Upside Down

Upside Down
- Up Side Down
- Go Slow
Upside Down and Zombie, both released in 1976, were made at the mid-point of an extraordinary three-year purple period during which Fela recorded 24 albums of new material. Upside Down is unusual in that it includes a second lead vocalist, Felaâ€™s American friend Sandra Izsadore, who heâ€™d known since touring the US in 1969. Fela went through some important changes during the tour. The most far-reaching of these followed his befriending of Izsadore, a black rights activist who introduced him to the writings of Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael, Huey Newton and other revolutionary thinkers. Fela later credited Izsadore with helping inspire his philosophy of Blackism. Izsadore was one of two women who played key roles in firing Felaâ€™s political awareness. The other was his mother, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti. A friend of independent Ghanaâ€™s founding president, Kwame Nkrumah, she had been an early champion of Nigerian womenâ€™s rights and a prominent campaigner for Nigerian independence. In 1970, Izsadore stayed with Fela in Nigeria for six months, and returned for a shorter visit in 1976, when she sang on the title track of Upside Down. Izsadore is a competent vocalist, but, her presence aside, the main interest is in the lyrics, in which Fela observes that much in Nigerian civic society is a shambles: â€œhead for down, yansch for upâ€ (head down, arse up). â€œGo Slowâ€ was one of several songs Fela recorded which critiqued the consequences of over-rapid urbanization â€“ in this case, traffic jams - using them as a metaphor to describe deeper social breakdowns.
Country USA
Brand Knitting Factory Records
Manufacturer Knitting Factory Records
Binding Vinyl
ItemPartNumber 720841205913
ReleaseDate 2016-10-14
UnitCount 1
UPCs 720841205913
EANs 0720841205913

Country	USA
Brand	Knitting Factory Records
Manufacturer	Knitting Factory Records
Binding	Vinyl
ItemPartNumber	720841205913
ReleaseDate	2016-10-14
UnitCount	1
UPCs	720841205913
EANs	0720841205913

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