180 Gram Vinyl. 'Sorrow Tears and Blood', the first recording released after the kalakuta's capture, is fiercer; the band's sound almost seeming to drip blood. slower and more persistent, the ominous grooves here no longer bother with metaphor, crying out bluntly, "some people lost some bread, someone just died...them leave sorrow, tears, and blood." Alongside Woody Guthrie's struggle, this is as stirring as musical social protest gets. 'Sorrow Tears and Blood' boils over with Fela's singing and the frantic call-response of horns and chorus; the scattering sounds of people fleeing a police-and-army attack. And 'Colonial Mentality' calls for a united Africa to stand up against its widespread leftovers of imperialism. The entire collection is chock-full of Kuti's distinctive polyrhythmic orchestra-funk in top form.
