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CD
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SHAD 100CD
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South African acid-rock legends Freedom's Children recorded their second album in 1970 in South Africa for EMI. Formed at the height of the hated Apartheid era, Freedom's Children swiftly became South Africa's most innovative sons, incomparable to anyone both musically and politically during those turbulent years. Their explorative, sonic excursions pushed the musical envelope and broke down barriers, culminating in the groundbreaking Astra album, arguably one of the era's most overlooked recordings. The problem was, no one was listening beyond South Africa. Astra is their most well-known album among collectors. You can easily compare it to Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother. Musically, it follows the same rules, but with a heavier guitar sound -- a real complex, progressive underground album.
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CD
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SHAD 101CD
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This is Freedom's Children's first album, recorded in 1968 in South Africa for EMI. This album has all the wonderful excesses of early progressive rock; the deep meaningful poetry, spoken words, majestic organ-playing, sound effects, choirs, long guitar solos, etc. Ramsay MacKay's unusual Scottish/South African accent guides us through this album of contrasts. From the country sounds of "Country Boy" to the Traffic-style rock of "Judas Queen," this album does not let up for a moment. It rocks, it soothes, it challenges, it even refreshes (thanks to the inclusion of an old Pepsi advertisement). A great album and a mind-blowing debut.
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SHAD 102CD
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This is the third album by South Africa's Freedom's Children, originally released on the Parlophone label. The year is 1971, but the song is "1999." The group is Freedom's and the vibes are galactic. And now just over 30 years later, we can look back at "1999." This is a many-layered album, almost to the point of being cluttered, but this is what makes it interesting. Each time you listen you can hear something new, be it a tone in Brian Davidson's wailing vocals, a riff from Julian Laxton's screaming guitar, a sequence of notes from Barry Irwin's booming bass, the change from sticks to hands on Colin Pratley's awesome drumming, or merely putting your ear right up against the speaker to feel the presence of Ramsay MacKay on the live version of "The Homecoming." The centerpiece of Galactic Vibes is "The Homecoming," which appeared in a shorter version on Astra, but this live version has to be one of South Africa's epic tracks. Recorded live at the Out of Town Club (which, according to a copy of their flyer in the sleeve notes, advertised as a "steak parlor"), the track features a quite stunning and by all accounts legendary drum solo that lasts for the best part of 8 minutes before those dramatic guitar chords. Aside from this monstrous drumfest, the album features some blistering, fuzz-edged guitars on the thundering "That Did It" as well as the quieter and beautiful "Fields And Me." There is also the experimental keyboard piece, "The Crazy World Of Pod: Electronic Concerto," which is just short enough not to become irritating. The orchestration on "About The Dove And His King" adds a beauty and quality sheen to what is quite a rough rock sound, which is due mainly to the inventive recording methods used. With layers of overdubs and no noise reduction, this method created what the sleeve notes describe as a "musical mystical mist of sound." This is a wonderful way to describe the slightly distorted guitars and vague hissing sounds. These guys were breaking barriers not only in South Africa's rather narrow 1970s rock world, but would have broken through numerous perceived limitations on the world stage, had the world bothered to listen. Galactic Vibes is an album that South Africans can be proud of, even 30 years later. It is a great musical achievement that can be hauled out again and again and simply marvelled at.
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3CD BOX
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SHAD 104BOX
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Deluxe 3CD box set edition of these albums, previously issued on vinyl by Shadoks. These 3 CDs will also be available separately, but this version puts these together in a heavy cardboard box, like the Blops CD on Shadoks. This box set edition is limited to 300 copies. Shadoks Music presents all three records by Freedom's Children, now collected together, after two years of struggle and hard work with tons of help from collectors in South Africa, England, Austria and the U.S.A. Since all mastertapes were lost in a big fire, they had to be mastered from the original vinyl, using two or three mint copies of each album to make the best possible sounding product. All three albums are the most wanted albums ever from South Africa. Some call them "The Pink Floyd of South Africa," and if the political situation in S.A. at that time would have been easier, they would have had the same status in the international music market as Pink Floyd. Beautifully composed songs, amazing instrumentation, well-crafted guitar work and great singers. The extra-heavy prog sound beats most albums in the same direction coming from the UK or U.S.A. Three absolute masterpieces.
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