While it cannot be ignored that this compilation was released within the year following Paul Simon's Graceland it is more along the lines of an underground classic. Here is the music that inspired Simon to make music in that vein and be unusually successful for a white person at it. Featuring music recorded between 1981 and 1984, these are the sounds that defined South African pop right as the time the rest of the world took notice. With its cover as memorable as the music, I had been meaning to pick it up since reading about it as a child and saw a cheap used copy at Sound Sations just yesterday. It is the perfect next stop both directly from Simon, or for those who have already ventured into the likes of the Bhundu Boys.
It is a pretty good look at South African heartland culture as well as the diverse styles heard here reflect the unique communities in which they come from complete with their own heritage and re-interpretation of Western pop. While all of it contains Western instrumentation with elecric guitar, bass guitar, and drum kits on almost every track the inclusion of tradition instruments varies for every artist and cheap synthesizers make their fair share of appearances. Structures are distinctly un-Western, but the true heart of pop is there and all of these songs are catchy. As drony and repetitive as some tracks can be they stick with the listener and are more enjoyable even to the least sophisticated ear as anything on the radio in the past 15 years. "Sobabamba" is probably the best example with its raga-esque repetition and use of microtones making it one of the most exotic, yet enjoyable tracks on this classic compilation. The rest are on the same level.
The Indestructable Beat of Soweto (1987)
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