BREAKING IT IN WITH THIS GUY

Man, it was a long three weeks. I think I mentioned that my car stereo took a shit. I had to bring it to a repair place and wait, and wait. Finally got it back. Loaded into the CD player before the deck died was a reggae compilation that I'd already listened to a couple times. So I brought a CD with me to listen to after the repaired rig was installed. I wanted something that would be good loud,  that would have a variety of sounds and would have a good groove. For whatever reason, the first thing that came to mind was Tony Allen's  No Accommodation For Lagos, a 1979 afrobeat classic with him fronting Fela's band, of which he was the drummer anyway. I've listened to the album a shitload, but it never sounded good. Because of shared walls and the fact that I'm no longer a drunk twenty-something asshole with a fuck the neighbors attitude, the only place I can let it rip with wall-shaking bass is on the road. So be it, I drove around aimlessly listening to Tony Allen bust the stereo cherry.

The cool thing is that I found a bunch of Allen's stuff for you. There's a few mp3s that have been posted before and a load of stuff that hasn't. One link is to 21 songs, of what vintage I'm not sure. The couple I checked were from 2003, but even his later stuff is baddass. There's also a link to a two hour (!) mix that is billed as Meet The Beat Of Tony Allen. If this all sounds really slipshod, let me cut to the chase. All Tony Allen music is great, all of it. It doesn't matter where you start. His beat is so earthbound, so organic that it feels like it's connecting to your pulse. Let the percussion, his and his accompanists, make you forget all about the fuckhead at work. Make like this light's out living room lunatic, boogie your ass off.

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Listen:
Tony Allen - Crazy Afrobeat mp3 at Augasm
Tony Allen - Cella's Walk mp3 at Internet Archive
Tony Allen - Elewon Po mp3 at Aurgasm
Tony Allen and Africa 70 - No Accommodation For Lagos (streaming) at YouTube
Tony Allen - 21 individual songs at Internet Archive NOTE: To download, look in the right column, under "Download options" click on "VBR MP3 Files"
Meet The Beat Of Tony Allen - Two hour mix at Internet Archive

THE BEAT MAN

I was hunting for something completely different and ran into these Tony Allen cuts. There's been quite a few posts here about Allen, and I've had a long day, a good day but long. So, the blab will be brief. The last place I want to be is in front of a computer screen. Here's the two. You should really dig into the hosting blog, For the Sake of the Song. The host has tastes right up my alley. Before I ran into these, I ran into the Flat Duo Jets, King Tubby, and the Raincoats. Shit, the latest post is Thelonius Monk.

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Listen:
Tony Allen and His Afro Messengers - No Discrimination mp3 at For the Sake of the Song
Tony Allen with Afrika 70 - Progress mp3 at For the Sake of the Song
More Tony Allen here

THE RETURN OF SHIT WEEK

I woke up this morning and before I even had a sip of coffee I got some bad news. My friend Espen commented (comment below) on an old post that drummer Tony Allen had passed. So, fuck, I guess shit week is on. I don't care if anything else crappy happens this week. Losing Florian Schneider and Tony Allen back to back qualifies as a shit week by itself.

Seeing as how I'd just posted the songs below a year and a half ago, I'm not going to bother looking for more. If you're wondering if any of this is worth your time I should point out that Tony Allen was perhaps the greatest living drummer when he passed. A phenomenal talent. So, here's what was posted in September 2018 with a few minor update tweaks.

Hell yeah. I'm not going to give this a second thought. If you're at all into Tony Allen, the drummer behind the Fela back in the day, or Fela's music, or afrobeat, or even drummers for that matter, buckle up. Melting Pot recently posted a two hour radio show that's all Tony Allen, with an interview and a shit load of music, and it's split into two download-able segments. If you're not familiar with Allen, know this. He is a master, no one trick pony. Afrobeat, jazz, and a stint in The Good, The Bad and the Queen (which included Paul Simonon from the Clash and some other rock dudes). Hell, he had Ginger Baker's respect and that's not easy to come by.

Here's the radio show, and links to some other stuff that's been posted before so you don't have to go digging.

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Listen:
Tony Allen Tribute and Interview at Melting Pot Originally aired on KPFK
Tony Allen - Crazy Afrobeat mp3 at Augasm
Tony Allen - Every Season mp3 at Augasm
Tony Allen - Elewon Po mp3 at Aurgasm
Tony Allen and Africa 70- No Discrimination (streaming) at YouTube
Fela Kuti - Live! - Full Album (streaming) at YouTube With Tony Allen and Ginger Baker
Tony Allen - Secret Agent mp3 at Honorama
Recent stuff (2017):
Tony Allen - Moanin' (streaming) at Twisted Soul Art Blakely cover
Tony Allen - Push and Pull (streaming) at Impose
Tony Allen - Wolf Eats Wolf (streaming) at Burl Veneer
Visit:
When Tony Allen Met Fela Kuti at Red Bull Academy
Tony Allen, Drummer Who Created the Beat of Afrobeat, Dies at 79 at NY Times

A HALF CENTURY OF BANGING

If Tony Allen had a few years with Fela and then put up his sticks, that would be quite enough. But here we are roughly five decades later and the afrobeater is still putting out vital music. It blows my mind. This is good shit, for any one of any age. He is a 77 year-old drummer and he kicks ass.

Allen has recorded a lot, something like thirty LPs with Fela alone. Earlier this year he released a tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, titled, check this, A Tribute to Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers. Listen to what he does to Blakey's "Moanin". It's barely recognizable. Check his playing. Percolating right off that damn stove. 

The other two are from his second release this year, The Source. Dude doesn't stop.

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Listen:
Tony Allen - Moanin' (streaming) at Twisted Soul
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Moanin' mp3 at Time Goes By
Tony Allen - Push and Pull (streaming) at Impose
Tony Allen - Wolf Eats Wolf (streaming) at Burl Veneer
Visit:
Tony Allen at Wikipedia
Tony Allen profile at Blue Note Records

THE BEAT BEHIND AFROBEAT

Check it, Tony Allen, just chillin' in his flip flops and bunhuggers with the ol' lady, with that guy that's always lurking around in the background. Dude never goes home. Allen was the drummer that played behind Fela Kuti for years. To celebrate that chill shot above, here's three cuts. At the bottom is a link to a thing he did for Red Bull Academy about his early years, from first picking up the sticks to discovering Art Blakey's music, developing his own sound, and quitting his day job to go full time with Fela. The power of bunhuggers.

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Listen:
Tony Allen - Elewon Po (Too Many Prisoners) mp3 at Le Chic (?) Radio Edit
Tony Allen - Secret Agent mp3 at Honorama
Tony Allen - Jealousy mp3 at Dub Lab
Visit:
When Tony Allen Met Fela Kuti at Red Bull Academy

THE LAGOS RHYTHM MACHINE

Quick, name someone who played with Fela, and Ginger Baker, and was in a band decades later with a member of the Clash. Too easy? Yeah, maybe, but I still find it pretty remarkable that Tony Allen, who was Fela's drummer and musical director, would end up in a band with Paul Simonon (The Good, The Bad & The Queen). Allen is self taught. Highly revered. The shit. Fela once said "without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat." He would know.

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Listen:
Tony Allen - Crazy Afrobeat mp3 at Augasm 2004
Tony Allen - Every Season mp3 at Augasm 2004
Tony Allen - Elewon Po mp3 at Aurgasm 2009
Tony Allen and Africa 70- No Discrimination (streaming) at YouTube 1979
Fela Kuti - Live! - Full Album (streaming) at YouTube With Tony Allen and Ginger Baker, 1971