Gentleman cover

Gentleman

Released

“Gentleman” is one of Fela Kuti’s angriest and most masterful songs. Originally released in 1973, the lyrics decry African men who wear European clothing, in line with the cover image: a monkey’s head pasted onto a suit (likely worn by a child, as the clothes fall loosely in a pile). Musically, it’s a killer jazz-funk workout, with Kuti blowing a fierce, almost King Curtis-esque sax melody over electric piano, multiple guitars, a raucous horn section, and Tony Allen’s complex rhythms for the first nine minutes of its 14-minute running time. The two shorter tracks on the album’s flip side, “Fefe Naa Efe” and “Igbe,” are a looser, jazzier meditation and a taut, James Brown-style workout, respectively.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Maria Fumaça cover

Maria Fumaça

Banda Black Rio
A Show of Hands cover

A Show of Hands

Victor Wooten
Caliente! cover

Caliente!

Gato Barbieri
Melting Pot cover

Melting Pot

Booker T. & the M.G.'s
History Gets Ahead of the Story cover

History Gets Ahead of the Story

Jeff Cosgrove, John Medeski, Jeff Lederer
Tower of Power cover

Tower of Power

Tower of Power
Fyah cover

Fyah

Theon Cross
Thrust cover

Thrust

Herbie Hancock