SA ROCK DIGEST ISSUE #63

SA ROCK DIGEST ISSUE #63

The South African Rock Music Digest
is a free, subscription e-mag, edited
by Brian "Vagabond" Currin and Stephen
"Sugar" Segerman and delivered direct
to your e-mailbox.

Established January 1999.

To unsubscribe: reply to this issue
with "unsubscribe digest" as subject

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CONTENTS
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1.WHAT'S NEW - Sharkbrother bites
2.ON STAGE - Andre Fourie Benefit
3.NEW RELEASES - Off The Edge
4.WOEMA - Theunis Engelbrecht looks at Africa & Cuba
5.SPOTLIGHT ON - Sugar shines a light on McCully Workshop
6.USA for SA - Kurt Shoemaker asks if Psych is the granddaddy of prog?
7.CLASSIC ROCK - Brian Currin remembers Freedoms Children and Duncan MacKay
8.FORUM - The History Of Prog-Rock by Shiloh Noone, SA Invades America, SA Music Compilations
9.REQUESTS - Four Jacks And A Jill
10.ON THE NET - Mooncow Project, Titus
11.WHAT'S ON - Frank Opperman, Oppikoppi, Little Sister
12.GOOSEBUMPS - Sugar Man
13.LINKS AND ADS
14.BACK ISSUES
15.CONTRIBUTIONS
16.SUBSCRIPTIONS
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SA ROCK DIGEST - THE WEBSITE
http://rock.co.za/sarockdigest/

Use the website search engine to find any information published on each and every previous Digest. These archives are updated weekly.

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SA ROCK DIGEST - ON THE RADIO

Listen out between 10.15 and 10.30am on SAFM (104-107KHz) every Wednesday morning to hear Digest co-editor Stephen Segerman chatting to Bruce Millar about the lastest music news and breaking stories.

Visit SAFM on the net at:
http://www.safm.co.za

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SA ROCK DIGEST - THE MAILING LIST

We would to assure all our subscribers that the Digest mailing list is used only for weekly dispatching of the Digest, and is not made available to any outside parties or interested groups. We promise!

To avoid viruses the Digest is sent in plain text only and in the body of the mail, not as an attachment.

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AMUZINE
http://rock.co.za

For more news, views and reviews on the SA and International music scene visit the Amuzine website.

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ONE WORLD
http://www.oneworld.co.za

Selling South African Music to the World

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SA ROCK FILES
http://rock.co.za/sarock
The online archive for the history of SA rock

The SA Rock Files webpages are updated regularly thanks to input from various fans of SA rock music around the world.
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1.WHAT'S NEW
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SHARKBROTHER BITES

Lets cut to the chase:
New look-slick, sophisticated
Music-tight, new, innovative, thought provoking
Vibe-astounding, fan wowing stuff

Over the past two years Sharkbrother has produced music of quality, music that is somewhat ground breaking, music that lends itself to feeling and experiencing.

Sharkbrother, who are Cobus Rossouw, formerly of Sundogs, together with
Steve Savage of Cargo Cult, Sam Goosen and Ockert Greeff are once again
performing at venues in Gauteng.

Sharkbrother's new image has wowed fans and interested venue owners. Their slick, sophisticated, decadent and yet slightly tongue in cheek approach to making their fans feel special has been fundamental in ensuring that their last few gigs have been those, "you should have been there, you missed such cool stuff" kind of funky evenings.

Their gig line up is as follows:

Fri        30/06 Abelarde Sanction, Brixton
Sat        15/07 Abelarde Sanction, Brixton, with Damn the Icebergs
Sat         22/07 Time for a private party

The new developments in the Sharkbrother sea include the recording of the first official album of which some tracks have been released only via Internet.

Sharkbrother's exciting material and song arrangements based around good lyrics and melody, and a simple but effective arrangement of guitar, bass, violin and vocals. Most of their songs have a folk/jazz type of feel, with a few more up tempo songs.

Sharkbrother's musical style is a true reflection of the soul and nature of the musicians; their lives and experiences. Instrumentation is simple displaying a unique and innovative blend of lead guitar and vocals (Cobus Underdog Rossouw), bass, harmonica & vocals (Steve the not so Savage), Sam Goosen on violin & vocals & Ockert Greef on drums and percussion.

This is a band that are going to new and exciting places in style. Come on the Sharkbrother experience and enjoy vogue, panache and musical
delectation.

For BAND INFORMATION contact Cobus on 082 464 0688, mailto:JRossouw@spescom.com

For MEDIA INFO contact Joanne Jaques on 083 604 0956, mailto:joannej@global.co.za
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2.ON STAGE
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ANDRE FOURIE BENEFIT

I was unfortunately only able to be at the River Club for a short time this past Friday night and not at all on Saturday for the benefit concert for guitarist Andre Fourie (RIP).

Besides the pathetic humour of the MC, what I saw was brilliant and touching as various artists entertained the packed venue for free.

If any readers out there would like to submit a revue for next weeks Digest, please do so...
(BC)
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3.NEW RELEASES
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JUST ANOTHER BAND - OFF THE EDGE
Gabor Kleinbloesem, Strutter'zine
http://www.angelfire.com/ma/strutteraor/

'Just another band' is the third CD of the South-African Female Fronted AOR band OFF THE EDGE. I have to admit that this is the band's best effort so far. The production, the songs and the lay-out of the CD is really excellent, so this is definitely a CD worth checking if you love that typical 80s female fronted AOR sound of acts like HEART, TONE NORUM, WITNESS, ALYSON AVENUE. The CD contains 10 songs of which 3 are instrumental. Opener 'Addiction' is the first instrumental, a lovely pure 80s AOR tune. Next track 'Do you believe' is a fantastic 80s AOR tune in the style of aforementioned bands, a must for fans of 80s female fronted AOR/Rock. In the same style is the next song 'Cheating'.

Things slow down a little in the calmer lite-AOR songs 'Don't play games' and 'In my heart', two nice HEART/LITTLE SISTER/VENUS AND MARS typed songs. Then comes the best song of the whole CD, namely the uptempo AOR rocker 'Face in the crowd' which will please the fans of the first two. The CD continues with the melodic poprocker 'Creatures of mood' which brings us in FIONA territory, a nice little tune. The following two songs are both instrumentals, of which 'Blueprint' leaves you quite relaxed. The CD closes with 'St. Aidans', a very impressive semi-ballad that contains influences from Pomprock (STYX/BOSTON) and AOR (HEART, BOSTON).

I can only conclude that this is a wonderful record, and a total must for fans of female fronted AOR rock.

More info on OFF THE EDGE at: http://rock.co.za/offtheedge and e-mail them at: mailto:phanmer@mweb.co.za

(Points: 8.5 out of 10)

The winners of the 3 free CDs of the new Off The Edge album kindly supplied by Peter Hanmer are: Craig Smith, Etienne Nel and Stephan Forster.
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4.WOEMA
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GO GLOBAL - EXPLORING MUSIC FROM AFRICA & CUBA

Hierdie keer skryf ek nie oor Afrikaanse musiek nie, maar oor ander
opwindende musiek uit Afrika. Sheer Sound het die afgelope jare
ontwikkel in een van die vernaamste platemaatskappye in Suid-Afrika wat
nie net van die beste jazz uit Suid-Afrika uitgee nie, maar
Suid-Afrikaners ook bekend stel aan World Music. (Dis danksy Sheer dat
die musiek uit Kuba, soos Bueno Vista Social Club, ook op CD hier beskikbaar is).

Go Global is 'n wonderlike samestelling van musiek uit Afrika en ook
Kuba. Die kunstenaars wat gehoor kan word, is Samite (Uganda), Mahube
(Suider-Afrika), Jimi Mbaye (Senegal), Bau (Angola), Afro-Cuban All
Stars (Kuba), Ruben Gonzales (Kuba), die goddelike Cesarie Avora (Cape
Verde), Boy Ge Mendes (Cape Verde/Angola), Oliver Mtukudzi (Zimbabwe),
Alpha Yaya Diallo (Guinee), Henri Dikongue (Kameroen), Umanji (Suid-Afrika), Chiwoniso (Zimbabwe) en McCoy Mrubata (Suid-Afrika).

'n Mens hoef nie die taal te verstaan waarin al die kunstenaars sing nie - die musiek is tydloos en universeel en sny oor alle grense heen. 'n Groot dankie aan Nicky Blumenfeld vir hierdie samestelling en aan Robert Cowling en Damon Forbes van Sheer Sound vir hulle volgehoue ywer om musiek soos dié beskikbaar te stel in Suid-Afrika. (Terloops, in 'n mark wat oorspoel word met dansmusiek, spog Sheer Sound myns insiens met die beste dans-albums in hulle stal - kyk uit vir hulle twee
206-samestellings. Dit kook!)

Besoek Sheer Sound by http://www.sheer.co.za

Theunis Engelbrecht
mailto:theunis99@worldonline.co.za
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5.SPOTLIGHT ON... McCULLY WORKSHOP
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Over the past 35 years, The McCullagh brothers, Tully (Terence) and Mike, have become an integral part of the South African rock and pop scene. Starting in 1965 as the Blue Three with Richard Hyam (who later formed Pendulum), Mike and Tully are still going strong today. Their first album 'McCully Workshop Inc' came out in 1970 and included the epic and powerful 'Why Can't It Rain' which went to #12 on the Springbok Radio charts.

McCully Workshop also played on Jody Wayne's 'The Wedding' in 1970, but they are probably not too proud of that one, though it did hit #1 for 3 weeks on the Springbok charts.

'Genesis' released in 1971 was a concept album based on the book of Genesis from the Bible (but I guess you already figured that out) and included a number of long tracks with sub-sections, typical of the prog-rock albums of the time.

Crocodile Harris (real name Robin Graham, from Somerset West), recorded the brilliant haunting pop classic 'Miss Eva Goodnight' (Springbok #5, April 1974) which was written by Mike and featured the musicianship of all the then current McCully Workshop members.

'Ages', released in 1975, is a great pop-rock album. This album reflects styles from different ages of music and various influences can be heard: Uriah Heep, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Beach Boys, etc. The vocal harmonies are really superb. '1623' is a wonderful violin-led instrumental by Richard Wilson and the blues organ solo in 'Blues in C minor' has just got to be heard to be believed (the vocals should be ignored, though).

Their 4th album, 'Workshop Revisited', released in 1977 shot them to prominence when it introduced SA fans to hits like 'Buccaneer' and 'Chinese Junkman'. The album also saw Mike McCully winning the 1978 'Songwriter Of The Year' award.

McCully Workshop used to play in the late 70s at the Canterbury Inn (Fairmead Hotel) in Cape Town and wonderful renditions of classic rock songs could be heard on a Sunday night. Chicago's 'I'm A Man' (with a lo-o-ong percussion solo), Barry Ryan's 'Eloise', Grand Funk's (and Traffic's) 'Feeling Alright' and of course their own brilliant 1977 hit single 'Buccaneer' could all be heard; of course no dancing was allowed on a Sunday in those days, so we had to just sit and listen... and listen we did.

Tully got very involved with the Falling Mirror project during the late 70s and 80s as producer and musician.

Skip forward to the '90s and we find Tully McCully running one of the finest recording studios in Cape Town (Spaced-Out Sound Studios) while brother Mike chalks up further success with his stage musicals like "Station 70" and "Sixty-Something", which played to over 350,000 people over a five year period.

With many older SA albums getting a new lease of life on CD, the McCullys' decided to rework some of their old classic songs. The original late 70s band members, Richard Black (lead guitar and vocals) and Rupert Mellor (keyboard and vocals), were recalled to help flesh out the music. Mike McCully played drums and Tully handled the guitar, bass and vocals while Kevin Gibson (drums) and ex-Falling Mirror member Allan Faull (lead guitar) helped out as well.

They also recorded a number of new tracks. They named the album 'Buccaneer' after their biggest hit and it features wonderful male vocal harmonies, epic guitar solos, superb keyboard flourishes and a thundering rhythm section. McCully Workshop have lost none of the spark that made them one of SA's greatest pop/rock bands and 'She' is just one great example of how good they still are at writing and playing catchy, listenable pop/rock songs.

This is a band that deserves to be listened to, over and over again.

Stephen Segerman & Brian Currin

McCully Workshop on the net:
http://rock.co.za/mccully

Falling Mirror on the net:
http://rock.co.za/legends/fallingmirror
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6.USA FOR SA
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IS PSYCH THE GRANDDADDY OF PROG?

I've read in "Rolling Stone's Encyclopedia of Rock' that
progressive rock came from or evolved from the 60s experimental
music called psychedelic music. When I think psychedelic, I think
of my favorite representatives of the West (California) Coast sound:
Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service. These two
bands are great all over again every time I spin one of their CDs.

Quicksilver and Jefferson Airplane, and others from San
Francisco, contributed some real musical excesses to our musical
heritage. But for true psychedelic rock excesses, I enjoy listening
to obscure psych bands. I'm talking about bands that never made it
beyond their region (say, the state of Iowa or the city of Chicago)
where they played gyms, grange halls, and municipal buildings, and
often paid for studio time themselves, or won it in a contest so
they felt free to play what they wanted and went freely into
extended jams and effects. The resulting 45 rpm disc was sold at
their shows, or given free to fans.

Some of this obscure psychedelic music is great music made,
mostly, by young men who loved both rock and the psychedelic
experience. They felt liberated by the music, the drugs, and the
open times. One finds nuggets of wonderful, albeit unknown, rockers
in this rock fringe, songs by groups that made a shot at the big
time and missed. Other psych songs are fun for the kind of
ineptitude that makes watching Plan 9 from Outer Space or Spinal Tap
fun (remember the guitar solo in Spinal Tap?). So either end of the
psychedelic field yields rewards: songs so good that one shakes his
or her head and says, "They was robbed!" or songs deliciously bad.

Let me rave about some of the more excess-able songs from CD
comps I have in my collection. (By the way, my collection of
psychedelic and garage consists mostly of CD compilations. Why sell
my children to buy a rare disc when for $10.00 to $15.00 20+
"well-known rarities" can be had? I do own a few collectable 45s,
lucked into at pennies per.)

First CD: 'Thirty Seconds Before the Calico Wall'. This is an
excellent compilation with some wild and fun songs.

First song: 'Trip On Out' by Haymarket Riot. Fuzz monster! A
driving and go-ahead song with positively 60s lyrics and a fuzzy
guitar over it all. I love songs that spray electricity like this
one does -- too wild for top 40.

Second song: 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' (the Beatles tune) by The
Moving Sidewalks (Billy Gibbons and a couple of other guys before ZZ
Top). Pretty fuzzy and trippy -- with a far better lead than
George's (listen closely to the original on The Beatles 'Past Masters'
CD: what the hell is George doing?).

Third song: 'Speed' by Ron Wray. I'm pretty darn sure Ron was a
guy whom I later heard as a disc jockey on WOLF out of Syracuse, New
York in the late 60s. Talk about sprays of electricity, the fuzz
drips off this song; I nominate as 'Speed' as the fuzziest song to
come out of the nifty fifty. And, yes, it does seem to be about
something bikers make while the neighbors complain about the smell.

Fourth song: 'The Third Eye' by The Dovers. A cranking guitar
strides boldly in giant boots in this song. Not to mention
psychedelic lyrics about golden wings, drifting through the night,
and "understanding the secrets of space and time."

A last song from this CD: 'Marshmellow Steamshovel' by
Steamshovel, a five minute instrumental rocker with sound effects
that make me wonder if I'm trapped in a cave with some Picts. Wild
stuff in a rock groove.

All in all, '30 Seconds Before the Calico Wall' has some great
unknown songs. It is wilder than most well-known rock of the late
60s, and some ideas are carried to an extreme. More... progressive?
Maybe. Trippy rock? Certainly. Not all 28 tracks are great -- the
quality seems to decline in the last few tracks, but, gosh,
the CD costs ten bucks and has over 20 wonderful trips on it.
'30 Seconds Before the Calico Wall' is a good single CD intro to
psychedelic music. Maybe psychedelic music is not not the
granddaddy of prog rock, but it is the crazy man called the uncle who
slept over.

Is psychedelic music proto-prog? Could be. If so, it was after
the young psychedelic men became more accomplished with their
instruments and technology. I imagine the open atmosphere of trying
ideas and experimenting in the 60s was carried into the 70s and
beyond and did contribute to progressive rock.

Kurt Shoemaker, Blanco, Texas
mailto:kbshoe@hotmail.com
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7.CLASSIC ROCK
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BATTLE HYMN OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED HORDE - FREEDOMS CHILDREN (EMI, 1968)

This album has all the wonderful excesses of early progressive rock; the deep "meaningful" poetry, spoken words, majestic organ-playing, sound effects, choirs, long guitar solos, etc. I love it!

The unusual Scottish/ South African accent of Ramsay MacKay guides us through this album of contrasts. From the country sounds of 'Country Boy' to the Traffic-style rock of 'Judas Queen' this album does not let up for a moment. It rocks, it soothes, it challenges, it even refreshes (thanks to the inclusion of an Pepsi advert!). A great album, yet to see the light of day on CD, if ever.

Brian Currin

Quote from the Sleeve notes:

Let the past lie for us - digging it up shall bury tomorrow. Show me the man who laughs but never cries, he is but half a man whose laughter cries for him. Truth is a river - you must be its banks and its beds. Life the wilderness has many explorers, but there are no maps to show of their knowledge. To have knowledge is to be wise, to know everything is not wisdom for wisdom is infinite; to know that is wisdom.

Ramsay MacKay, 1968

Freedoms Children on the net:
http://rock.co.za/legends/freedomschildren

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CHIMERA - DUNCAN MacKAY (Trutone, 1974)

Remember those heady days of the early 70s when a trio of keyboard wizards were winning all the polls and dominating the album sales? Keith Emerson (ELP), Rick Wakeman (Yes) and Jon Lord (Deep Purple) were those wizards, all three still very much around today, I might add--much to my father's chagrin. My father, who was and still is a Methodist church organist, used to say "that music will never last!"

Well, Leon Economides (co-presenter with Phil Wright of the Dinosaur Days programme on 5FM on Sunday nights) introduced me to a fourth keyboard wizard, SA-born and current Cape Town resident, Duncan MacKay (no relation to Ramsay MacKay).

Duncan MacKay's 'Chimera' recorded in 1973/4 and forever forgotten by all but the most devout is a brilliant slice of 70s progressive keyboard-based rock. All three of the wizards mentioned above are obvious influences, but Duncan clearly stamps his own sound onto this 3-track album. (only 3 tracks? - well this was 1974, y'know, the era of 'Tales From Topographic Oceans', 'Tubular Bells' and 'Thick as a Brick').

The musicians on this great album are Duncan on assorted keyboards and occasional vocals, his brother Gordon on violin and pianos and Mike Gray on drums

Duncan has played for some very famous international artists including Kate Bush, 10cc, Steve Harley's Cockney Rebel, Camel, Elkie Brooks and Budgie. He recently teamed up with Neil Lockwood from The Electric Light Orchestra Part II as Lockwood MacKay and released an album which included 'TRex and the Thin White Duke', a musical tribute in words and style to those 70s Kings (Queens?) of glamrock, Marc Bolan and David Bowie.

Brian Currin

Duncan MacKay on the net:
http://rock.co.za/legends/duncanmackay
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8.FORUM
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RONNIE SINGER

Allow me to use this forum to express my deepest sympathies to Ronnie
Singer's family and many friends.

I had only last year regained Ronnie's friendship after 35 years via E-mail, thanks to this Digest. In 1964, during the final leg of the Bill Kimber & the Couriers tour of South Africa in Cape Town, Ronnie and I became close friends during the month I was there. He had a convertible with a radio that played 7" singles and swore it was going to be the Next Big Thing in mobile entertainment. Of course, the needle jumped with every bump passed over. But I remember we were driving from the band's rented cottage in Hout Bay to the Clifton Hotel. He had a copy of Terry Stafford's "Suspicion" and used it to demonstrate his new device. That song, that open-air drive below the Twelve Apostles, are the stuff of which perfect times and fond memories are made. Sometimes when I'm on the road in California or elsewhere, that song comes on the radio, and I remember that time, the beauty of the Cape, and Ronnie's great ambassadorship of Cape Town music.

And, of course, I remember Ronnie.

Richard "Dick" Laws

{Ed: Dick was the guitarist for the A-Cads
<http://rock.co.za/legends/acads> who had a big hit in the 60s with 'Hungry For Love'}

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THE HISTORY OF PROGRESSIVE ROCK
Shiloh Noone

The root of progressive rock, often thought to have blossomed in the early seventies, has a far more dimensional birth date than presumed by the average rock schools of thought. We turn our sights to the year of the lord, 1964, where a young San Francisco pianist/reedman, Terry Riley, released his 'Opus in C'. Without a doubt, Terry Riley can truly be labelled as the grand father and author of the techno/rock era. The influence of Riley can be found in the Soft Machine, Mike Oldfield and King Crimson recordings. One could also pay tribute to the progressive genius of Brian Wilson who experimented with four track machines and the blending of singular track from an a-track machine absorbing mono instrumental tracks. This musical invention instituted by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, can be found on the album Pet Sounds released in 1966.

Strange as it would seem, even a member of the fab four, namely George Harrison, would release his 'Wonderwall' album in 1968, boasting instrumental moog synthesiser. Amidst the funeral of Psychedelia came the independent wizardry of the keyboard genius with the rise of the mellotron and the moog synthesiser. From the Folk Psychedelia sibling of the Wilde Flowers came forth the birthing of two progressive bands, Caravan and Soft Machine. The latter was the direct influence on Syd Barret of Pink Floyd. In the Netherlands a very young Rick van der Linden formed a progressive band called Ekseption, which combined the aspect of Jazz and Progressive. This unique style of electronic rock became warmly accepted by the hippies of Amsterdam. Although short lived, Ekseption was to give way for a powerful new progressive combo, Trace. London had found its own heroes with the likes of a keyboardist called Keith Emerson, who had formerly been a session keyboardist for a band called Gary Farr and the T-Bones (also the VIPs) and with greater innovation, The Nice.

It is no doubt that London still reigned supreme as the progressive capital of the seventies, with large flocks of Britons queuing to the majestic master musicianship of Yes, Genesis, Audience, Renaissance, Camel and Caravan. This classical genre of rock captured a new intellectual market that had once despised the hippies of old. No more the muddy Isle of Wight or the drugged out Glastonbury - enter the concert halls, cathedrals backed by symphony and orchestra - a new era had dawned. Across the waters Europe was bubbling with progressive genius. Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider formed Kraftwerk after attending the Psychedelic progressive concerts of Tangerine Dream at the Dusseldorf Conservatory. The progressive rock of an Italian band Premiata Forneria Marconi caught the interest of Pete Sinfield, lyricist for King Crimson and early Roxy Music. This band, commonly known as PFM, powered into the progressive arena with two outstanding albums - 'Photos of Ghosts' and 'The World Became The World'. These moments of brilliance were never to be repeated and Franco Mussida would lead his band towards a Jazz edged progressive act that failed to capture the support of his loyal fans.

The Netherlands held its own firmly with the classical rock genre of Focus, powered by master flautist Thys van Leer and guitar extraordinare Jan Akkerman. Behind the lines keyboard wizard Rick van der Linden of Ekseption would amaze the continent with his concept album Birds under his present day combo Trace. Even in the shadows the three octave ability of Peter Hammill of Van Der Graaf Generator would create a progressive act so powerful in lyric and Avant Garde that the most diverse Genesis or Soft Machine could not match the dimensional grasp of this genius.

Even Germany came to the forefront with the likes of Edgar Froese, Chris Franke and Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. Although this young Berlin organist had failed to capture the progressive market with his early electronic Psychedelia namely 'Alpha Centauri' and 'Zeit', it was a very young Richard Branson that gave Tangerine Dream their first world wide acceptance in 1974 with the album 'Phaedra'. Desired appeal could only be achieved if the progressive market made impact in the USA.

Although certain groups such as Renaissance, Yes, Camel and Genesis moved close to this bone, nothing could be achieved until the fat lady had sung. This fat lady had shaved her head and wore earrings in her nose - they called her punk and she would be the direct destruction of progressive rock. Admittedly the cost of touring was astronomical and the glam rock audiences of the seventies were not interested in twenty-minute guitar and drum solos. Several progressive rock bands managed to hurdle into the eighties by sheer might of faith and marketing. A new Genesis now headed by Phil Collins met with approval while Peter Gabriel launched into a successful solo career. Later Mike Rutherford of Genesis would head up Mike and the Mechanics and fulfil his financial dream. Nothing could be stranger than the story of Yes where contractual problems would result in no less than three bands under the name Yes touring the states - each one in its own legal right retaining at least one or two of the original members. This would finally confuse the loyal Yes fans to the point that the present day Yes had little or no resemblance to the latter day master combo.

On the rise came Asia, Marillion, Jeff Wayne, Mike Batt and the early nineties spewed forth the power of Magellan, World Trade, Arena, Cairo and many more. Progressive did not die, only became easier with PC technology and the ambient fashions.

Recommended Progressive Albums:

ALBUM

ARTIST

Space Hymns	Ramases
Photos of Ghosts	PFM
Solar Fire	Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Second Album	Curved Air
Mirage	Camel
Nektar	Nektar
Pathfinder	Beggar's Opera
Years Before The Wine	The Third Estate
In the Court of the Crimson King	King Crimson
Close to the Edge	Yes

Journey to the Center of the Earth Rick Wakeman

Ashes are Burning	Renaissance
Moving Waves	Focus
Tubular Bells	Mike Oldfield
Jade Warrior	Jade Warrior
Renaissance	Illusion
The Machine That Cried	String Driven Thing

Caravan and the New Symphonia Caravan

Stratosfear	Tangerine Dream
Concerto Grosso no.1	The New Trolls
Pictures at an Exhibition	Emerson, Lake and Palmer
House on the Hill	Audience
Meddle	Pink Floyd
Third	Soft Machine
Ballad of a Peaceful Man	Gravy Train
The Concerts in China	Jean Michel Jarre
Birds	Trace
H to He Who am the Only One	Van Der Graaf Generator
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway	Genesis

Shiloh Noone, June 2000

Shiloh is a Rock Historian and 60's and 70's DJ for Fine Music Radio in Cape Town. Shiloh's show "Blues and Variations" can be heard every Wednesday night between 10pm and 12pm, on 101.3 FM, Fine Music Radio, a community radio for the Cape Peninsula.

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TOP TEN PROG-ROCK ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME

Vox magazine in January 1994 published this list of Top Ten Progressive Rock albums:

1.IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING - KING CRIMSON
2.PAWN HEARTS - VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR
3.TRILOGY - ELP
4.THICK AS A BRICK - JETHRO TULL
5.SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND - GENESIS
6.PHOTOS OF GHOSTS - PFM
7.DARK SIDE OF THE MOON - PINK FLOYD
8.YESSONGS (LIVE) - YES
9.HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL - HAWKWIND
10.MIDNIGHT MUSHRUMPS - GRYPHON

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TOP TEN SOUTH AFRICAN PROG & PSYCH ALBUMS
compiled by Brian Currin, June 2000
(subject to change without notice)

1.Battle Hymn of the Broken-Hearted Horde - Freedoms Children (1968)
2.African Day - Hawk (1971)
3.Astra - Freedoms Children (1970)
4.Galactic Vibes - Freedoms Children (1972)
5.Searching - Third Eye (1969)
6.Chimera - Duncan MacKay (1974)
7.Genesis - McCully Workshop (1971)
8.Ten Light Claps And A Scream - Otis Waygood (1971)
9.Time To Suck - Suck (1970)
10.Silver Trees - Abstract Truth (1970)

It is very sad that the only album in this list that is officially available on CD is 'Astra'.

Read more about all these albums and a whole lot of others on the
South African Rock Legends website:
http://rock.co.za/legends

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JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF THE OTHERSIDE OF THE TOPOGRAPHICAL UNIVERSAL CENTRE

'Journey To The Edge' is an excellent retrospective CD released by Castle Communications (Cat #MUSCD018) in 1994 and is well worth searching out. Artists featured include: Manfred Mann's Earth Band, The Nice, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, Caravan, Curved Air, Family, Traffic and 10 other rock and prog-rock legends.

If you have a big budget and are really into this prog-rock stuff get 'Supernatural Fairy Tales: The Progressive Rock Era', a 5-CD box set from Rhino Records... full track list and review here:
http://www.rhino.com/Features/72451p.html

For more info on Roger Dean (the artist responsible for many prog-rock album covers), Ramases, Glastonbury Fayre, Sweet Smoke, Jethro Tull, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Strawbs, Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, etc please visit: Vagabond's World
http://rock.co.za/vagabond

--------------

SA INVADES AMERICA

Tuesday's Women In Music show, here on KRVM, Oregon, USA, saw a song each by SA artists Tasche and Katinka (who most Safricans probably haven't heard of, but my listeners love them!), and... wait for it .... the FULL CD of Lesley Rae Dowling's! It certainly got people calling in - curious to know who owned the unusual but lovely voice! I hope she's getting as much play on SA radio...... It's a terrific CD.

I use Kwela Thebza and Jabu Khanyile for my KWVA Africa Digest news/music show about what is happening in Africa, and Planet Soup (the international music show on KWVA) played Jabu Khanyile, Kutu and Kwela Thebza, and on a fill-in show, Tim played Squeal, Sugardrive, Boo, Billy Afrika, Johnny Clegg and Sunways!

Thanks to the artists and especially Gallo for sending me some great music for USA Radio!

Regards
Leigh Barrett
mailto:wimusic@hotmail.com
KRVM/KWVA
http://www.krvm.com
1641 Wilson Street
Eugene, OR 97402
USA

----------------

SA MUSIC COMPILATIONS

I've updated my pages on South African Music Compilations. A number of new CD's have been added, some have been updated and for others I have added the cover scans. Please visit: http://members.tripod.lycos.nl/Rembrandt/SAMusic/SAMusicComp.html. A number of artists have been added to the South African Artists Discographies And Websites page at:
http://members.tripod.lycos.nl/Rembrandt/SAArtists.html

René Mullenders
Wormerveer, Netherlands
http://members.tripod.lycos.nl/Rembrandt/index.html

______________________________________________

9.REQUESTS
-------------

FOUR JACKS AND A JILL

I'm going to start on a Four Jacks And A Jill Website. I've got
a bit of info, pics and albums of theirs which I'm going to use and then maybe I can get David Marks to supply me some info about his songs they've recorded and maybe about the group themselves. It would be great if I'll be able to get in contact with Glenys Lynne, Clive Harding or even Tony Hughes. Kurt Shoemaker sure will be happy when I've got the pages on Four Jacks And A Jill up. If you know of someone who has any Four Jacks And A Jill albums and are willing to sell them then please have them contact me. All I have at the moment is the 2 'Very Best Of' CD's, 'The Sunnyside Of Four Jacks And A Jill' and the 2 US releases, 'Master Jack' and 'Fables'.

René Mullenders
Wormerveer, Netherlands
http://members.tripod.lycos.nl/Rembrandt/index.html
______________________________________________

10.ON THE NET
---------------

THE MOONCOW PROJECT
http://www.mooncowhq.ch/Mooncowhq/mooncowhq.html
Homepage for the Mooncow Project, Ralph Beauvert, Enzo Lopardo, Quintessence.

TITUS
http://www.crosswinds.net/~glassmoon/titus/titus.htm
South African Christian Prog/metal band Titus have their own very cool website.
______________________________________________

11.WHATS ON
--------------

FRANK OPPERMAN

The Frank Opperman Band are embarking on their first semi-national tour. The White Horse Whisky Tour comes to a venue near you.

See the White Horse Whisky Tour itinerary below for Tour destinations, dates, venues and times!

July Fri 7th
Grahamstown Fest.
Union
10:00pm

July Sat 8th
Grahamstown Fest.
Union
10:00pm

July Tues 11th
Port Elizabeth
Tapas
9:30pm

July Wed 12th
Knysna
The Tin Roof
9:30pm

July Fri 14th
Cape Town
Jam
10:00pm

July Sat 15th
Stellenbosch
Hidden Cellar
9:30pm

July Sun 16th
Cape Town
Greenpoint Soccer Club
4:00pm

July Wed 19th
Worcester
Worcester East Primary School
8:00pm

July Fri 21st
Kimberly
Hoffepark
Recreation Club
8:00pm

July Sat 22nd
Bloemfontein
Mystic Boer
9:30pm

Gerry Jennings

--------------

OPPIKOPPI
http://www.oppikoppi.co.za

3-6 August - Northam
11-13 August - Worcester

August in South Africa means OppiKoppi, and this year the biggest (and best?) SA music festival will not be restricted to its usual Bushveld location in Northam. Due to a large demand from the Cape fans, the OppiKoppi organizers have arranged for a scaled down version of the festival to be held on the weekend following the northern version. The festival planned for Worcester (one hour out of Cape Town), will be hosted at the "Kleinplasie" grounds and will be a slightly scaled down "highlights" package of the bushveld leg.

Northam (Bushveld Oppikoppi):

Not My Dog, THC, Groinchurn, Jimmy 12", Aavaaz, BVK, Carlo & Johhny, Vd Want & Letcher, Frank Opperman, M, Firing Squad, Interzone, Collosal Head, Springbok Nude Girls, Duusman, Delta Blue, Project 2501, Selaelo Selota, Bizarre Bazaar, Boo, Sugardrive (Yang circle), Ssshhh, Ohm, Fruit Fly Navigators, Nine, Sunways, Mesadoth

Worcester Oppikoppi:

Not My Dog, THC, Groinchurn, BVK, Aavaaz, Carlo & Johnny, Vd Want & Letcher, Firing Squad, Interzone, Colossal Head, Springbok Nude Girls, Duusman, Blues Broers, Frosted Orange, Delta Blue, Gurkha, Suda,
Boo, Sugardrive, Blackmilk.

Tickets for both events are available from Ticketweb and will be priced at R220 for the Northam leg and R200 for the Worcester leg. Prices include access to all the stages, toilets, showers and camping facilities. Ticketweb can be contacted on 0861400500 or http://www.ticketweb.co.za.

A great deal of information regarding both festivals is available on the Oppikoppi website.

OPPIKOPPI - FARM NOOITGEDACHT - NORTHAM
P.O BOX 56
NORTHAM
0360
PHONE: 014 - 7860597
FAX: 014 - 7860034
WEBSITE: http://www.oppikoppi.co.za
E-MAIL: oppikoppi@icon.co.za or oppikoppi@sigidi.co.za

--------------

LITTLE SISTER
http://www.rock.co.za/littlesister

July 1 - Northmead Mall, First Street, Northmead, Benoni
July 19 - Messina
July 29 - Glenn Marais, Crn Veld and Dann St, Glen Marais, Kempton Park
July 29 - Lelsey's Bar

----------------

WOODSTOCK SA
22nd to 25th of September
Heidelberg Kloof - Gauteng
Contact mailto:woodstock@authentic.co.za
____________________________________________

12.GOOSEBUMPS
-----------------

What magical music moment gives you goosebumps? It could be song, an album, a live performance or even just the intro riff of your favourite song ('Smoke On The Water', anyone?).

E-mail us and tell us about your goosebump moment.
mailto:sarockdigest@crosswinds.net

-------

SUGAR MAN - RODRIGUEZ

Probably Rodriguez's most well-known song. Rodriguez himself is also often referred to as The Sugar Man. A great song with superb instrumentation. This slow bluesy rock song is a paean to his drug dealer, however Rodriguez said on a TV interview in March 1998 that this song is "descriptive not prescriptive". Great imagery and use of hippy slang, like "silver magic ships" and "sweet Mary Jane", ensure the listeners' interest. The psychedelic freak-out section in the middle reminds me of similar sections in Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' and Uriah Heep's 'Gypsy'.

This track was the first encore song on the 1998 SA tour. It was preceded by much chanting of "Su-gar Man, Su-gar Man...". Were we calling for the song or the Man? Who knows, but he came and he sang and we loved it.

Just Jinger also did a great cover of this song on their March 1998 EP 'Something For Now'. (BC)

The album 'Cold Fact' opens with the ultra trippy 'Sugar Man', which may well have been straight out of an acid trip. "Sugar man met a false friend on a lonely dusty road, lost my heart, when I found it, it had turned to dead black coal" suggests just where exactly the inspiration came from as he goes on to list jumpers, coke and sweet Mary Jane. More than any other Rodriguez song, it is 'Sugar Man' which personifies the artist in the minds of those who have always wondered. The eerie moog synthesizer, whistling in the background, the lazy and simple guitar chords and the dreamy nasal voice place the listener firmly in an era of fantasy. It sets a perfect tone for the album and the myth.
(Andrew Bond, 1998)

"I'm not for drugs, I never advocated drug taking" - Rodriguez, March 1998

Everything you ever wanted about Rodriguez at:
http://www.rock.co.za/files/rodriguez.html
____________________________________________

13.LINKS AND ADVERTS
-----------------------

ARTISTS:

SA ROCK LEGENDS
http://rock.co.za/legends

SA MUSICIANS ON THE NET FROM A TO Z
http://members.tripod.lycos.nl/Rembrandt/SAArtists.html

ROBIN AULD
http://www.robinauld.co.za

BERNARD BINNS
http://www.bernardbinns.co.za

PIET BOTHA & JACK HAMMER
http://rock.co.za/legends/pietbotha

KOOS KOMBUIS
http://www.kooskombuis.co.za

LITTLE SISTER
http://www.rock.co.za/littlesister

OFF THE EDGE
http://rock.co.za/offtheedge

SPRINGBOK NUDE GIRLS
http://www.nudegirls.co.za

VALIANT SWART
http://www.valiant.co.za

TITUS
http://www.crosswinds.net/~glassmoon/titus/titus.htm

ARCHIVES:

THE LEGENDS OF SOUTH AFRICAN ROCK
Where SA rock legends still live
http://rock.co.za/legends

SOUTH AFRICA'S ROCK FILES
The online archive for the History of South African Rock
http://rock.co.za/sarock

MESSAGE BOARD:

TOO GOOD TO BE FORGOTTEN
Post your message on the SA Rock message board
http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb311757

NEWS:

AMUZINE
News, views, reviews and interviews
http://rock.co.za/

ARTSMART
Arts news from Kwazulu-Natal
http://www.artsmart.co.za

POWERZONE
News, classifieds and much more...
http://www.powerzone.co.za/

WALL OF SOUND
Up-to-date news on the International music scene
http://www.wallofsound.com

WHATS ON:

BARLEYCORN
Cape Town's Music Club
http://twisted.co.za/barleycorn/

THE BIG TREE
Gant's Centre, Strand
http://www.icon.co.za/~diner/gigs.htm

HARBOUR MUSIC CLUB
The Troubadour, Kalk Bay

Every Wednesday night 8:30
Entrance R15 - bar available

Information:
Rob Anderson (021) 7891021
mailto:anderson@botzoo.uct.ac.za
Nadia Scaillet (021) 4489834
mailto:noid@netactive.co.za

TAMBOER
Pretoria entertainment guide
http://www.tamboer.co.za

TUMBLEWEEDS
5 Section Street
Paarden Eiland
Cape Town
Contact: Nikki (021) 510 6371

ZA@PLAY
What's on around South Africa
http://www.mg.co.za/mg/art/music/menu-music.htm

SHOPS:

MUSICA
SA's music retail chain
http://www.musica.co.za

ONE WORLD
Selling South African Music to the World
http://www.oneworld.co.za/

OUTLAW RECORDS, CAPE TOWN
http://www.outlawrecords.co.za

Branches at:
Cape Town Central (021) 4238145
Wynberg (021) 7972482
Claremont (021) 6717887

RENEGADE MUSIC
New & Used CD's

Strand concourse Cape Town
Tel (021) 4185436

N1 City Goodwood
Tel (021) 5952436

VIBES MUSIC
N1 CITY, CAPE TOWN
Phone (021) 5953220
mailto:vibes@fast.co.za

RECORD COMPANIES, LABELS & STUDIOS:

BEATROOT MUSIC
http://www.beatrootmusic.co.za/beatrootmusic.htm

BMG
The Usual, Just Jinger, TKZee and others
http://www.click2music.co.za/

CAVEMAN PRODUCTIONS
Kevin Shirley's website
http://www.cavemanproductions.com

FRESH MUSIC
Independent multi-faceted music group
http://www.fresh.co.za

GALLO MUSIC
Supporting South African Music
http://www.gallo.co.za/

INDIE MUSIC EXPLOSION
indie.co.za

MELT2000
Independent label
http://www.melt2000.com

MIGHTY MUSIC PRODUCTIONS
http://www.mightymusic.co.za/

MOUNTAIN RECORDS
Music from and about Africa
http://www.mountain-africa.com

MUSIC FOR THE MASSES
Off Centre * Tic Tic Bang * Season To Taste * Shrapnel
Local & imported product
mailto:tictic@iafrica.com
mailto:tasty@iafrica.com

RADIUM WRECKORDS
The home of the Radio Rats, The Glee Club, the Chauffeurs
and the Pop Guns

Radium Wreckords
Suite 207
Postnet
Private Bag X10
Flamwood
2572
Klerksdorp
mailto:jhandley@aghs.co.za

RIESTER INTERNATIONAL RECORDS
Independent SA record company
http://www.riester-records.co.za/

SHEER SOUND
http://www.sheer.co.za

STREET LEVEL RECORDS
Cape Town's Independent Record Label
http://www.streetlevel.co.za/

SUNSET STUDIOS
Stellenbosch Recording Studio
http://www.freeyellow.com/members2/sunsetsound/index.html

TEQUILA MUSIC
The Home of African Music
http://www.tequila.co.za

TL MASTERING
http://www.tl-mastering.com
Digital Mastering, Editing and Remastering
mailto:prozak@iafrica.com
phone: 082 701 5096

RESOURCES:

BACKSTAGE
The Musician's Resource
backstage.co.za/

PEDRO THE MUSIC MAN
Music teacher
http://users.iafrica.com/m/mu/musicman

ROCK ARCHIVE CD-ROM
For more info or to buy/trade this CD-ROM contact:
Werner Regenthal
mailto:wrkohnse@zaz.com.br

ROCK DAY BY DAY
The history of rock as it happened
http://www.rockdaybyday.com

SHOW VILLAGE
sound - lights - dance
http://www.showvillage.co.za

MAGAZINES:

AMUZINE
African Music Magazine
http://rock.co.za

SLY
Online magazine
http://www.sly.co.za/

STAGE
SA Music magazine
http://www.stage.co.za

TOP FORTY
http://topforty.worldonline.co.za

RADIO:

DINOSAUR DAYS
The radio show, the CDs, the website
http://www.dinosaurdays.co.za

CAPITAL RADIO 604
Remembering Capital 604 (1979 to 1996)
http://www.Capital604.com

FMC RADIO
Internet radio supporting local music
http://www.fullmoonconcerts.co.za

SAFM
South African Radio Station
http://www.safm.co.za

BOOKS:

THE HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Garth Chilvers and Tom Jasiukowicz (TOGA, 1994)
http://www.rock.co.za/files/book_order.html

KOOS se SONGS
Koos Kombuis
http://www.oneworld.co.za

TRIVIA:

CLIMB UP ON MY MUSIC
A site dedicated to Rodriguez, the Sugar Man
http://www.rock.co.za/files/rodriguez.html

IMAGES OF ROCK
Your Ultimate Rock And Roll Experience
http://www.imagesofrock.com

POP SHOP TRACK LISTINGS
A tribute to those great Pop Shop albums
http://members.tripod.lycos.nl/Rembrandt/PopShop/PopShopHome.html

SPACE HYMNS
The only known website for Ramases
http://rock.co.za/ramases

VAGABOND'S WORLD
a rock music trivia site
http://rock.co.za/vagabond

PIOTR'S GREEN PAGES
Discographies and lyrics for the legends of rock
http://www.zetosa.com.pl/piotrus/greenpages

FESTIVALS:

SPLASHY FEN
The festival, the CD, the book, the website
http://www.splashyfen.co.za

OPPIKOPPI
http://www.oppikoppi.co.za

RUSTLERS VALLEY
http://www.rustlers.co.za

MUSIC ON-LINE:

CDDB
CD Database Online
http://www7.cddb.com/

CDMAX
CD player for accessing the online CD database http://www.mindspring.com/~clark_tisdale/CDmax/

DIGITAL CUPBOARD
African music, MP3s and more...
http://www.digitalcupboard.co.za

MP3.COM
Listen to MP3s of South African artists
http://www.mp3.com/regions/africa/south_africa/

MP3 SOFTWARE
Links to download sites
http://www.rock.co.za/files/mp3software.html

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14.BACK ISSUES
---------------

BACK ISSUES
http://rock.co.za/sarockdigest
On-line and keyword searchable
__________________________________________

15.CONTRIBUTIONS
-----------------

This e-mag is a discussion forum for rock and pop music --
South African and International -- past, present and future.

All contributions are welcome, send them to:
http://rock.co.za/contact

or email Brian Currin at:
mailto:brian.currin@new.co.za

All contributions in plain text e-mail format with no attachments, please.

The following types of contributions may be ignored
as they take a while to fix:

HTML format e-mails (Outlook users, please note)
e-mails all in lowercase
e-mails all in CAPITALS
e-mails with attachments

Any e-mail with an ".exe" file attached will be automatically trashed so please don't even try.
________________________________________

16.SUBSCRIPTIONS
----------------

Send an e-mail to mailto:brian.currin@new.co.za with any words or phrases that vaguely indicate acceptance or... visit http://rock.co.za/sarockdigest and fill in the simple form.

--------

Want to unsubscribe from this e-mag?

Surely not, but if you really must, then just reply to this e-mail,
saying "I'm bored" or "get me out of here" or "I've had enough" or whatever. I'll get the idea, eventually.

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