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Dec 2, 2014On first listen it might seem simple, almost naïve; but it becomes increasingly complex as the record progresses, and with every listen. It builds convincingly until its final track, by which point your head feels like an echo chamber for stray rhythms and juddering off-beats. Afrofunk is alive and kicking.
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The WireDec 2, 2014This music never lacks for deep roots into Allen's background with Fela's Afrika 70, but it is also fresh in conception and execution. [Oct 2014, p.50]
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Nov 19, 2014A master-class display in unimaginable skill employed in the service of a greater good: the groove. Add this to a uniformly strong set of tunes and it’s clear that at 74, Allen has created one of his defining statements.
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MojoNov 19, 2014There's no flash, no showing off, just some rock-solid playing from the quiet man of Afrobeat. [Nov 2014, p.100]
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Q MagazineNov 19, 2014Allen's mastery of rhythm holds this inventive album together. [Nov 2014, p.102]
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Nov 19, 2014It can be heard both as a portrait of Allen's career as Afrobeat's bannerman rhythmnatist or--perhaps more accurately--the soundtrack to his own musical innovation and evolution through it. Either way it's a stone killer.
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Nov 19, 2014It’s an outstanding work of art for the mind, hips and toes.
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Nov 19, 2014At 74, Tony Allen has released his 10th album, a cool, contemporary set dominated, of course, by relaxed, subtle and insistent percussion.
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Nov 26, 2014Film of Life doesn’t quite break new ground for Allen, but it does offer a pretty solid and succinct demonstration of Afrobeat’s adaptability to changing times.
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Nov 19, 2014While perhaps not as era-defining as Allen's work in the '70s and '80s, the cascading, electronic notes that glitch through "Afro Kung Fu Beat" and "African Man" suggest he's still intent on exploring fresh frontiers--even if the soul-stained Damon Albarn collaboration "Go Back" feels decidedly retrograde.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 2 out of 2
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Mixed: 0 out of 2
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Negative: 0 out of 2
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Jan 8, 2022