blackleatherbookshelf | Entries tagged with african music

Songs of Hope and Defiance
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Made in honor of member Dudu Zulu, who had been assassinated in the last years of the apartheid, "Heat Dust and Dreams" would be Johnny Clegg's final album with Savuka. In fact, Clegg ended up not releasing another album in America until "Human" in 2010. His music remained in the spotlight, with several songs appearing in movie soundtracks. "Heat Dust and Dreams" was prime Clegg, mixing his brands of South African music with westernized pop. The album even opens with bagpipes behind an African chant (that translates to "the watchman's fire is burning") on the questioning "These Days." As a fan of Clegg would be able to tell you, Clegg's mix of music and politics made for always intriguing music, with "Heat Dust and Dreams" being no excpetion.

That's why it has always been frustrating to me that Clegg and Savuka (or his earlier band, Jaluka) couldn't break into the American mainstream. Capitol Records in the States obviously felt he could do it, as "These Days" was produced by the then super-hot Don Was. Longtime contributor Hilton Rosenthal manned the boards for the rest of the disc, but the overwhelming force of Clegg and the band made the choice of producers irrelevant. He moved effortlessly moved between love songs ("I Can Never Be") to the political condemnation towards the "Inevitable Consequence of Progress."

"The pilot pulled the chopper around
and we got into position
we made all the right moves and
there wasn't any real opposition.
Crazy tribesmen shooting arrows at the 'ship overhead
Such a wierd spectacle
the Sarge he smiled and he said
"There's a new world coming and
there ain't no place for them--
Don't feel sad son for what history has condemned."

Having been an artist who spent much of his career fighting the injustices of Apartheid, Clegg's politics are not facile protests. It makes songs like "Progress" and the prayer for peace "When The System Has Fallen" all the more potent. Yet, even with the politics, Clegg knows how to craft songs that lift and inspire, even with the often dark subject matter. U2 had been mining the same turf (as had Midnight Oil to a lesser degree of success), so again, I always has a difficult time reconciling the themes of those bands with Clegg's lack of American success. That's not to say he was lacking for an audience. In addition to his native South Africa, Savuka was wildly popular throughout Europe.

So maybe you missed "Heat Dust and Dreams" or my other favorites "Cruel Crazy Beautiful World" and "Shadow Man," but the MP3 generation can find these easily. Don't miss out.

Rediscovering Johnny Clegg
4 Out Of 5 Stars

I was shocked to read that Johnny Clegg hasn't released and American Album in 17 years. Frankly, I stumbled on this CD at the infamous Rasputin's Record Store while on a visit to San Fransisco in February, already four months after "Human" was released. The other surprise is that "Huamn" is released on Appleseed Recordings, a small label based near where I live, and home to, as their website proudly states, is "an independent, idealistic and internationally distributed record label devoted to releasing socially conscious contemporary, folk and roots music." In other words, perfect for an artist like Johnny Clegg.

"Human" is a continuation of the mixture of Afro-beat, contemporary pop and world politics that Clegg has been recording since the late 70's. The two lead tracks, "Love In The Time of Gaza" and "The World Is Calling" set the tome straight off; Clegg has lost none of his fiery opinions nor his strong voice. Yet even in the despair of war, there is time for hope, as "All I Got is You" and "Here Comes That Feeling Again." Clegg wrote 11 of the 12 tracks here, in a mix of English and Zulu, with the 12th song a traditional Zulu piece titled "Magumede" that closes the CD.

The most moving song here for me is "Hidden Away Down," Clegg's tribute to the late Senator Edward Kennedy. In Clegg's eloquent liner notes, he remarks on his admiration for men who can overcome their demons, find love and (in Kennedy's case) make laws for the good of people that aren't able to give voice to their disadvantages. He paraphrases Hemingway by dedicating the songs to "those who have had to overcome their broken parts. They are the quiet heroes and are truly Human." That statement certainly quantifies Johnny Clegg, an artist who has suffered the bitter and sometimes lethal injustices of Apartheid (one of his band members, Dudu Zulu, was shot and killed in 1993). "Human" continues breathing life into Clegg's beautiful and powerful creative universe.