One of several 1975
Fela Kuti
albums that contains two ten- to 15-minute tracks,
Noise for Vendor Mouth
follows the musician's usual path during the period. Extended instrumental sections with interplay between keyboards, horns, and percussion bracket call-and-response vocals with brusque commentary on government repression and other social issues. It sounds exhilarating taken an album or two at a time, though in the context of
Kuti
's discography, individual releases are hard to single out as highlights, or indeed, being that different from each other. Here "Noise for Vendor Mouth" puts some more emphasis on the choppy, lean, funk-ish guitars than some
's other cuts. "Mattress" goes a little further afield in its controversial subject matter, here reflecting his polygamous lifestyle, though musically it's in line with his usual recordings from the era. ~ Richie Unterberger