Vulindlela – Brenda Fassie

Vulindlela – Brenda Fassie (see what all the Fassie’s about)

Brenda Fassie - African Classics

Listening to Vulindlela, it’s quite hard to believe that someone who had so many problems in life could sing so beautifully, but Brenda Fassie’s vocals on this track are hauntingly so. Set against a decidedly danceable synth background, the song epitomises the township sound of the late 90s.

You don’t have to understand the words to be moved by the song. Check out the Youtube video link below and you will see comments from people from Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Cameroon to name a few. Brenda was huge throughout Africa, and Vulindlela is widely appreciated around the globe.

A month after her death on 26 April 2004, the song was voted Song of the Decade at the South African Music Awards. It is highly likely that the emotional outpouring that followed her death led to this vote, however, that should not distract one from the fact that it would probably have been a contender for the award anyway.

Where to find it:

Memeza – Brenda Fassie (1998) CCP Music
Legends: Brenda – Brenda Fassie (2008) EMI
African Classics – Brenda Fassie (2009) Sheer
Kwaito – South African Hip Hop (2000), Earthworks, ASIN B00004WF17

Cover version by Sweet Sounds

Brenda – “Mabrr”: The Tribute Album 1979-2004

Lyrics:

Vul’indlela wemamgobhozi (Open the gates, Miss Gossip)
He unyana wam (My baby boy)
Helele uyashada namhlanje (Is getting married today)
Vul’indlela wela ma ngiyabuza (Open the gates please)
Msuba nomona (Don’t be jealous)
Unyana wami uthathile (My son has had a good catch)
Bengingazi ngiyombon’umakoti (I never thought I’d see a daughter in law)
Unyana wam eh ujongile this time (My son has been accepted (woman said yes))
Makgadi fele usenzo s’cede (Help us finish the ceremony (you are welcome))
Uzemshadweni ngiyashadisa namhlanje (Come to the wedding, I’m taking
my son to the altar today)
Bebesithi unyana wam lisoka (People said my son is (someone who
doesn’t get women))
Bebesithi angeke ashade vul’indlela (People said he would never get
married but open the gates)

Video:

Cover version by Cheela

And for a laugh:

Avrocado Pair – Boo!

Avrocado Pair – Boo! (Avo good time)

Boo! - Seventies, Eighties, Nineties, Naughties

Funky bass lines, brassy trumpets and rhythms you can dance to. These are the ingredients that go into Monki Punk, a genre that, as far as I know, only had one band that fell into that category. That is the joy of pigeonholing your own music.

Boo! were the original and only Monki Punks and have been having audiences all over the globe bopping away madly to their brand of ska funk punk (that’s the English translation for Monki Punk).

Avrocado Pair (aka ‘All Of Me’) is a prime example of their sound. It’s a joyous romp that’ll have you dancing and singing along to almost from the very first note, and then you’ll go and play it again just cause it made you feel so darn good.

 Where to find it:

Seventies, Eighties, Nineties, Naughties – Boo! (2000) Monki Punk Productions, BOOCD03

Lyrics:

what if love is a king and the king that i need to crown is in me?
what if i am a half and another half is what i need one to be?
oh my lover! oh my love!

does she like me?
yes i think i saw her see you twice!
does she want me?
yes i’m sure she’d like to know the price!
does she need me?
yes, but she would never needy be!
if you want her,tell her babe
i give you all of me.

is it music, the key, to the magic in me and my sweet princess?
of the noise that i hear that to which i ad here is the sweet silence.
oh my song! oh my soul!

does she like me?
yes i think i saw her see you twice!
does she want me?
yes i’m sure she’d like to know the price!
does she need me?
yes, but she would never needy be!
if you want her, tell her babe
i give you all of me.

when i’m in this state i feel the need to state that i’m in an inferno.
of this flame that i bear… i bet the good lord takes care of
everything when i go!
oh my fire! oh my life!

does she like me?
yes i think i saw her see you twice!
does she want me?
yes i’m sure she’d like to know the price!
does she need me?
yes, but she would never needy be!
if you want her, tell her babe
i give you all of me.

(Written by Chris Chameleon)

Video:

Whito Kwaito – Oom

Whito Kwaito – Oom (White Men Can Kwaito)

Oom - No Loitering

Oom was a mysterious band that made a couple of albums that did nothing, and then disappeared. All that I have been able to ascertain is that the band probably involved producer Ian Osrin and a guy called Jon who used to run Street Records opposite Wits in Braamfontein, but I’ve never been able to confirm that.

The album of theirs that did make it to the shelves of CD shops in SA was ‘Beats And Peaces’ which sadly does not include the gem ‘Whito Kwaito’. This track used to be available on the now defunct Digital Cupboard website and appeared on an album called ‘No Loitering’ that was sold through the website called www.mp3.com, but is no longer available there. However, you can hear it on Youtube.

‘Whito Kwaito’ has an African guitar and sax wrapped around a funky kwaito beat with quirky ‘fake Jamaican accent’ vocals and Mahotella Queen-ish chorus. It’s reggae-ish and kwaito-ish and makes you go e-ish!

Video:

Island Boy – Mango Groove

Island Boy – Mango Groove (No, not Mandela)

The Best of Mango Groove

In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Mango Groove became one of the biggest bands in the country, finding that perfect blend of western pop and indigenous kwela and jazz. Granted, they did not have the political edge that Bright Blue and Johnny Clegg had, but hey, does it always have to be about politics?

Taken from Mango Groove’s second album ‘Hometalk’ released in 1990, Island Boy is a jaunty, Caribbean tinged tune replete with a brassy horn section and classical strings. It bounces along at a nice pace, with the sassy vocals of Claire Johnston and the sing a long ‘a-woo-a-oh’ chorus, getting you tapping your feet and singing along.

‘Hometalk’ carried on from where the debut album ‘Mango Groove’ left off and, with tracks like ‘Island Boy’, it ensured the band became a firm favourite for many.

Where to find it:

Hometalk – Mango Groove (1990) Tusk, TUCD 14, TUCD (F) 14
The Best Of Mango Groove (2000) Gallo, CDRED 667
The Essential Mango Groove (2008), Gallo, CDREDD 694 (AN)

Video:

Sarie Marais

Sarie Marais (If you don’t know it, you’re not South African)

Sarie Marais is as South African as boerewors and braai, and yet it is known globally. This probably has something to do with its believed origins. It is believed that the song first appeared during either the first or second Anglo-Boer Wars and that it was an adaptation of the American Civil War song ‘Ellie Rhee’ which in turn was adapted from an old English song from around 1815 called ‘The Foggy, Foggy Dew’. But why am I telling you all this when all you need to do is look it up for yourself on Wikipedia.

I have deliberately not put an artists’ name next to the song as it has been so widely recorded and there doesn’t seem to be a definitive version, so it really does depend on your taste as to which version you may want to listen to. The song has been sung as a ballad, an upbeat folk song, a downbeat folk song. It’s been squeezed out of bagpipes, marked time by British military bands, twanged out in 1960’s beat style (See Dutch band Willy & His Giants) and even given the full on electric guitar treatment. It’s been sung in Afrikaans, English, French and American Afrikaans (check out the Jim Reeves version). And off course it has also been boereorkesed (when last did you see the word boereorkes used as a verb? Don’t say I’m not cutting edge!) to death.

However you choose to listen to it, you cannot escape it’s all pervading presence in South African culture, and, I think it might be the only song on this list to mention the word ‘Mielie’.

Where to find it (selected versions available to download):

Sampie Viljoen Met Die Ses Hartbrekers
Alabama Studente Geselskap
Cape Town Military Tattoo
Randal Wicomb
Albert de Wet
Boererave
Manie Erasmus
Hanru Niemand

Lyrics:

My Sarie Marais is so vêr van my hart,
Maar’k hoop om haar weer te sien.
Sy het in die wyk van die Mooirivier gewoon,
Nog voor die oorlog het begin.

Chorus:

O bring my t’rug na die ou Transvaal,
Daar waar my Sarie woon.
Daar onder in die mielies
By die groen doringboom,
Daar woon my Sarie Marais.

Ek was so bang dat die Kakies my sou vang
En vêr oor die see wegstuur;
Toe vlug ek na die kant van die Upington se sand
Daar onder langs die Grootrivier.

Chorus

Die Kakies is mos net soos ‘n krokodillepes,
Hulle sleep jou altyd water toe;
Hul gooi jou op ‘n skip vir ‘n lange, lange trip,
Die josie weet waarnatoe.

Chorus

Verlossing het gekom en die huis toe gaan was daar,
Terug na die ou Transvaal;
My lieflingspersoon sal seker ook daar wees
Om my met ‘n kus te beloon.

Chorus

Videos:

Helmut Lotti:

Jim Reeves:

Piper James:

Willy & His Giants:

Josef Marais (English version)

Royal Marines Commandos:

French Version:

Ellie Rhee:

The Foggy Dew:

Afrikaners Is Plesierig – Karen Zoid

Afrikaners Is Plesierig – Karen Zoid (Dit sal jy glo when you heard this)

Poles Apart by Karen Zoid

Before Karen Zoid, we did not have a proper Afrikaans Rock chick, then she suddenly burst on the scene in 2001 with her debut album ‘Poles Apart’. One of the stand out tracks on this was ‘Afrikaners Is Plesierig’ which was almost a war cry against the image that all Afrikaners listened to was Cora Marie and Sonja Herholdt.

Karen had it all, attitude, looks, and a slightly husky with a hint of Janis Joplin voice. She also had her finger firmly on the pulse of what was happening as the New South Africa was casting off its nappies and starting to take those first few unsteady steps and everyone was beginning to understand where they fitted in.

It’s hard to believe that a decade has already passed since we first hear the cry of ‘babe is jy nog life vir my’ thundering  from our speakers, but that thunder has kept rolling and, still sounding as fresh today, we can aswer, ja Karen, we are.

Where to find it:

Poles Apart – Karen Zoid (June 2001), EMI, CDEMCD5938
Ultimate Zoid – Live in Concert (live version) – Karen Zoid (2008), Just Music
Barney Simon’s Radio Revolution – Various Artists (2010), Rebel Records

Early version by Die Kampvuursangers:
Afrikana – Tradisionele Afrikaanse Liedjies Volume 2 – Various Artists (2009), Next Music

Lyrics:

I’d like to introduce myself – Johanna Ertjekollo
And this is the alternative – You was so saf ‘n molo
Haai jy, loop verby – Is mos decadent
Peace brother, give me five of suig jou peperment

Jy’s cool, jy spoel jou mond met Aquafresh
En leer mos al van hip-hop in jou ma se crèche
Ja this is alternative but we’re not primitive
Some het nog hare op hul lyf but we just like to live in peace

Ekskuus, mevrou, wat gaan nou aan?
Ek wil net weet of is die Internet dan nou te blaam
Oeps! Jou naam, jou naam. I understand madame
Ek ken mevrou, jy’s een van daai’s
Jy is so bietjie skaam

Chorus:

Afrikaners is plesierig
Dit kan julle glo
Hulle hou van partytjie
En dan maak hulle so
En dan maak hulle so…

Babe is jy nog lief vir my
Ek gaan iemand anders kry
Luister hier jou yuppie scum
Jou preconceived millennium man
Ek maak jou kwaad want ek weet ek kan
Gee my nog ‘n vatlap government plan

En die bedelaar staan met sy uitsteek hand
En vra my vir net nog twee rand
Mense vrek oor die hele land
En die res lê op Clifton se strand

En die music is vinnig
If you don’t like it, why don’t you take a hike
Almal is anders. Se maar wat jou pla
Hou net op om vrae te vra

Chorus:

Afrikaners is plesierig ….

Babe is jy nog lief vir my
Ek gaan iemand anders kry

I’d like to now excuse myself
Hul sit honde op mense
Ek gaan liewer skape tel
Op radio sonder grense

Ja jy fix my krieket en miskien my rugby
Bobby Skinstad hoe’s daai been?
Ek kyk nie Currie Cup nie
Jy’s cool, jy voel ‘n veer vir global warming

Betogers moet iets anders doen
Pamflette lees is boring
Alles is affirmative,
al is jou baas verwant

Kant sou ook geen kant kon kies
So swot maar wyl jy kan
Die bank, die bank, die bank vra te veel rente
Ek speel maar eerder pinball met my 50 sente

Ek het nie pms nie, ek’s net ‘n natural bitch

Chorus:

Afrikaners is plesierig….

(Written by Karen Zoid)

Video:

You Ask Me To – Bobby Angel

You Ask Me To – Bobby Angel (Crazy Fool)

The Heart & Soul Of Bobby Angel

One of the stalwarts of the healthy South African country music scene, Bobby Angel was in good company when he recorded a cover version of Waylon Jennings/Billy Joe Shaver song ‘You Ask Me To’ – Elvis Presley had recorded a version a year earlier. In more modern times Alison Krauss (she who made that amazing album with Robert Plant) has also
regarded the song good enough to cover.

It’s a simple love song, showing the devotion of the singer to the loved. Bobby took his version into the Springbok Radio charts in January 1975 and ended up topping the charts in March. His smooth baritone voice wraps itself warmly around a simple bass guitar line, while a harpsichord (real or synthesized) tinkles around him. This is SA country in its prime.

Where to find it:
The Heart & Soul Of Bobby Angel – Bobby Angel GSP, CDREDD 640
Somebody Like You (re-recorded version in a medley with Green Eyed Angel)

Cover version:
Houlson Twins

Lyrics:

Long ago and far away
In my old common labour shoes
I turned the world all which-a-way
Just because you asked me to

Likened to no other feel
Summer love is simple true
There’s no end to what I’d do
Just because you asked me to

Let the world call me a fool
But if things are right with me and you
That’s all that matters and I’ll do
Anything you ask me to

Knowin’ how much I love you
After all I’ve been through
I’d turn and walk away from you
Just because you asked me to

Let the world call me a fool
But if things are right with me and you
That’s all that matters and I’ll do
Anything you ask me to

Let the world call me a fool
But if things are right with me and you
That’s all that matters and I’ll do
Anything you ask me to

(Written by Waylon Jennings & Bill Joe Shaver)

Videos:
Bobby Angel:
Waylon Jennings version:
Elvis Presley version:

Billy Joe Shaver Version:

Alison Krauss version:

Impi – Juluka

Impi – Juluka (Impi – Zulu for very successful song)

Impi by Juluka

History lesson: Just one day before Michael Caine bravely fended off the Zulu army, the poms took a frightful beating at the Battle of Isandlwana (possibly because they were concentrating on how to say Ee Sandal Wanna). Such was the beating they took, that Johnny Clegg became so frightened of the Zulus that he decided if you can’t beat them, join them and thus the song Impi was born.

Why history lessons at school were never as tuneful as this can only be blamed on apartheid (why not, everyone’s doing it), and dull history teachers.  Footstomping, high kicking, drum poundingly brilliant, the history lessons at school were not, but Juluka took the Battle of Isandlwana and turned it into a victorious war cry that had us dancing in the aisles. It has become a firm favourite amongst Johnny Clegg fans.

Where to find it:
African Litany – Juluka (1981 ) Sony Music, RSMCD 1025
The Good Hope Concerts (live version) – Juluka (1986)
The Best Of Juluka / Savuka Featuring Johnny Clegg – Juluka & Savuka (1999) EMI, CDVM (WL) 22

Lyrics:

Impi! wo ‘nans’ impi iyeza (Here comes the army)
Obani bengathinta amabhubesi? (Who can touch the lions?)

All along the river Chelmsford’s army lay asleep
Come to crush the Children of Mageba
Come to exact the Realm’s price for peace
And in the morning as they saddled up to ride
Their eyes shone with the fire and the steel
The General told them of the task that lay ahead
To bring the People of the Sky to heel

Impi! wo ‘nans’ impi iyeza
Obani bengathinta amabhubesi?

Mud and sweat on polished leather
Warm rain seeping to the bone
They rode through the season’s wet weather
Straining for a glimpse of the foe
Hopeless battalion destined to die
Broken by the Benders of Kings
Vainglorious General and Victorian pride
Would cost him and eight hundred men their lives

Impi! wo ‘nans’ impi iyeza
Obani bengathinta amabhubesi?

They came to the side of the mountain
Scouts rode out to spy the land
Even as the Realm’s soldiers lay resting
Mageba’s forces were at hand
And by the evening the vultures were wheeling
Above the ruins where the fallen lay
An ancient song as old as the ashes
Echoed as Mageba’s warriors marched away

(Written by Johnny Clegg)

Video:

Is It An Ism or Is It Art – Niki Daly

Is It An Ism or Is It Art – Niki Daly (More sophisticated than the arse-elbow debate)

Living In The Suburbs by Niki Daly

Sometimes quirky songs can end up being just embarrassing. The best way to avoid that is to consult your nearest ‘Encyclopaedia of Artists From The Late 1800’s To Early 1900’s Who Have Unpronounceable Names’ (available in paperback from any reputable bookstore), and sing about them. That way you can be quirky and have your song featured in the list of 1001 South African Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. It’s called weirdism. But is it art?

Well, in the case of Niki Daly and ‘Is It An Ism Or Is It Art?’ he certainly turns it into some kind of an art form. There is a looping synth sound over which Daly’s sardonic and strange accented vocals ask the question that’s been asked by many when confronted by modern art – is it art?

Most of us have asked this question about ‘A Few Blobs Of Paint On A Canvas’ (which can be seen at the Tate Modern in London) and it’s that questioning that Daly has tapped into and made us a feel a kinship with him. We all sit there listening to the song going, ‘Yeah, you tell ‘em Niki. ‘Portrait Of A Mother In Scribbled Crayon’ (which can be seen in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris), is NOT ART!!!!’

No matter what you regard as art, it’s worth listening to this song purely to be able to tell people that you know a song with the phrase ‘real hyperism’ in it. It’s groovy, it’s funky, it’s quirky. But is it art? You decide.

Lyrics:

Maholy-Nagy, Maholy-Nagy
I love his ism, but is it art?
Tell me my Bauhaus baby
Is it art?

Is it an ism or is it an art?

Marinetti, Filippo Marinetti
I love you ism, but is it art?
Futurisms so dynamic
But it is art?

René Magritte, Mr René Magritte
I love you ism, but is it art?
I’ll eat your black bowler hat
If that is art

Is it an ism or is it an art?

Oskar Kokoschka, Oh Oskar Kokoschka
I love you ism, but is it art?
I’m chilled by the cold blue black of your nights
But is it art?

Neoplasticism, Automaticism, Televisionism
Uh oh, Uh oh
Is it art?
Post Picasso-ism, hyper-realism, real hyperism
Oh oh, oh
Is it art?

Keep looking for a sign
For our own time
There really isn’t any ism
That I can call mine

I know what I like
But I don’t know if it’s art
I really don’t know
My ism from my art

Is it an ism or is it an art?

Oh Mr Mondrian, Mr Piet Mondrian
I love your ism, but is it art?
Your Boogie-Woogie-Woogie’s Jazzy
But is it art?

I know what I like
But I don’t know if it’s art
I really don’t know
My ism from my art

Oh, Is it an ism or is it art

Salvador Dalí, I adore Dalí
I love his ism, but is it art?
It’s metaphysically superb
But is it art

Romanticism, minimalism, Disillusionism
Oh oh, oh oh
Is it art
Supreme-tism, exoticism, simultanousism
Oh oh, is it art?

Keep looking for a sign
For our own time
There really isn’t any ism
That I can call mine

I know what I like
But I don’t know if it’s art
I really don’t know
My ism from my art

Is it an ism or is it art?

(Written by Niki Daly)

Where to find it:
Living In The Suburbs –  Niki Daly (1984), Warner Brothers Records, WBC9027

SA Artists Top 40 Hits Of All Time Volume 6 (2002), Sting Music, STIDFCD 037

Video:

Website:

http://www.rock.co.za/files/niki_daly_index.html

About the artists:

László Moholy-Nagy (Constructivism):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1szl%C3%B3_Moholy-Nagy

Bauhaus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (Futurism):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippo_Tommaso_Marinetti

Rene Magritte (Surrealism): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Magritte

Oskar Kokoschka (Expressionism): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Kokoschka

Piet Mondrian (Neo-Plasticism): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Mondrian

Salvador Dalí (Surrealism): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD

The Buccaneer – McCully Workshop

The Buccaneer – McCully Workshop (Rated Arrrr!!)

Buccaneer by McCully Workshop

Tully McCully is an relatively unsung hero of South African music. Apart from his work with McCully Workshop, his name appears on numerous South African records sleeves as producer or writer. His Spaced Out Studios are also a popular place for South African music to be recorded.

In 1965 Tully and his brother Mike formed the Blue Three with Richard Hyman. A few name and personnel changes later and McCully Workshop was born. They enjoyed a lot of success and critical acclaim. Then in 1977, they released the album ‘Workshop Revisited’ which featured ‘Buccaneer’ a song about pirates, hidden treasures, yardarms and
betrayal. The song quickly climbed to the top of the South African charts and not surprising as it is a great rock track, complete with sing-a-long chorus and imagery that had most school boys swashbuckling with air guitars up and down the country.

The song made its way into the psyche of the country and has remained a firm favourite for many. If you can find it, there is a cover version by a group called Moyawetu. Also look out for the harder edged re-recorded 1988 version featuring Jethro Butow on guitar.

Where to find it:

The Best Of McCully Workshop – McCully Workshop, (2005, re-issued 2010) Fresh Music, Freshcd177
Buccaneer (1998 re-recording) – McCully Workshop (1998) Micmac Sound, MS001
Live! (2008 live version) – McCully Workshop (2008) McCully Music
SA Rock Gold (3cD set) – Various Artists (2010) Universal, TUMGCD100

Lyrics:

Sixteen men on a dead man’s chest
Will I see you tomorrow
Sixteen men and I’ll see the rest
I won’t beg, steal or borrow
I won’t beg, steal or borrow

Well we sailed into the beach
And we were just out of reach
Of the forty-second squadron
When I heard the captain screech

Get down on the sand
Don’t you waste no time
‘Cause we gotta get that gold inside
Before it turns after nine

And the Buccaneer said I’ll see you dead
I’ll see you swinging from the yard arm
The buccaneer sang in a nasal twang
There’s enough gold here to start on
There’s enough gold to get high on

Well the Captain he’d been told
Where they hid away the gold
And he told us to go dig it up
So that he could get it sold

But somebody had taken it
Before his very eyes
And he turned around and looked at me
And much to my surprise

And the Buccaneer said I’ll see you dead
I’ll see you swinging from the yard arm
The buccaneer sang in a nasal twang
There’s enough gold here to start on
There’s enough gold to get high on

Save me! Whoa, oh, oh, save me
Save me from
The Buccaneer

Save me! Whoa, oh, oh, save me
Save me from
The Buccaneer

Well I had to get away
So I swam into the bay
And I could hear him coming up
And I could hear him say

When I get hold of you
You won’t even cry
Cause I’ll string you from the yardarm
And all you’ll do is die

Well they got me on the deck
Put the rope around my neck
And I could feel the sweat break out
And I could feel it stick

But the Royal Navy frigate came
And rescued me at last
She put one across the bow
And fired one into the mast

And the Buccaneer said I’ll see you dead
I’ll see you swinging from the yard arm
The buccaneer sang in a nasal twang
There’s enough gold here to start on
There’s enough gold to get high on

And the Buccaneer said I’ll see you dead
I’ll see you swinging from the yard arm
The buccaneer sang in a nasal twang
There’s enough gold here to start on
There’s enough gold to get high on

(Written by Mike McCullagh)

Video:

Website:

http://mccullyworkshop.co.za