From South Africa to South Carolina

by Brian Jackson

Overview

Thanks to minor hits in the early '70s, such as "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," "The Bottle," and "Home Is Where the Hatred Is," Gil Scott-Heron achieved notoriety as a groundbreaking social critic, poet, and musician. On 1975's FROM SOUTH AFRICA TO SOUTH CAROLINA, Scott-Heron collaborated with musical director Brian Johnston to embolden the many contrasting elements of his Afrocentric, post-R&B palette. Though highly recommended for powerful cuts critiquing nuclear buildup and South African apartheid that sound as fresh today as they did 24 years ago, the album also contains music as powerful as his politics (check the elegant "A Toast to the People" and the lustrous "A Lovely Day"). This TVT reissue is also noteworthy for live bonus tracks recorded later in Scott-Heron's career, including takes on "Johannesburg, South Carolina" and "Save the Children," and a version of "Let Me See Your I.D." that features Miles Davis and Grandmaster Melle Mel.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/07/1998
Label:	Tvt
UPC:	0016581434028
catalogNumber:	4340

Tracks

1. Johannesburg
2. A Toast To The People
3. The Summer of '42
4. Beginnings (The First Minute Of A New Day)
5. South Carolina (Barnwell)
6. Essex
7. Fell Together
8. A Lovely Day
9. Johannesburg
10. South Carolina (Barnwell)
11. Save The Children
12. Let Me See Your I.D.

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Brian Jackson   Primary Artist,Synthesizer,Flute,Keyboards,Vocals,Moog Synthesizer,Track Performer
Big Youth   Track Performer
Adenola   Percussion,Conga
Bilal Sunni Ali   Flute,Harmonica,Saxophone
Duke Bootee   Track Performer
Danny Bowens   Bass Guitar
Victor Brown   Percussion,Tambourine,Vocals,Bells
Peter Garrett   Track Performer
Grandmaster Melle Mel   Track Performer
Charles Saunders   Conga,Drums
Gil Scott-Heron   Guitar,Piano,Electric Piano,Vocals
Barnett Williams   Percussion
Victor Bowens   Tambourine,Vocals,Bells
Midnight Band   Band
Charlie Saunders   Conga,Chinese Drums
Bob Adams   Drums

Technical Credits

Brian Jackson   Producer
Ralph Moss   Contributor
Gil Scott-Heron   Producer,Liner Notes
Jerry Solomon   Remixing
Jose Williams   Engineer
Midnight Band   Producer
David Lau   Artwork
Adam Shore   Executive Producer
Vera Savcic   Executive Producer
James King   Illustrations

Editorial Reviews

The collaboration between Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson was now a formal one, as they were issuing albums as a team. This was their second duo project to make the pop charts, and it included anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid themes, plus less political, more autobiographical
eflective material like "Summer of '42," "Beginnings (The First Minute of a New Day)," and "Fell Together." Scott-Heron was now a campus and movement hero, and Jackson's production and arranging savvy helped make his albums as arresting musically as they were lyrically.

All Music Guide - Ron Wynn