Fela Kuti – Army Arrangement

"Army Arrangement" is a song by Fela Kuti, released in 1985 as the title track of an album recorded with his band Egypt 80 for the Paris based Celluloid label. Kuti wrote the track as a critique of the Nigerian military and the country's troubled transition back to civilian rule in the late 1970s, but he was jailed on a currency smuggling charge before the final mix was completed. In his absence, Celluloid brought in producer Bill Laswell, who reworked the tapes in New York, removing several of Kuti's horn solos and adding new keyboard and drum overdubs from Bernie Worrell and Sly Dunbar, a version Kuti later said was harder to listen to than being in prison. An unaltered version of the original recording was later released decades afterward as part of a Fela Kuti box set curated by Erykah Badu.