Fela Anikulapo Kuti (and young Femi on sax) with Egypt 80: “Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense” live in England, at Glastonbury in 1984.
About the album
This 1986 album, produced by Wally Badarou, consists of only two very lengthy tracks and was described as a message to the Nigerian government on education and poor governance.
The track “Look and Laugh,” details the attack by Nigerian soldiers on his Kalakuta compound.
In “Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense”, Fela extols culture and tradition as the ultimate teacher and emphasises the need to enshrine African culture and tradition.
He also discusses issues relating to corruption, bad governance, mismanagement and undemocratic rule which plague African countries.
In his review, John Dougan of AllMusic said “Wally Badarou’s production help gives Fela Anikulapo Kuti his most full-bodied sound; the horn section is much hotter and brassier than ever before. The problem with this record is that with following an instrumental track with a vocal version of the same song, there’s a certain lack of drama that blunts the impact of songs as powerful as “Look and Laugh.” That said, this is very good mid-’80s Fela.”
He rated the album 3 out of 5.
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