VARIOUS: Red Hot + Fela

Apr 1, 2014 Dan Greenwood

It’s no surprise that Red Hot has dedicated a second volume of their series to the music of Fela, the pioneer of Afrobeat and himself a victim of AIDS, the disease that Red Hot raises money to fight. Since the 2002 release of Red Hot & Riot, Fela’s and Afrobeat’s stars have continued to rise, culminating in the long-running Fela! musical on Broadway.

Like most tributes, and its predecessor, this album is something of a stew. In the end it feels a bit outdated, effectively a neo-soul record drawing on Fela’s records the way the neo-soul classics drew on James, Marvin, Stevie and Prince. Also like neo-soul, some of the songs come out nearly identical to the source material; others mine the originals for an idea, a line or a musical phrase, and build those into new songs. There are plenty of Afrobeat’s typical chunky horn, guitar and bass lines, but there’s also occasional noodling, cheesy synths and rapping of varying degrees of necessity and effectiveness.

While the end product may be uneven, there are certainly high moments, none of which come as a surprise given the artists: My Morning Jacket, Stuart Bogie (of US Afrobeat and Fela! pit band Antibalas), Questlove, Angelique Kidjo, tUnE-yArDs, Britteny Howard (of Alabama Shakes). The album peaks, after a strong start, at the halfway point, ‘Sorrow Tears and Blood,’ matching veteran song interpreters The Kronos Quartet with the vocalists from TV On the Radio. The polyrhythmic drum, bass, guitar and horn lines of the original are expertly transposed to the stringed instruments, and the vocals are restrained but very effective. It’s the best of the re-imaginings on the collection.

Unfortunately, despite a strong contribution from Fela’s longtime drummer Tony Allen, the second half can’t keep up with the first. The record ends on an incongruous note as ‘Go Slow’ gets turned into an R&B slow jam stripped of any evident Afrobeat influence. While it’s an admirable attempt to show the flexibility of Fela’s songwriting beyond his chosen genre and style, it ends the album with a whimper rather than a bang. And Fela deserves a bang.