Gil Scott-Heron

Those who thought that GSH's hit "The Bottle" was a one-off fluke were in for a shock when this even more overtly political work raced up the charts in 1976. The wish spelled out in the opening track, "Johannesburg," has happily come to fruition, but the album's best track, the propulsive "Barnwell," is an early environmental anthem that condemns more subtle American racism with equal passion. "Lovely Day" proves that Gil Scott-Heron scores when he goes into personal territory.

With From South Africa to South Carolina, Gil Scott-Heron, a gifted poet and rapidly
maturing musician and singer, and Brian Jackson, composer/arranger/instrumentalist and
talented counterpart in the Midnight Band, have reached an impasse: the dramatic impact
of the lyrics, always a key element in the Midnight Band's music, now seems forced from
sketchy, rather ambiguous real-life situations. The message is an increasingly fru... More >

This is what happened to Pharoah Sanders and I say yeah. The danceability of Jackson's music reifies the tribal aspirations of new-thing avant-gardism just as Scott-Heron's talent for modest analysis brings all that cosmic politicking down to earth. Also, I'm really getting to like Scott-Heron's singing--his instrument will never equal Leon Thomas's or Pharoah's, but that's not what it's about. (Grade - B+)