CD OF THE WEEK:Tait: Back Seat Driver
VH1 recently ran an insightful documentary about music in the Eighties in which it was pointed out that a failsafe recipe for success for the commercial rock bands of the time was to release a rowdy tune to blast on to the charts and then follow it up with a drippy rock ballad.
It seems nothing much has changed, because this coupling has also worked remarkably well for local pop-rock band Tait in terms of radio play. They have the upbeat The Best Days of My Life, a simple but perfectly crafted singalong tune, and then there’s the catchy ballad In My Arms to complete the set.
These two songs do prove that Chris Tait — who wrote all the songs bar one on Back Seat Driver (Fresh) — has a knack for composing tracks that make Tait stand out among the many fledgling rock acts in the country.
However, he would do well to employ this gift to give other tracks on the album a shot in the arm, such as Don’t Let Me Go (a run-of-the- mill pondering about love), Miss You Tomorrow and the bland Stand by Me.
Classroom Blues, the title track and The Next One amble along nicely with their middle-of-the-road pop sound, but when Tait crank up the guitars just a tad more, like on (I Think I Can) Relate, it lends welcome texture to those tracks, making them stand out.
Back Seat Driver isn’t the best album of the year thus far, but it does put Tait on the map. Keep an eye on this band.
Cypress Hill: Till Death Do Us Part (Sony)
The recipe’s not much different than before, with Cypress Hill wallowing in a world of niggas, bullets, ganja and ”shoot it up, bang-bang!”, but it’s nicely enhanced with creative orchestrations laying the foundations for the rapping, adding flavours of rock, dancehall and more to spruce up the proceedings. It’s not the Cypress Hill that blasted the Nineties, but it does grow on one. — Riaan Wolmarans
Eric Clapton: Me and Mr Johnson (Gallo)
At sundowner time, Jack in hand and feet up, this CD transports you to the banks of the Mississippi with traditional blues with the expected harmonica, lazy guitar and Clapton’s voice playing tribute to the man who continues to influence him, Robert Johnson. Track three, They’re Red Hot, is the only deviation from traditional blues, a Twenties honky-tonk tune. Clapton and blues fans alike will love this mellow listening experience. I’m still a soul fan, but maybe I’m mellowing. — Nicola Mawson
Hootie and the Blowfish: The Best of …: 1993 thru 2003 (Gallo)
Nothing new here, what you see is what you get: soft rock that makes for great driving and singalongs. The insert features a synopsis of the band’s career, needless for diehard fans who will know it all. — NM
Koos Kombuis and Valiant Swart: ‘n Jaar in die Son (Bowline)
The music of these two stalwarts continues to be warmer, more intelligent and much more likeable than the heaps of dross dished out on the Afrikaans music scene. They don’t break any boundaries here — the album is simply two friends coming together at last to make more of the music that has won them so many fans: mellow folk-rock with support from a gallery of gifted guest players. And Die Apokaliptiese Akapella is hilarious. — RW