Hard Ride – Rabbitt

Hard Ride – Rabbitt

This one’s for those guitar-heads out there who love nothing better than an electric guitar having a good old work out. I have no doubt that Trevor Rabin would make most lists of Greatest South African guitarists. One only needs to listen to the mastery on ‘Hard Ride’ to realise this. The song is guitar heavy and shows off his talents with an axe.

If one wishes to make international comparisons (although hardly necessary with Rabin as he did go on to international success as a member of Yes and as a composer of Hollywood film scores), one could liken him to Mike Oldfield as not only was he extremely good with a guitar, ‘Hard Ride’ also shows off his skills with a keyboard as there are piano-esque bits that dance around the howling guitars.

When listening to this track, it is easy to see why those guys in Yes took Rabin into their fold as it has a prog feel to it while still being pop rock. It thunders along at pace, carried by the guitar, but there are also orchestral swirls that boil in this cauldron of sound, lifting the song from being just another guitar track and making it a track of substance.

If you were a young teenage girl fantasising about taking Trevor Rabin (or any of the other Rabbitt boys) home to meet the parents, it would probably have been best to play them something like ‘Charlie’ as an introduction rather than ‘Hard Ride’ as ‘Hard Ride’ rocks and rocks hard. It’s a juggernaut of a track that doesn’t stop for breath.

Where to find it:
Boys Will Be Boys – Rabbitt (1976), Fresh Music, FRESHCD153

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Love Minus Zero – Dream Merchants

Love Minus Zero – Dream Merchants

The 1960’s saw 5 cover versions of Bob Dylan songs make the Springbok top 20. Of these 3 were by Manfred Mann (‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’, ‘Just Like A Woman’ and ‘Mighty Quinn’), 1 was by The Byrds (‘Mr Tambourine Man’) and 1 was by Billy Forrest and Billy Andrews who went under the name The Dream merchants. Their cover of Dylan’s ‘Love Minus Zero’ would reach number 8 on our charts and would be their biggest hit.

Dylan himself would never make the Springbok charts and the only version of ‘Love Minus Zero’ that was released as a single was a 1978 Australian single of the live version from his ’Bob Dylan At Budokan’ album. The original version appeared on his 1965 album ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ album and sounds like a carefree, country-tinged song which has Dylan sounding almost disinterested. And perhaps that’s why he never released it as a single.
But the track has been widely covered with artist like Rod Stewart, Joan Baez and The Turtles (in a ‘jingle jangle’ kind of way) taking it on. But The Dream Merchants’ version seems to most closely resemble the one that The Walker Brothers included on their debut album, ‘Take It Easy With The Walker Brothers’. Here both The Dream Merchants and The Walker Brothers bring a fuller sound to Dylan’s raw interpretation, adding strings to soar against the beautiful harmonies of the singers. This seems to tease out the romance of the song to a greater degree than Dylan ever could.
There is no doubting Dylan’s genius when it comes to lyrics, but sometimes his songs needed the vocal talents of others to colour in the beauty of his words and, with ‘Love Minus Zero’, I think that is very true. Both The Walker Brothers and The Dream Merchants bring what is needed to the song, turning it into a (pardon the pun) dreamy version of the track and, despite the ‘minus’ in the song title, listening to it can be a very positive experience.

Where to find it:
Various Artists – The Best of SA Pop Volume 2 (1994) GMP, CDGMPD 40486 (CD)

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Storybook Children – Sammy Brown

Storybook Children – Sammy Brown

This hit from 1975 starts out sounding like it is going to be one of those gospely kind of 70’s songs like Alan Garrity’s ‘Put Your Hand In The Hand’. But after a short introduction it suddenly takes on a reggae tinged sound and for the rest of the track, it bops along on this rocksteady beat.

Lyrically the song is not too far from the aforementioned Garrity hit with Sammy Brown asking ‘why can’t we be like storybook children/down in the land/hand and hand/across the meadow’. The song appeals for people to live together in peace and harmony without becoming too schmaltzy. Brown’s sweet vocals and the harmonies that come in occasionally on the track, give it a feel of some of the early reggae hits that were recorded in Jamaica where good vocals and harmonies were key. There is also a sax brought into the song which adds a ska element.

The song would spend 4 weeks on the Springbok Top 20 and would peak at 16. It would be Brown’s only hit to make those charts and probably deserved to fare better than it did, but probably arrived a few years too late to cash in on the popularity of the likes of Nicky Thomas (‘Love Of The Common People’) and Johnny Nash (‘I Can See Clearly Now’). With hindsight, and taking the timing of the song out of the equation, this remains a decent rocksteady song.

Where to find it:
Various Artists – The Best of SA Pop Volume 1 (1994) GMP, CDGMPD 40485 (CD)

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Hemel Op Die Platterland – Fokofpolisiekar

Hemel Op Die Platterland – Fokofpolisiekar

Those Fokofpolisiekar ous know how to rock. Have a listen to the version of ‘Hemel Op Die Platterland’ on their 2003 album, ‘As Jy Met Vuur Speel Sal Jy Brand’ and you’ll see what I mean. The track rocks from the get go.

Those Fokofpolisiekar ous know how to be laid back. Have a listen to the version of ‘Hemel Op Die Platterland’ on their 2006 EP, ‘Brand Suid Afrika’ and you’ll see what I mean. The track is laid back from the get go.

It is quite odd how just changing a few words in the first paragraph above can make something sound so different as you read the second paragraph but that is how the band took a song and recorded 2 totally different versions of it. They sound like 2 completely different songs other than the lyrics which are the same. And the cool thing is that both versions are excellent.

When they rock, they have the guitars growling, the drums thundering and the tempo racing in a punk rock way. But when they turn acoustic on the later version, they show off their mastery of their instruments with gently stummed and plucked guitars. They add some string arrangements, harmonies and as the track draws to a close a poignant piano.

The Platterland may not be everyone’s idea of heaven and for some heavy rock is not heaven while for other gentle acoustic tracks may be regarded as hell, but here you have the choice on how you hear the song. You don’t however have a choice about where heaven is according to Fokofpolisiekar. For them it’s the Platterland and for us it’s this plaate-land.

Where to find it:

Heavy version: As Jy Met Vuur Speel Sal Jy Brand – Fokofpolisiekar (2003), Rhythm Records, RR048

Acoustic version: Brand Suid Afrika – Fokofpolisiekar (2006), Rhythm Records, RR066

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Acoustic version:

Riot – Hugh Masekela

Riot – Hugh Masekel

Riot – Hugh Masekela

Hands up who knows (without looking it up on the internet) what Hugh Masekela’s 2^nd best performing song on the US Hot 100 was? Okay, so I did look it up and you probably guessed from the title of this blog entry that it was ‘Riot’. It peaked at 55 which was 54 places lower than ‘Grazing In The Grass’, his biggest hit.
The track is a short piece, clocking in at 2 minutes 22 seconds and sounds anything but its title. Riot suggest chaos, noise, upheaval and general madness. ‘Riot’ by Hugh Masakela, is a rich jazz piece that floats along on a cool guitar riff that is there throughout the track. Over this Hugh layers his bright trumpet that is somewhat at odds with the guitar. It cascades, slides, shimmies, bounces and bops along like a child skipping next a serious parent as they walk down the road.
The overall effect is a laidback piece that is filled with sunshine and gentle breezes. It is a life affirming track that showcases Bra Hugh’s talent, letting his trumpet shine out. It is not too dissimilar to his US number 1 hit, ‘Grazing In The Grass’ so I suggest putting it on a letting your senses run riot.

Where to find it:
The Best Of Hugh Masakela (2006), Ume, B0007383-02

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Johnny’s Gun – Colin Shamley & Cornelia

Born Guilty & Other Stories – Colin Shamley

This one is a bit difficult to find. It was not on Shamley’s original of his album ‘Born Guilty’ but was included as a bonus track on the limited CD release of the album by 3^rd Ear Music. On this track, Shamley teamed up with Cornelia Möller who had seen hits such as ‘Picking Up Pebbles’ and ‘Another Love To Come’.

This track is a simple one with a gently plucked guitar over which Shamley and Cornelia harmonise beautifully to tell the story of Johnny. But the gentleness of the guitar and the beauty of the harmonies belie the darker message of the lyrics. It starts off innocently with young Johnny watching a movie with a shoot out between good guys and bad guys and Johnny pulls out his plastic gun to join in. But as the song progresses and Johnny grows up, he gets called up to the army and has to deal with real guns and real shooting. He survives the army, but suffers from PSTD, losing his wife and ends up ‘on a tower at rush hour’ where he begins to shoot his (presumably) real gun.

The struggle many had adapting back to civvie life after a stint in the armed forces is not a unexplored theme. We see it in many US films and TV shows where Vietnam, Gulf War and Afghanistan/Iraq vets cannot adjust after they return home. And with conscription in South Africa during the 70’s and 80’s we had a similar problem, although few spoke about it back then, and even now. Like Jennifer Ferguson’s ‘Letters For Dicky’ and David Kramer’s ‘On The Border’, this is another hard hitting song about the effects of PTSD on troopies returning from the border, and like those other 2 the serious lyrics are at odds with the gentle tune and perhaps that’s what makes the message even harder hitting.

Unfortunately I could not find anywhere to point you to to hear this little known gem. The best I can manage is the Youtube video of the cover by Four Jacks And A Jill. While Four Jacks And A Jill are a great band, I just don’t think this was a song for them. Their version is too poppy to have the impact that Shamley and Cornelia’s version has, but at least you can get the lyrics by listening to that other version. However, if you can lay your hands on Shamley’s version it is well worth it.

Where to find it:
Born Guilty And Other Stories – Colin Shamley

Four Jacks & A Jill version:

Disco Lazarus – Sugardrive

When I Died I Was Elvis – Sugardrive

This song is taken from Sugardrive’s 3^rd album, ‘When I Died I Was Elvis’ which arrived 2 years after their previous offering, ‘Sand.Man.Sky’. The song, however, is quite far removed from the words that surround it. It is not a disco song, there is no sense of a rising from the dead a la Lazarus in the Bible and it sounds nothing like Elvis. One can go further and say it is not sweet like the sugar in the first part of the band’s name. That leaves us with just 1 word amongst these that words when trying to describe the track and that is the second part of the band’s name ‘drive’.

The song it driven along by a strong beat that builds to a kind of controlled thundering. But it does not start out like that. Initially there are drops of electronic notes conjure up the image of a dude in a film out in the desert, staring at a huge sky. He waits a moment, then puts his shades on and climbs into the car. The song then moves into a cruise control with a steady beat and Paul E. Flynn’s high pitched vocals thread their way around the beat as the car eases out onto the desert highway. Then it is not long before the guitars hit, and we are thundering long the road. But it is not all thunder as it alternates between mellower interludes and the heavy guitar.

Despite the scene created in one’s mind by the track, being played out under a bright blue skies, there is a repeated refrain of ‘You can live on my cloud’, sung in an almost ethereal way, taking one up into the sky and racing along above the speeding car below. Where the car is heading to and what the driver has on his mind is anyone’s guess. Perhaps he is off to meet someone and the line in the song which goes, ‘I’m gonna make you feel alive’ is what’s on his mind. The song certainly makes one feel alive. It is a strong mix of rock and electronic dance music which blend well into a solid, track and showed a confident band who were at the top of their game.

Where to find it:
When I Died I Was Elvis – Sugardrive (1999), Gallo, GWVCD10

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Shine On (Brightly) – Steve Kekana

Shine On (Brightly) – Steve Kekana

Steve Kekana already had about 6 albums under his belt before he made the cross over to singing in English and released ‘Don’t Stop The Music’. The album included his international hits ‘Colour Me’ and ‘Raising My Family’ and would go out under the name ‘Raising My Family’ in Europe, presumably to cash in on the popularity of the track there, especially in the Scandinavian countries.
However, if memory serves me correctly, in SA ‘Shine On’ was the first one that got the airplay and was possibly the first  introduction to this remarkable talent to many white South Africans. The track seemed to bounce onto our radios and didn’t stop bouncing the whole way through the track.
It is a synth driven pop tune which has a good dance beat over which Kekana’s falsetto vocals seem to skip along. The title of is no coincidence as the song itself shines brightly. It is uplifting both lyrically and musically with its upbeat beat and words about being ‘on the right side of somewhere’, ‘moving in the right direction’ and ‘brighter future’. The song was a real tonic. It brought the brighter side of the township sounds into the white living rooms of apartheid South Africa.
Kekana would go on to greater things with songs like ‘Raising My Family’, ‘The Bushman’ and his collaboration with Hotline, ‘Feel So Strong’, but I often come back to this track when I want to be uplifted. Kekana may have shuffled off this mortal coil, but his music still shines on.

Where to find it:
The English Album – Steve Kekana (1999), Gallo, CDRED630

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Angel – Watershed

In The Meantime – Watershed

‘Angel’ is one of those near perfect pop-rock tunes. It combines guitars with lush orchestration to good effect, but it is the piano that swoops and cascades throughout the song which gives it that edge. There are hints of Bruce Hornsby in the piano and the carefully crafted tune.
But the piano does not come in straight away. The song starts with a strummed guitar, then the beat kicks in and then it is almost as if the piano sneaks unnoticed into the track and takes over by degrees. However, it is in competition with Craig Hinds’ Michael Stipe-ish vocals. On top of this there are some orchestral strings to bring a kind of classical tinge to the track. The song peaks and troughs its way through its 4 and a half minutes of glorious brilliance.
The lyrics are about a women ‘sent’ to the singer and he is in awe of her. It is more than love song, it is a song of praise and one of gratitude for what this ‘Angel’ has done for the singer.
The track would give Watershed their second chart topper on the SA Rockdigest charts (their first was ‘Yesterday Again’). It came from the band’s incredibly confident debut album ‘In The Meantime’ which was jam packed with lekker choons and would rank 9^th on the Rockdigest’s albums of 2000 list. In this song, heaven has sent an ‘angel’ to us.

Where to find it:
In The Meantime – Watershed (2000), EMI, CDEMCJ (WI) 5999

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Why Can’t It Rain – McCully Workshop

Why Can’t It Rain – McCully Workshop

If the only time you listened to music was to listen to the old Springbok Top 20, then you really should have got out more. However, if such a person did exist, then their introduction to McCully Workshop would have happened on 17 July 1970 when ‘Why Can’t It Rain’ entered the chart at number 20. They would only have heard the song 5 times over the next few weeks. But if this didn’t make them look outside the top 20 and explore the music of McCully Workshop further then they needed serious help.

Perhaps though, you were one of those people who bought albums based on word of mouth or reviews, or perhaps even because they had a cool cover. If, on this basis, you ended up buying McCully Workshop’s debut album, ‘McCully Workshop Inc’, then your introduction to the band would also have been ‘Why Can’t It Rain’ and I am sure it would have made you listen to the rest of the album. Why? Because this was an accomplished track highlighting the talent of Mike and Tully McCullagh and their band.

You tumble into the song with a barrage of drums and guitars, that feels somewhat like a thunderstorm. But then suddenly things quietens and the lyrics that kick in at that point match the feel as the opening line is ‘Looking at the sun in a clear blue sky’. This sets the pattern for the song which swings between storms and sunny skies. And the lyrics go on to speak about a love that died of boredom and the effect it had on the singer. It goes through the rollercoaster of emotion that people feel after a break up.

All this is done with expert musical talents underpinning the track. There is the beautiful guitar work on the quieter sections and the searing sounds that erupt during the louder bits. There is a hint of psychedelia with a Hammond organ dancing around the chorus of singing. And this does make it have a very 70’s feel to it which some may regarded as dated. And yes, to a degree the track is very much of its time, but it was not only a fine example of what was happening back then, but more importantly, it introduced the country to the massive talent of Tully McCully who would go on to become a legend in the local music world.

With this track, it never rains but it pours. Each note is a drop which brings life to the ear(th), sustains the land and the soul and brings promise of new life. ‘Why Can’t It Rain’ did all this and more.

Where to find it:
McCully Workshop In – McCully Workshop (1970), Fresh Music, FRESHCD 167

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