Tony Allen was Fela Kuti's drummer in his Africa '70 band. Tony first hooked up with Fela in 1968. Tony left Africa '70 in the mid eigthies. He subsequently recorded his first solo 'Never Expect Power Always' EP which appeared on Earthworks in 1984. B-side is 'When One Road Close (Another One Go Open)'. Both sides are mixed by Mark Smith in the Addis-Ababa Studio of London.
[...] But you really can't go wrong with anything that was recorded while Tony Allen was still in residence. It IS all about the drums, and he's one of the most amazing drummers *ever*. I can think of only a handful of people (Philly Joe Jones, John Bonham, Clyde Stubblefield, Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey) in his league. -- Shaky Mo Collier (I Love Music), June 13th, 2002.
Earthworks rds=Jumbo Van Renan+Trevor Herman
Tony Allen Plays With Afrika 70 "No Accommodation For Lagos" (Afrostrut)
And another important repress of a classic afro funk LP. The drummer Tony Allen is besides Fela Kuti a further popular artist from Nigeria in this genre. Originally from 1978, this LP was released in Nigeria only. Luckily for us, Afrostrut, a new sublabel of Strut Records, made it available world-wide for the first time. Similar to the Kuti/Ayers release, there are two very long tracks on it, both of them without a doubt essential afrobeat killers. "No Accommodation For Lagos" has a relaxed grooving bassline, picked with incredible saxophone soundbuildings and spoken and sung vocals by Tony Allen, and the "African Message" is at least as actual as the message of "2000 Blacks...". BTW, Afrika 70 is the legendary band of Fela Kuti from the early 70s, and this was the third and last album they did together. While consuming this record I found the final evidence that the roots of deep house are definitely to be found in the deepest heart of Africa and not somewhere else, as some whities still seem to think:-) Watch out also for the other represses of Tony Allen albums that are currently out on the market...
SU (5/12/00)-- http://www.bassics.de/reviews.html
2002, jan 18; 23:06: