FELA! Original Broadway Cast Recording

Every musical should have a soundtrack album which can be bought by people who loved the show so much that they want to re-experience it. Or by obsessive soundtrack collectors. Or, in this case, by Fela completists. I salute all those people and they will surely love this album. For the rest of us, I’m not so sure this is a goer. Certainly FELA! packs a mighty punch and I’d urge everyone to go see it at the National Theatre or, if it gets a deserved transfer, in the West End in the months to come. Otherwise you’re going to miss out on the most radical, refreshing and raunchy musical of the 21st century so far, underpinned by some of the most wondrous, celebratory music and incendiary lyrics you’re going to hear anywhere. Such is the legacy of Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

But without the rest of the theatrical experience – the performers, the dance, the set and lights, the audience, the recreation of Fela’s Shrine nightclub – the CD seems like a very diluted experience of Fela’s music. It’s not the quality of the playing or the singing, which is of the highest standard throughout. But the musical arrangements were created to support the theatrical experience and overwhelmingly don’t really satisfy as standalone new versions of Fela tunes. Only the choral version of ‘Zombie’ really hits that spot, and even that gets diluted by speech extracts.

None of the spoken word sections from the play, which are scattered throughout the tracks, work very well in this context. The undoubted power of the musical would be better expressed if just the songs had been recorded for this album – as generally happens with many other soundtrack recordings. So go see the show, but if you want a potent Fela Afro-beat audio experience, buy the originals or the Red Hot &Riot CD versions.