In 1971, Fela Anikulapo Kuti's record label (EMI) agreed to fund a recording date in London for Fela and his band. By then major stars in Nigeria, this trip was, in a way, a triumphant return to the country that had given Fela his musical education and the club scene where he cut his teeth as the proverbial bandleader. It is important to note that he became very good friends with Cream's (and, at the time of this recording, Blind Faith’s) former drummer, Ginger Baker, who had traveled to Lagos a year earlier to meet, socialize, and play with Fela. Baker appears on this recording (though uncredited) on the track "Egbe Mio." While recording at Abbey Road (a.k.a. the hallowed home of the Beatles), Fela laid down these five impressive tracks in which his Afrobeat sound is more complex and jazzy than on the 1969 Los Angeles sessions. At over 13 minutes, "J'ehin J'ehin" has a wicked groove throughout the track, driven by the horn section and Tony Allen's superlative drumming. "Buy Africa" is an anti-colonial diatribe worthy of the Last Poets, and "Fight to Finish" is simply a great hit. A stunning record that marks the beginning of Fela's best recording period.
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