/ 19 June 2007

Looking back at Neil Young

Neil Young fans the world over are running around yelping with joy, because finally old Shakey has begun to release his archives. Following on from his metal folk protest album Living with War, which called for George Bush to get the sack, comes the first in his Archives Performance Series, comprising Neil Young and Crazy Horse Live at the Fillmore East in 1970 and Neil Young Live at Massey Hall in 1971, solo. The Fillmore East show finds Young in the middle of his Crazy Horse honeymoon phase. The Horse are loose and wild as they work through lengthy versions of favourites such as Down by the River, Cowgirl in the Sand and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Accompanying the audio disc is a DVD filled with concert photos, lyric sheets and press reviews.

The Massey Hall concert is a full CD and DVD package, though the dark footage means the quality is not great, but priceless nonetheless. Billed as the album that should have been released in between After the Gold Rush and Harvest, the Massey Hall concert is an absolute gem featuring Young weaving through songs that would appear on his classic albums of the early Seventies. Songs such as Helpless, Old Man, Heart of Gold and See the Sky about to Rain are quite sublime. The best news is that these are just preliminary releases; the main event is the Neil Young Archives Volume One, an eight-CD and two-DVD box set, which will be released later this year.

ALSO ON THE SHELF
I Love You But I Have Chosen Darkness
Fear Is on Our Side (MIA)

There was a time when making miserable music was seen as the ultimate pursuit. The Cure’s Robert Smith was wrapping his tortured soul in layers of synth that would become the landmark album Faith, while Johnny Rotten was busy creating the bleakest album of all time, Flowers of Romance. Then there was the disturbing yet electrifying world of Ian Curtis and Joy Division. Well, fast forward over two decades and you have Austin, Texas, outfit I Love You But I Have Chosen Darkness.

They are definitely reminiscent of that older generation, but their blend of atmospheric new wave and post-rock has a refreshing optimistic quality to it, which their forefathers lacked. According to Plan is a ripping dance number that is reminiscent of Bauhaus and Depeche Mode, while Last Ride Together sees Christian Goyer showing what he can do with that voice of his. At Last Is All is straight out of The Cure’s early songbook, but the album highlight has to be the hidden track, which comes off sounding like a Jesus and Mary Chain song. After repeated listens, Fear Is on Our Side really opens up, but this is not the finished product by any means. You want to be around by the time this band hit the difficult third album; it’s going to get interesting. Besides, a band with a name as good as this have to come good. — Lloyd Gedye

Obita
The Warrior (Independent)

Obita is the kind of rapper I instantly respect — thoughtful and conscious without lapsing into Dead Prez style pseudo-militant dogma. His debut album, The Warrior, is well produced and intelligent. Like his peers, Obita understands the need to prove oneself to be African enough in a hip-hop industry where the worst possible insult seems to be “you sound too American”. This is why the album’s standout track, Shaka Zulu Remix, which samples the nostalgic local TV show, could become a hit, which is not to say that it was just cynically sampled just for this reason. There is nothing too experimental or groundbreaking about Obita’s style; he does mix in some heavy rock influences, but Mos Def has been doing this for years. But, although the album is not mind-blowing, it is certainly solid. There are 20 tracks on the album and the sheer scope of Obita’s vision suggests that there will be a lot more to look forward to from this up-and-coming MC. — Daniel Friedman

FotoNaDans
FotoNaDans (EP) (Rhythm Records)

FotoNaDans, the latest offering from Bellville, shows that Cape suburbia is a treasure chest of Afrikaans rockers. (Fokofpolisiekar also originate from the same area.) The band’s debut EP already leaves one salivating for a full-length album — rumoured to be released in June. The band define their sound as something between Muse, Bloc Party, Springbok Nude Girls and Incubus, but they also flirt with a ska sound. They also call themselves a multimedia outfit — reaching their fans visually is just as important to them, which means interesting live performances. Huiwerig and Soldaatvolk were created to become best friends with your CD player, but be warned, the lyrics are either deep or chaos — this is definitely not the usual digestible diet of understandable Afrikaans. The band’s name, FotoNaDans (Picture after Dance), was also chosen because of their focus on the visual. The big shame of Afrikaans music is that these exceptional musicians are not likely to enjoy half the sales of some less talented artists on the Afrikaans circuit. — Yolandi Groenewald

Magnolia Electric Co
Fading Trails (MIA)

There is nothing more satisfying than when you discover an album that appears to have been handcrafted for your specific taste; when it fits so well you can’t imagine your life without it. I recently experienced this with Swedish anti-folk outfit Herman Dune and now again with the new Magnolia Electric Co. Fading Trails is singer-songwriter Jason Molina’s 15th album, which is great news for me because I now have a lot of pleasurable catching up to do. This new album features nine songs recorded at four different sessions, yet the album has a consistency to it that would make most musicians envious. If you’re a fan of Neil Young, Will Oldham or Smog’s Bill Callahan, do yourself a favour and check out this ludicrously talented songwriter. — Lloyd Gedye

Boozoo Bajou
Juke Joint II (Kurse Music Distribution)

German producer-DJ pair Boozoo Bajou’s musical tastes take in soul, jazz, reggae, folk and blues. Behind the mixing board, though, they tend to lean towards the downtempo and trippy side of things. Juke Joint II is a follow-up compilation of their favourite joints, all of them persuasive despite being unequivocally obscure. Old-school Jamaican crooners such as John Holt bump shoulders with Nordic songstresses such as Hanne Hukkelberg, turn the corner and run into feisty northern soul chanteuses carousing with hermit electronica visionaries. Production-wise, Bajou contribute three tracks — a ruffian threat by Stones Throw MC Oh No called Back Up; a strange, insomniac doodle called Pflug; and a club-worthy Gecko Turner remix. The real sleight of hand, though, is how it all comes together. The tracks are not mixed as such, but placed neatly alongside each other — a lesson in the art of selection. — Kwanele Sosibo

Flabba
Nkuli vs Flabba (EMI)

Skwatta Kamp’s elder statesman Flabba is regarded as the most “ghetto” among his brethren. I think that means, as he mentions in one song, that he won’t hesitate to turn a verbal confrontation into an out-and-out bare-knuckle brawl. With his debut solo album, however, Flabba lightens up a little, celebrating his weight, his penchant for Black Label and chicks with waxed bikini lines. The album is all over the place thematically, as it is sonically, which would be a severe problem were it not for his cartoonish vocal presence that somehow grounds his often light and, yes, jiggy, beats.

Flabba, a complex persona to unpack, covers the gamut of lyrical ground without saying anything in particular. He insists that he doesn’t have to. So if you’re looking for some gripping intellectual conspiracy theory about the Xhosa Nostra and some syrupy love songs to “beautiful black queens”, look elsewhere. This is a street bash in Alex, in the company of an inebriated guest who won’t leave until the beers are all finished. — Kwanele Sosibo

Dave Matthews Band
The Best of What’s Around Volume 1 (Just Music)

Although Dave Matthews is as American these days as French fries, he confesses that there is something inside of him that will always be South African. He admitted in an interview that he comes to South Africa at least once a year and can then most often be found at Roxy’s in Melville. Driving past the bar the other day while listening to the Dave Matthews Band’s latest CD, imagining the legend himself sitting somewhere inside, seemed somehow surreal.

His band’s new offering is their first-ever compilation album. It features 12 studio tracks on the first disc, and eight previously unreleased live tracks on the second disc. Tracks on the CD include What Would You Say, Crash into Me, So Right and The Space Between. But the ultimate highlight of the album is the live version of Don’t Drink the Water, while Ants Marching, performed in Sydney, comes a close second. As most Dave Matthews Band fans will know, the band feed off live performances. Those who have experienced them live say you can never return to listening to their CDs again. In the meantime, this compilation will have to do as South African audiences eagerly await Matthews shifting himself from Roxy’s and on to a stage in South Africa. — Yolandi Groenewald