Segun Bucknor - Poor Man No Get Brother: Revolutions 1970-1974
Posted on Monday 11 March 2002, 03:56 - Music News - Permalink
- Article
- |
- Comments (0)
- |
- Attachments (0)
Segun Bucknor - Poor Man No Get Brother: Assembly & Revolution 1969-1975
(CD/2xLP) Strut STRUTACD005/STRUTALP005, 2002-03-11
Strut return to the Lagos archives with a definitive look at another of Nigeria’s finest Afro-funk / Afro-soul pioneers and political commentators of the 1970s, keyboardist Segun Bucknor.
Working around Nigeria during the ‘70s in the shadow of the great Fela Kuti, Bucknor’s approach was intelligent and understated, varying between hard blasts of funk and extended, Afro jazz-based moods reflecting on Nigerian society with his bands the Assembly (1968 to 1970) and the Revolution (1970 to 1974).
"We were trying to have an identity. With that came the shaving of the hair, unbuttoned leather waistcoat, chains. The decision to shave my head was because of Egyptian history. The Egyptian nobles had just a little bit of hair at the back. It was part of trying to recreate that, saying that ‘we’re going back’.”
Bucknor’s music was politically and socially aware with tracks like ‘Son Of January 15th’ summing up life after the country’s Civil War of the mid-60s, but equally covered relationships (‘Love And Affection’, ‘La La La’) and messages to other bands of the time (‘Who Say I Tire’). Musically adept and lyrically deep, this is some of the best and most accessible music to come out of 1970s Nigeria.
Part of Strut’s ‘Nigeria 70’ series of artist albums.
Segun Bucknor - Poor Man No Get Brother: Assembly & Revolution 1969-1975
(CD/2xLP) Strut STRUTACD005/STRUTALP005, 2002-03-11
Tracklisting CD :
01. Sorrow, Sorrow, Sorrow
02. Dye Dye
03. Adanri Sogbasogba
04. Son Of January 15th
05. La La La (Hard Version) (Part 1)
06. La La La (Hard Version) (Part 2)
07. Smoke
08. That's The Time
09. Love And Affection
10. Who Say I Tire
11. You Killing Me
12. La La La (Acoustic Version)
Tracklisting 2xLP :
A1. Sorrow, Sorrow, Sorrow 12:34
A2. Dye Dye 3:19
B1. Adanri Sogbasogba 5:39
B2. Son Of January 15th 9:37
C1. La La La (Hard Version) (Part 1) 3:26
C2. La La La (Acoustic Version) 10:38
D1. Smoke 8:23
D2. Who Say I Tire 3:19
D3. You Killing Me 3:09
Links :
strut-records.com
myspace.com/strutrecords
Segun Bucknor - You Killing Me
Segun Bucknor - Smoke
Segun Bucknor - Dye Dye
Segun Bucknor - Adebo
Segun Bucknor & His Revolution-La la la
Review :
For once, a compilation, but an amazing one - that of recordings by an under-appreciated Afro-Funk master, Segun Bucknor and his bands (the Assembly and the Revolution) between 1969 and 1975. Bucknor was a contemporary of Fela, and hugely popular in the country. Of course, a lot of this sounds like the man himself - it would be asking a lot not to be influenced by that sound. But the progression of the songs here is more rhythmic and more circular - not a march toward the abyss, but a march around your head. The first and most important thing Bucknor wants to do is to make you dance. The lyrics are strong and mostly political, but the groove is the thing here. These tunes are drenched in sweat, played with the hard-edged precision of men who could and often did play for hours. Fans of the sound will love this. Anyone who's fond of funky music or who loves the sound of Memphis and Muscle Shoals and Detroit but hates the time limitations of the 7" groove will dig this severely.
(Source : Greg, Oufar Khan blog)
