Johnny Clegg with Savuka & Juluka - Live! and More...
Though still relatively unknown in America, South African musician Johnny Clegg has been a significant presence in Europe and Africa for several decades--and deservedly so, as the comprehensive, entertainingJohnny Clegg with Savuka & Jaluka: Live! and More...makes clear. Clegg was born in England but has lived in Africa since infancy, and his commingling of those two cultures began in earnest in the '70s, when he formed Juluka, whose interracial lineup (Clegg himself is white) and politically charged songs made for a heady, controversial brew at a time when apartheid was still the rule. Those days are recalled here via concert footage and early videos (including "Scatterlings of Africa," probably their best-known tune), but much of the DVD is devoted to live and video footage of Savuka, Clegg's next band (which included newcomers as well as Juluka veterans), which he formed in '86 and is still going strong. Many songs are devoted to Africa's various plights, but lyrical content notwithstanding, this music--with its nimble bass lines, West African guitar styles (played by Clegg himself; he's also a superb dancer), and combination of infectious Western pop melodies and traditional Zulu sounds--is downright irresistible. It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to call Clegg the "African Elvis," a musician who adapted black music and made it available to a broad commercial audience. Best of all,Live! and More...will make you smile.--Sam Graham