Original Sufferhead＜Opaque Light Green Vinyl＞

黒人解放運動家でアフロビートの創始者、Fela Kutiの3タイトルがカラー盤LPでリイシュー!!

この度の『Original Sufferhead』は、これまでのリイシューではカットされていた部分を復元した、25分24秒のフル・レングスで収録される。『Original Sufferhead』は、FelaがEgypt 80名義でリリースした最初のアルバムである(彼は1979年にAfrika 70を解散していた)。タイトル・トラックでは、個人的なことから政治的なことまで、労働者階級のナイジェリア人が経験する非人間的な扱いや劣悪な生活環境について述べている。「Power Show」では、ナイジェリア社会を二分する2層構造について歌っている。

After the demise of Africa 70, Fela set forth to create a new group of musicians that he could mold, shape, and direct to play out his musical conceptions. Instead of just offering a new group, he also progressed his compositional style and attitudes. Stylistically, the compositions became longer, more complex, and in some senses tighter; they began to take on Western classical structures in their arrangements but still carried the improvisational, American soul, and traditional African forms that gave birth to the original Afro-beat sound. Original Suffer Head is the first recorded offering from the group that he deemed Egypt 80; the name reflected his strong Pan-African sentiments. Released in 1982 after another brutal attack on his residence that almost killed him, it showed that he had yet to be broken by the authority figures who sought to silence him. (After decades of beatings and incarcerations, they would slow him down eventually, but not until after 1990.) Lyrically, "Original Suffer Head" calls attention to the strife and conflict that framed Nigeria in the 1980s, such as the lack of basic necessities in an era when the country was rich in petroleum sales. With words such as "Them come turn us to Suffer-Head," Fela attacks those in power for Nigeria's lack of development of food, water, and shelter, implying that the country's third-world status is a result of government corruption and stealing. "We must be ready to fight for am o," he pointedly remarks, "I say Suffer-Head must go." Also included on this album is "Power Show," a relatively forgettable number originally composed for the Africa 70 group but recorded here by Egypt 80 in a laid-back groove, with Fela making non-accusatory remarks about the state of Lagos in general. [In 2000, MCA released Original Suffer Head as a two-fer with I.T.T.] ~ Sam Samuelson