Lost & Found pt 1-Wanda Arletti -Love Power!!!

Lost & Found is a new series to start the week..music from the 60s by South African white artists. Maybe these songs and sounds were lost for years but not forgotten. Today I want to present a record by beat girl Wanda Arletti; “Love Power!!!”, easily one of the best albums of the 60s. ‘Love Power’ holds all the elements of a true classic pop record, a tour de force of soulful beat music made in South Africa.

There is a certain reminiscence of the silky soul of Dusty Springfield in covers of ‘I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today’ and the inevitable ”Son of a Preacher Man“ but the repertoire and vocal excellence is powerfully defined by Wanda Arletti. She covers these well known songs very well and makes them her own.

She was born Wanda Arletowicz  in Hackney, England of Polish parents and as a teenager sang for South Africa’s beat group The Staccatos, later  married the group’s guitarist, Richard Crouse and recorded a few memorable albums like “Love Power’, a record that has well aged and on review here today.

Motown, Phil Spector, Dusty Springfield, Burt Bacharach are just a few of the many other influences that show through on the 12 tracks presented here.

The production holds it own and adds a mesmerizing sound played by competent musicians.The album is packed with  powerful vocals that are emotional, over a lush and minimal orchestration by one of South Africa’s most popular and talented composers and artists; Art Heatlie, who also produced this album.

 

 Wanda Arletti -Love Power!!!

Wanda Arletti -Love Power

Wanda Arletti -Take Me For A Little While

Wanda Arletti -Son Of A Preacher Man

Wanda Arletti -It Was Easier To Hurt Him

Release info: Wanda Arletti “Love Power!!!” NEM, nems 301, May 1969

Wanda Arletti -Zanzibar

And as a bonus to today’s post here is a later single “ZANZIBAR” released in May 1971 to reach nr.2 in worldwide charts on November 27 in 1970 to stay in the highest regions for another 13 weeks. Surely a well deserved hit but it’s the B-side that counts,  ”Wanna Share A Rainbow” written by Wanda Arletti.  The song is a soulful big ballad that grows and grows into a divine vocal seduction by one of South Africa’s greatest voices in pop.

Wanda Arletti -Walk Us Around A Rainbow

Release info: Pink Elephant PE 22.558Y Demo production copy. Belgium 07-04-1971

Thanks to Tertius Louw at the online South African Rock Encyclopedia

the Bleached Zulu Pt 4 -Savage Sounds from South Africa

 

John E Sharpe and The Squires

 

Good day to all. Until the end of apartheid not many people had heard about bands like The Hobos, Beau Brummel, Birds Of A Feather or John E. Sharpe & The Squires… Because of the apartheid system there was a big international boycot in the 60′s and 70′s so many South African bands never had a chance to show the world their skills and the records were pressed in small quantities and mainly distributed in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town.  When apartheid ended, many collectors of Beat and Garage flocked fairs and the internet searching for rare goodies, top prices were paid. All that has changed now that the music becomes more and more widely available, but some of the originals are still very hard to locate.

John E Sharpe and The Squires -Yours For Picking

The album ‘Savage Sounds from South Africa’ is a bootleg, pressed in a hand numbered and limited edition of 500.  The artwork is identical to the ‘Jungle Drums’ album by The Shangaans but the selection of music on offer is an entire different story. It is a sample, although limited, which reflect the local SA scene of obscure white Beat-Garage bands of the 60′s very well.  Their music is based upon American and English examples but has developed a unique flavor that’s typical for South Africa. Sometimes psychedelic, full with raw energy and lack of conventional rules. And surprisingly, as  The Shangaans show,  blending traditional instruments and songs of indigenous tribes of the South African continent.

Birds Of A Feather -Come On Up Rare Sixties Beat-Garage Growlers from Beyond the Cape of Good Hope

Side 1
1 Them – One Time Too Many
2 The Zeroes – Work All Day (Sleep All Night)
3 Beau Brummel – Someone To Love
4 John E. Sharpe & The Squires – Yours For The Picking
5 Group ’66 – I Know About Love
6 Them – I Want To Be Rich Again
7 The Gonks – Woman Yeah
8 The Shangaans – Yeh Girl
9 The Upsetters – Pain In My Heart

Side 2
1 The Hobos – If I Ever Saw You
2 Them – It’s A Day
3 Birds Of A Feather – Come On Up
4 The In-Crowd – Come Back
5 The Difference – I Wonder Why
6 John E. Sharpe & The Squires – Monkey Shine
7 The Shangaans – Liwa Wechi (Lee-wa Weck-ee)
8 The Zeroes – I Can’t Explain
9 John E. Sharpe & The Squires – I’ll Explain

See also South Africa’s Rock.com database for a comprehensive discography on most groups featured here and more…

the Bleached Zulu Pt 3 -The Shangaans -frontiers of Afrocentric Rock

If there is one white pop band that deserves to be crowned as the Bleached Zulu then it must be the South African group The Shangaans. They even adopted their name from an African tribe noted for their musical virtuosity. In a previous post I have highlighted the song “Liwa Wechi”, the B-side of their hitsingle “The Click Song” (Columbia 45-DSA 612, 1965)

Now here are a few selections from their 1965 debut album “Jungle Drums”, remarkable fact is that both tracks were written by Miriam Makeba. The album was released in the UK and spawned many hit singles and a overseas career for the 5 young guys known as The Shangaans. Not a bad achievement considering the fact that the international boycot against South African apartheid then ruled the world.

The Shangaans -Ntijilo, Ntjilo

The fusion of conventional western world melodies and lyrics with pulsating African tribal rhythms –as perfected by South Africa’s top group The Shangaans –represents one of the most exciting, out-of-the-rut sounds ever heard on the British music scene. After hitting the highspots throughout South Africa, the five-strong Shangaans arrived in the UK in the summer of 1965 and immediately clicked in a big way with fans via two big –selling songs “Genzene” and “The Click Song”. Now comes their first album and the overall title ‘Jungle Drums’ aptly summarizes their unique, highly individual style of exotic, percussion-based pop music.

The use of stereophonic sound greatly enriches the never-ending cross-pattern of percussive sounds from a wide variety of authentic African instruments –including chopi piano, kalimba, and any amount of big and small tribal drums. Although basically an instrumental set –with such highspots as the throbbing revival of the Lou Busch favourite, “Zambezi”, and the kwela flavoured “Afrikaan Beat” –The Shangaans, nevertheless, are accomplished singers too, and show their paces in fine style on “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (perhaps better known in some quarters as “Wimoweh”.

The Shangaans -Jikal ‘Emaweni

Who are The Shangaans? Their names are Grahame Beggs, Alain Woolf, Mark Barry, Bill Muller and Glen “Tich” Muller. They represent the cream of the South African music scene, since all five have made their mark in the past with other leading groups. Individually, they are brilliant musicians; collectively, they make a remarkable, multi-talented outfit. Grahame doubles lead, rhythm and 12-string guitars, plus maracas and African drums, whilst Alain handles the lead, vocals, penny whistle, and a host of percussion instruments. Organist Mark is also featured on piano, celeste, chopi piano, and vibraphone, and Bill Muller doubles drums, thumb piano and African drums. Younger brother Glen completes the picture on bass guitar, doubling African percussion.

musical selections from The Shangaans -”Jungle Drums”

Columbia Mono 33JSX 76, 1965 South Africa

Tracklist

A1 Taboo

A2 Yellow Bird

A3 Afrikaan Beat

A4 Watusi

A5 Skokiaan

A6 The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)

B1 Zambezi

B2 A Swingin’ Safari

B3 Ntjilo, Ntjilo

B4 Inhlazane

B5 Jikal ‘Emaweni

B6 Voodoo Drums

Credits

Bass Guitar, Percussion – Glen “Tich” Muller

Drums, Thumb Piano, Percussion – Bill Muller

Guitar, Vocals, Percussion – Grahame Beggs

Organ, Piano, Vibraphone, Celeste, Chopi Piano – Mark Barry

Vocals, Percussion, Whistle – Alain Woolf

Info taken from the liner notes written by Dave Wynn for “Jungle Drums” album released in 1965.

The Flames update;The Rutles with Rikki Fataar

a rather curious update on Rikki Fataar, member of The Flames was sent by reader lightningclap who says;  Ricky Fataar was also a member of the TV Beatles parody group “The Rutles”.

Of course, I had to investigate that interesting note and found the following info on the web  and even discovered a single released in 1979 by The Rutles in my collection. See also my previous post on The Flames.

The Rutles with Rikki Fataar in the middle

The Rutles, also known as the Prefab Four,  are a band that are known for their visual and aural pastiches and parodies of The Beatles. Originally created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes as a fictional band to be featured as part of various 1970s television programming, the group evolved into a real band that recorded, toured, and released two UK chart hits.

Initially created for a short sketch in Idle’s UK television comedy series Rutland Weekend Television, The Rutles gained international fame after being the focus of the 1978 mockumentary television film, All You Need Is Cash (often referred to as just The Rutles).

The Rutles -I Must Be In Love

The band that recorded the actual music was slightly different to the band that appeared on camera, as Idle did not take part in the recording process. On the soundtrack release of the music from All You Need Is Cash, The Rutles were officially:

Neil Innes: guitar, keyboards, vocals. Innes sang the John Lennon-inspired songs.

Ollie Halsall: guitar, keyboards, vocals. Halsall sang the Paul McCartney-inspired songs.

Stig O’Hara (styled after George Harrison) — played by Rikki Fataar: guitar, bass, sitar, tabla, vocals. Fataar sang the George Harrison-inspired songs.

John Halsey: percussion, vocals. Halsey sang the Ringo Starr- inspired songs.

Andy Brown: bass

Thanks lightningclap for the update.

The Flames – Soulfire!! South Africa’s soul super group

The Flames -For Your Precious Love 1968

like most good posts on these pages this story starts with finding a 45 in a dusty garage somewhere in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. That was the beginning. Later on, I unearthed a battered album called ‘Soulfire!!’  that was still playable. But what a sound! And what a history!!

ladies & gentlemen, here are The Flames!!

The Flames 1965 Debonair magazine

Soul ballads,  danceable tunes with the odd sitar thrown in the mix, pyschedelic pop with strong vocals by singers Steve Fataar,  Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin; elements that  made me search for the perfect copy of their album ‘Soulfire!!’. Finally, in a warehouse somewhere in Durban (thanks Chris) I found a SEALED MINT copy of this rare gem. Now, that’s what you’ve got friends for!!!

But my search went on…

The Flames 1968 Drum magazine

All members of The Flames were born and raised in Durban, a huge melting pot, the third biggest city of South Africa in the Natal province. The city, along the Indian Ocean,  has the biggest Indian population outside Bombay and together with the Zulu native peoples and white merchants they build beautiful Durban; a harbor, a hub of frantic action and endless urban development. In the 50′s Durban’s coastline was famous for it’s scenic beauty and soon became a coastal resort, attracting many holiday makers and retired permanent residents.

The Flames -If You Think You’re Groovy 1968

‘Soulfire!!’ is without a doubt a masterpiece of South African soul music. From 1964 until 1967  the line-up consisted of  Steve Fataar on guitar, Brother Fataar on bass, Ricky Fataar on drums and vocalist Edries Fredericks on guitar. This was the lineup that produced the first two albums, and more singles. Edries left the Flames after having sung lead on both these albums. He  was briefly replaced by Baby Duval in 1967. The same year  the group was joined by Blondie Chaplin. He can be heard as lead singer on the single ‘For Your Precious Love’ released in 1968.  Together with  Ricky Fataar he became a  full member of the American super group The Beach Boys from 1971 to 1973, during which time the albums ‘So Tough’, ‘Holland’ and ‘In Concert’ were made and released.  Ricky Fataar also did session drumming for other records by individual Beach Boys members.

When The Flames arrived in the United States in 1970 at the invitation of Al Jardine and Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys, they changed their name to The Flame, since there was competition from reggae  group The Flames and James Brown’s own The Famous Flames. They started writing new material; powerful rockers, ballads, mood pieces  and symphonic masterpieces that got a release on Brother, a local Nashville, Tennessee record label. The album was produced by Carl Wilson and it must be their rarest release ever,  since it was distributed only locally in the beginning. Later on it was released in Uruguay, the Netherlands, the UK and Canada.

The Flame -Brother Fataar, Mike Love, Steve Fataar, Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Dennis Wilson Ricky Fataar, Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin-photograph courtesy of the Lee Dempsey Collection

‘Burning Soul’ and ‘Soulfire!!’ however, remain The Flames best known commercial albums. These have been re-issued many times over the years, mainly in South Africa, although ‘Burning Soul’ was released in Australia as well as in the UK.   Their music still stands the test of time.

RECOMMENDED LISTENING

Soulfire!! (mono edition)
label & number: Rave RMG 1234
date: April 1968

this article contains excerpts and pics courtesy of The Flames official website by Bas Möllenkramer.

the flames promo pic from compilation ‘It’s Happening 1967′ . Fontana Records SA