21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Wrong Track Listing is Shown for This Item, May 4 2006
By Thomas E. Moore "thomasmoore6" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Somwhere In Afrika (Audio CD)
In fact, this is a great recording. What is NOT great is that Amazon lists the wrong tracks. The track listing is for the American version and includes the popular tracks "Runner" and "Rebel." The actual disc I received was the UK version lacking these tracks.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An African Flavored Art Rock Masterpiece, Mar 13 2001
By Dan Pine - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Somewhere in Afrika (Audio CD)
"Somewhere in Afrika" is a fabulous collection of socially conscious songs from art rock band, Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Originally recorded and released in Europe in 1982, the album was re-released 2 years later in 1984 to an international market, where it achieved notable attention.
This is a concept album that addresses themes concerning aparteid, and became a forerunner to many other musical projects that later addressed social concerns and international issues. (Paul Simon's "Graceland"/Peter Gabriel's solo work/Sun City project,to name a few, would shortly follow...)
Manfred Mann have incurred numerous incarnations in their 30+ years in the recording industry. They were among the first bands to grace the original british invasion, when they initially scored with their break through top 10 hit, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" in 1964. Thirteen years and several albums later, they charted with the top 10 album, "The Roaring Silence" and the cover of Bruce Springsteen's brilliant, "Blinded By The Light," (their only #1 chart hit.)
Interestingly enough, this album is their third greatest chart success, just gracing the top 40 (#40), at a time that there was a revival in british musicians on the music market. The music relies heavily on the synthesized sound, so characteristic of the generic 1980's. Yet, this album is unique in that it includes the presence of african chanting and worldbeat percussion, which differed significantly from what was frequently heard on mainstream radio at the time.
It did have one significant chart hit: "Runner" was the radio ready, undeniable hit single (#22), which included a video clip on MTV/music television, during its infancy. This is a consummate power ballad, that deserved more exposure at the time. I haven't seen this song on any of the many 1980's music compilations out there, but it definitely deserves its place in music history. It's an instrumental mood piece that strangely seems to be a counterpart of the classic instrumental "Chariots Of Fire" from Vangelis. The difference is that "Runner" is graced with a beautiful vocal from Chris Thompson, also known for his vocal delivery with the Alan Parson's Project, whereas the work from Vangelis was an instrumental.
The album also sports several notable covers: a revved up version of the Police's "Demolition Man" is an upbeat start to the album. They also do a noteworthy cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." One of my favorite tracks is the diverse "Afrika Suite" which is a 10 minute long musical piece comprised of several selections that seem to work together incredible well (similar to the construction of musical masterworks from the group "Yes" or "Renaissance" that come to mind at the moment). "Eyes Of Nostradamus" is another stunning highlight.
The CD release from One Way records includes bonus tracks, the extended versions of two tracks that appear on the original album, "Third World Service" and "Redemption Song (No Kwazulu)." It is graced with the original cover art and credits along with an african pictoral insert. There are no lyrics included, which in this instance is acceptable as it provokes a more stimulating and memorable listening experience. This is a first rate album, not to be missed...
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Earth Band gets back on track, July 25 2002
By BENJAMIN MILER - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Somewhere in Afrika (Audio CD)
In my opinion, I felt the Earth Band really started going downhill after Mick Rogers left the band. The band started to become more commercial, making me miss such albums as Solar Fire. Somewhere in Afrika was originally released in Europe in '82, but the American version, released in 1983 on Arista was the one the featured the hit single "Runner" which is not featured on the earlier version. Why I thought the Earth Band was redeeming themselves on this album is the interesting use of African sounds and rhythms to their sound. It's not unlike Paul Simon's Graceland or Peter Gabriel's So, released some four years later (1986). Also, really surprising, is to still hearing Mann using his Mini Moog on this album, unheard of by everyone else in '82. Given that Manfred Mann was born in South Africa (but residing in England, for obvious reasons), this album is more or less focusing the problems of his country of birth, in this case Apartheid and the injustices inflicted on the blacks by the ruling Apartheid class. I am really certain this album did not endear too well to the government at the time, but I hadn't heard anything about it either, so I'm just speculating. There's a few cover songs here including Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" and Al Stewart's "Nostradamus" (called "Eyes of Nostradamus" on this album). Other highlights here include "Third World Service", the title track, "Tribal Statistics", and "Africa Suite". It was becoming normal to hear pop mixed with African sounds by the mid 1980s, with albums like Graceland or So, but I think Somewhere in Afrika is one of the more interesting pop/African music albums of the 1980s I have heard.
