5 YEAR REWIND: FELA KUTI posted by O.W.

(As part of our 5th year anniversary, we're revisiting 20 key songs. This post was originally published on August 9, 2006).

Fela Ransome Kuti and Afrika 70: Water No Get Enemy
From Expensive Shit (Editions Makossa, 1975)

"I've listened to a decent amount of Fela's stuff over the years but I either just let this slide past my radar or missed it completely but now I'm completely obsessed with it. I was instantly infatuated with it and here's why: like most of Fela's biggest Afro-funk songs, this track unfolds with a steady and sublime patience that reveals depths to the rhythm that might go otherwise missed unless you have the advantage of a longer view. But like "La Murga" what also makes the song such a pleasurable listen is how Fela brings in an electric keyboard...a softer, gentler sound for a song writhing in such thick rhythms and (once again) a monster brass section. The main riff are the horns (just like in "La Murga") but it's the piano that deepens the song's personality and elevates it towards the sublime. Even though the song is nearly 11 minutes, I've put it on repeat over and over and simply lounge into its folds. Heavenly."