Track Listing

1. Secret Agent
2. Ijo
3. Switch
4. Celebrate
5. Ayenlo
6. Busybody
7. Pariwo
8. Nina Lowo
9. Atuwaba
10. Alutere
11. Elewon Po

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89630 in Music
• Released on: 2009-06-09
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

Album Description
With Rody Cereyon, Claude Dibongue, Nicolas Giraud, Simon Andrieux. Tony Allen is arguably Africa's greatest kit drummer. As co-creator with Fela Kuti of the hugely popular and influential Afrobeat style, Allen is one of the continent's most important artists. He has inspired generations of musicians worldwide and is a legendary figure amongst fans of funk, jazz, hip hop and African music. 'Secret Agent' is his debut album for World Circuit, and his first release since he became a cofounder with Damon Albarn and Paul Simonon of 'The Good, The Bad and The Queen'. Self-produced, this majestic slice of hardcore funky Afrobeat was recorded in Lagos, Paris and London, using his regular hard-drilled touring band with full horn section. The vocals are handled by Tony himself alongside his specially selected group of singers from his native Lagos, Nigeria.

Customer Reviews

Excellent.
Tony Allen is one of the greatest percussionists in the history of popular music and has created some of the world's most explosively funky music with Fela Kuti. But perhaps he's more a musician's musician than a popular name.
His lengthy career has included a 15-year stint working alongside Fela Kuti, who once said that he "sounded like four drummers", and rightly acknowledged that Allen played a key role in the development of the horn-heavy Nigerian style known as Afrobeat.
More recently, he has taken time off from his solo career to play alongside Damon Albarn in The Good, The Bad & The Queen (Deluxe Edition CD/DVD), but now, with the popularity of Afrobeat still on the rise, Allen is back with a new solo album.
"Secret Agent" boasts some very tasty licks from Cameroonian guitarist Claude Dibongue, and especially sublime horn arrangements by co-producer Fixi, who also tinkers with Rhodes, keyboards, synths, trombone and accordion in a couple of places.
Although Tony Allen is approaching his 70th birthday, Afrobeat's co-creator isn't resting on his laurels.
In fact, this is a great Afrobeat album, driven by Allen's powerful rhythms along with a choice selection of Nigerian singers.
But Allen murmurs the lead vocals in the excellent title track and like a musical secret agent keeps the rhythms, horns, guitars and keyboards bubbling along together.
While this new album finds Allen on relatively mellow form, the combination of big, bruised horn refrains and soul-flavoured choruses, powered by his surges of inimitably propulsive rhythm, makes for unfailingly compelling listening.
There are some good songs here, all written by Allen, and he's the perfect accompanist, never indulging in flashy solos (or any solos at all, for that matter).
He makes use of an array of Nigerian vocalists, from the excellent Ayo - who sings on the very catchy song "Ijo", a joyful celebration of Afrobeat itself - to the soulful King Odudu, and shows off his own charmingly laid-back singing on the opening and closing tracks.
All in all, a 'must' listen to' album.

Joyful