Fela Kuti's High-Life Jazz and Afro-Soul (1963-1969) proves that even genius needs practice

The polyrhythmic mash-up of jazz improvisation, James Brown's rhythmically rigid repetition and traditionally inclined, loose African grooves that Kuti cooked up from the onset of 70’s onwards, commonly referred to as Afrobeat, might just be the funkiest music ever captured on tape. Had it not been for Kuti's habit for allowing his cuts to roam freely until they expanded over entire LP sides (with a somewhat adverse impact on the hit potential of his supremely infectious material), the charismatic Kuti - who used his music and the immense domestic fame it brought him to rail against corruption and misrule in his native Nigeria (a brave stance in a country ruled by successive brutal military dictatorships intent on crushing any and all opposition), as well as espousing pan-African unity against colonialism and the exploitative ways of multinational corporations - could well have become a "Third World" superstar to rank alongside Bob Marley.

Painstakingly assembled from a chaotic bundle of impossibly rare Nigerian 7" single releases, Highlife-Jazz and Afro-Soul (1963 - 1969) shows how much hard work went into the development of Kuti’s enticingly effortless-sounding signature style. If Afrobeat was the ready, oven-fresh bread, these three CDs cover the slow and gradual process of Fela’s musical dough slowly raising. As such, it’s hardly the place for Fela novices to start; try the peerless best of The Black President instead.

Backed by Koola Lobitos (including drummer Tony Allen, a key co-architect of Afrobeat) and playing trumpet in place of the saxophone he later became associated with, the relatively mannered Latin-Jazz of the early 60's cuts seem to originate from a different planet to the one occupied by the hypnotic, riotous grooves Fela's towering status is built on. Elsewhere, the uncomplicated party mood of, say, the hip-shaking "It's Highlife Time" seem strikingly at odds with the declamatory, righteous anger of "Zombie", "Water No Get Enemy" and other Fela evergreens. This, as well as the slightly awkward soul man cuts that crop up later on, is what was expected of bands making a living by entertaining the boozers at Lagos nightclubs in the early to late 60's; its music that's fit for dancing rather than a revolution.

By the third disc's live album, though, there’s a shift from archaeological interest to a genuinely thrilling listening experience; the sound quality's a bit rough (no original masters exist, so all material here had to be cleaned off original vinyl) but the energy, drive and rhythmic exuberance don't require high-definition sound to resonate. The music’s given more room to stretch, predicting the loose – yet tightly orchestrated – grooves to come. Not long after, Fela and his band toured America. Freed from the necessity to pander to the latest tastes of the Lagos nightclub crowds and fuelled by radical new political ideas, Fela started to focus more on what he - rather than his audience - wanted to hear and say. The rest, as they say, is history.