys and saxophone on both albums, the sound isn't that different from any of the classic Fela LPs from this era - the drums are understandably pushed up in the mix, but the chant vocals, percussive guitars and plunky electric pianos pull everything toward a familiar core - but much like He Miss Road, the sound is less immediate, more atmospheric and spacious. All told, a magnificent pair of LPs that shed some long overdue sunshine on one the all-time greats. There's no way not to love this collection.Thursday
Tony Allen
Jealousy/Progress - 1975/77
Unofficial band director and drummer extraordinaire for Fela Kuti 's groups from 1968 through the late 70s, Tony Allen is arguably as important in the development of Afrobeat as Fela himself. A master of subtle precision and a purveyor of deep, classic funk, Allen released this pair of LPs in the mid 70s to step out of the shadow of his boss and pull his own contributions to the forefront. And while this is certainly the Tony Allen show, it's by no means a one man affair. It is, however, a massive attack of percussion. With Africa 70 providing backing and Fela contributing heavily on keys and saxophone on both albums, the sound isn't that different from any of the classic Fela LPs from this era - the drums are understandably pushed up in the mix, but the chant vocals, percussive guitars and plunky electric pianos pull everything toward a familiar core - but much like He Miss Road, the sound is less immediate, more atmospheric and spacious. All told, a magnificent pair of LPs that shed some long overdue sunshine on one the all-time greats. There's no way not to love this collection.
Unofficial band director and drummer extraordinaire for Fela Kuti 's groups from 1968 through the late 70s, Tony Allen is arguably as important in the development of Afrobeat as Fela himself. A master of subtle precision and a purveyor of deep, classic funk, Allen released this pair of LPs in the mid 70s to step out of the shadow of his boss and pull his own contributions to the forefront. And while this is certainly the Tony Allen show, it's by no means a one man affair. It is, however, a massive attack of percussion. With Africa 70 providing backing and Fela contributing heavily on keys and saxophone on both albums, the sound isn't that different from any of the classic Fela LPs from this era - the drums are understandably pushed up in the mix, but the chant vocals, percussive guitars and plunky electric pianos pull everything toward a familiar core - but much like He Miss Road, the sound is less immediate, more atmospheric and spacious. All told, a magnificent pair of LPs that shed some long overdue sunshine on one the all-time greats. There's no way not to love this collection.
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8 comments:
I've been thinking about buying this one for ages but I never could decide this one or the other one Tony Allen did with Afrika '70. Thanks for sharing.
-deadmanstar-
What a sweet post! Thanks!
Hey man great music you re sharing here in your blog especially loving the sun ra posts. is there any chance of uploading these tony allen cds on some other file sharing service? i can never download from megaupload.keep up the good work!.
Joe-el-Santero
Hey Joe-el-Santero! Thanks for dropping by. I'm glad you're digging on the Sun Ra stuff. Megaupload can be a bit tricky sometimes, mainly due to their download limit. Unless the need to re-up these files arises, I don't plan on switching to another sharing server.
I got it! 4:30am is the solution thanks again.
Joe-el-santero.
Thanks so much for this. Amazing stuff...
Thanks
lovely.cheers
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