From South Africa to South Carolina
Gil-Scott Heron pulled few punches on this powerful 1975 release, his second effort with the Midnight Band. The jazz here ("Summer of '42," "Essex") is hard, flint-edged stuff, dipped in funk and Latin percussion. The ballads ("Beginnings," "A Lovely Day") are pretty, and the lyrics (especially on "A Toast to the People") are potent. The Clash's Mick Jones, a fan of Scott-Heron's, once toldRolling Stonethat "people would rather dance than fight wars," but "Johannesburg" and the nuclear-power-protesting "South Carolina (Barnwell)" prove you can do both at the same time. Bonus tracks include live versions of the latter as well as the in-your-face anthem "Let Me See Your I.D." from the 1985Sun Cityproject.--Michael Ruby