Army Arrangement
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Army Arrangement is a 1985 studio album by Fela Kuti.
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Background
The album consists of two tracks. Fela criticized the Nigerian military and the military government, documenting the period of transition from military rule back to civilian rule in the late 1970s in the track "Army Arrangement". In "Government Chicken Boy", Kuti tackles people who follow authority with obedience. It was also a period when Kuti's home came under repeated attacks.
Production and release
Kuti recorded Army Arrangement with the Egypt 80 band and the tapes were sent to New York for mixing. Kuti was however arrested by the Nigerian government while attempting to leave for the United States. It was mixed by Bill Laswell with input from Sly Dunbar, Ayib Dieng and Bernie Worrell on drums and the keyboard. Fela later described "Army Arrangement" as one of his least favourite tracks saying "What Bill Laswell has done is not African music the way I hear it" and "anything that changes the natural sound of my instruments, I don't use. I will not do music with computers and electronic gadgets because African music is natural sound."
The album was originally released under the Knitting Factory Records label and has been re-released under other labels including MCA and Universal Records.
Other releases
Army Arrangement was released as part of a box set of Fela Kuti's "indisputable classics" curated by Erykah Badu.
Reception
A Pulse Nigeria reviewer described Army Arrangement as a "riveting political critique of the Nigerian military government and laced with swashbuckling instrumentation". It was considered alongside Unknown Soldier and Beasts of No Nation as one of Kuti's trifectas; "three consecutive top quality, universally acclaimed and commercially successful albums".
When Kuti was imprisoned, contrary to the usual intimidation of newcomers, he was welcomed to cheers at Kirikiri Prison by the inmates. He was asked to sing whilst the other prisoners clapped. He sang "Army Arrangement".
Nigerian rapper Falz sampled some lyrics from "Army Arrangement" including the repetitive use of "e no finish" on the eighth track of his 2019 studio album, Moral Instruction. It was also sampled by 2Baba on the "Jeje" track from his 2014 studio album, The Ascension.
Track listing
| all_writing = Fela Kuti
- Army Arrangement
- Government Chicken Boy
Personnel
- Feladey & Friends - Performer
- Jean-Pierre Haie - CD Preparation, Collection
- Fela Kuti - Composer, Primary Artist
- Fela Kuti & Egypt 80 - Guest Artist
- Bernard Matussiere - Photography
- Rikki Stein - Liner Notes, Project Administrator
See also
