Our friends at Strut have teamed up with NYC’s Knitting Factory to release Live In Detroit 1986, the first ‘new’ Fela Kuti material to be issued since his last album Underground System.
The show was recorded at the Fox Theater in Motor City during November 1986 and marked a triumphant return to the USA for the Afrobeat genius after a period of imprisonment in Nigeria.
The evening’s audio recorder, Bob Teagan, claimed the ’86 Fox Theater show to be Fela’s best performance: "It was like seeing Bob Marley, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, and James Brown all rolled into one. Fela captured the revolution of Marley, the love of Marvin Gaye, he sung with a rare and exquisite charcoal voice like Sinatra but he would scream himself out and go hoarse by the end of the three hour marathon show. All the while he danced like Michael Jackson or a ballerina, and captivated the crowd with the showmanship of James Brown."
Strut have released the following (admittedly thin) clip from the concert.
The album will be released on vinyl and CD on May 8.
CD1:
‘Just Like That’ (29.35)
‘Confusion Break Bones’ (40.54)
CD2:
‘Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense’ (34.04)
‘Beasts Of No Nation’ (38.49)
