Revisiting Fela's Power Show.

There's something about Fela's early 80s ouevre which had the gentle kick of the heydays, the mid-seventies.Power show, a 14 minute spool of soft-tempo melancholia attacks the circumstantial misuse of power, which, surprisingly, is characteristic of nigeria, nay africa.What is most innovative about this low-keyed dirge is Fela's recourse to the piano, which he had majored in at the Liverpool Trinity School where he trained as a musician. There were several short and intermittent solos of brassy key notes with a blast of reponse intiated by the horn section but later orchestrated by d maestro himself, all these being observed by the soft percussion and a mellow rhythm section.The vocals are employed earlier on with the adopted call and response reminiscent of Soul music. And about a third of the way down the track, the real music of organic instrumental dialogue begins till the track tampers down the crescendo.This for no apt and reason justifiable happens to be my personal favourite after d order of Trouble Sleep.The two songs are very social in their content and have charged itself with the responsibility of telling the story of the down-trodden, something a man from at least bourgeois origin tells most eloquently.