VINYL: VG

There are a couple of areas to note, as for 4-5 revolutions on track 2 and a couple more at the start of track 3 Side B, there is a loud click, but hardly any other poor areas so it warrants a VG. Some minor crackle, but closer to VG+ on other tracks. Remember this is a South African recording and almost 50 years old.

LABEL: Ex

COVER: VG

It’s a little scruffy especially around the opening. It’s gatefold with a couple of creases on the spine and the lamination has lifted a little on the back. The spine is clearly legible. Also a touch of ringwear on the back . But the cover back and front is very clear. Please see photos.

Side 1

1. Pollution
2. All the same
3. Original man
4. Silver trees

Side 2

1. In a space
2. Moving away
3. Two
4. Blue Wednesday speaks
5. It’s alright with me

By pass this and you will miss an absolute rarity. They didn’t last long, started as a backing band for a local belly dancer in a South African hotel, soon saw her off, and produced in total 3 LP’s, this being the second.

And actually, if you toned this down a little, turned up the heat in your music room, and replaced your cup of tea / beer with a cocktail, you could be forgiven for imagining this, at times, bluesy; jazz influenced music, going down really well in downtown Durban. I suspect a mixed audience, in those days, it was not.

A mixture of organ, flute and saxophone drifts in and out of this recording. The vocals lack a little at times, especially on Original man, but there is a lovely, rolling dreamy melody to many of the songs. Many could easily drift on and on as the warmth of the sun disappeared for the day and I think that is where the strengths of this LP sit. Three of the band were credited with playing the flute, three with lead vocals so delegation wasn’t an issue for them.  It has a variation, it doesn’t lull you into a particular comfort zone. It takes you around corners to somewhere else. The juxtaposition of ‘Blue Wednesday breaks’ and ‘It’s alright with me’ is brave. Either that or they didn’t know how to sequence their tracks. I’d go for the former.

Overall, it’s a lovely insight into South African music of the time, tonally influenced from many different directions. The world, and especially South Africa was a different place in those days and probably one of very few whereby a band can be invited to play at their local hotel one minute, and the next, be cutting LP’s of this nature.

There is no record as to what happened to the belly dancer.