Latin Quarter "Swimming Against the Stream" (1989)

Swimming Against the Stream

release date: Apr. 1989

format: digital (11 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]

producer: David Kershenbaum, Paul McKenna

label: RCA - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Swimming Against the Stream" - 2. "Blameless" - 4. "Model Son" - 5. "After Maralinga" - 6. "Dominion" - 10. "It Makes My Heart Stop Speaking"

3rd studio album by Latin Quarter following a little more than two years after Mick and Caroline (Jan. '87). Since then, the band has been reduced to a quartet consisting of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Steve Skaith, lead guitarist Richard Wright, bassist Greg Harewood and keyboardist & vocalist Yona Dunsford, while songwriter Mike Jones still 'only' delivers the lyrics to the music, which is all credited Skaith. On this, we notice the contributions by David Lindley on guitar, banjo and mandolin, Denny Fongheiser on drums, Tony Waerea on didgeridoo, Judy Gameral on dulcimer, and Paulinho Da Costa as percussionist. James Swinson is responsibe for the cover art, just as he has been on the band's former albums.

Musically, not much has happened since the debut Modern Times from '85. Latin Quarter narrates about the usual subjects and the style is held tight in melodic pop / rock with bits and inspiration from pop reggae and folk. In that way you don't really notice a progression, where the small variations may lie in the fact that Jones writes the lyrics - and they do tend to touch on naiivity - be it deliberate or not. To summarise, this isn't entirely bad - it does contain good tracks but also songs that echo some sort of recycling. Even though it appears as quite coherent, it isn't exactly great. It's good craftsmanship and then perhaps not much more.

The band's debut arguably raised some recognition, the second album was positively notised especially in Germany, Sweden and in Switzerland, whereas this doesn't seem to have been welcomed that well. I haven't been able to find any registered positions from Britain, and in Germany and Sweden the album reached positions as number 38 and 50 respectively on the album chart lists. This progression has continued the following years, where none of the band's releases have led to positions, anywhere. Latin Quarter where inactive from '97 until 2010, but since then and onwards to 2021, they have released another seven albums.

Latin Quarter "Mick and Caroline" (1987)

Mick and Caroline

release date: Jan. 1987

format: vinyl / digital (2009 reissue)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]

producer: Jason Coraro

label: Rockin' Horse / Arista - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Remember" - 4. "Nomzamo (One People One Cause)" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Negotiating with a Loaded Gun" - 6. "Burn Again" - 7. "Love Has Gone" (4 / 5) - 8. "The Night" - 10. "The Men Below"

2nd studio album by Latin Quarter, who now appears to have been 'promoted' from the sublabel Rockin' Horse to its mother company of Arista. Since the predecessor keyboardist Steve Jeffries and drummer Richard Stevens respectively, have been replaced by Martin Lascalles and Darren Abraham.

This one follows closely in the established sound and style found on the debut Modern Times (1985), although, it does turn out as a more coherent whole. Several strong compositions make it a better release including the band's greatest track ever: "Nomazamo (One People One Cause)". Nevertheless, it also contain some fillers, and on an overall level, the lyrics tend to reflect the same one-dimensional trait you'll find on the debut: a political correctness mixed with songs about social, racial, and global injustice - all effectuated with a raised finger in a sort of naive approach, as some know-it-all, at least in the long run, but "Nomazamo" nearly raises this album to utter greatness.

Mick and Caroline is imho the band's best studio album.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

<  show lyrics >

~ ~ ~
"Nomzamo"

"Nine children in one family
Nine Xhosa Wars
Nomzamo in 1960
Already victim of her country's law
I say 'laws', why dignify
The Sjamboks and the slammed cell doors?
In twenty years they gave her nineteen sentences - still
One People! One Cause!
One People! One Cause!
Nomzamo! Nomzamo...

Named 'Trial' but how often can
You take the stand?
Nomzamo left glued in Brandfort
Twenty years for a touch of his hand
But in touch and in the face of
The Robben Islands and the bleak Pollsmoors
I see 'separate' - I see 'development' - still
One People! One Cause!
One People! One Cause!
Nomzamo! Nomzamo...
Nomzamo - you say it's part of your soul
Nomzamo - one day you'll paint it
Red, black, green and gold...

Told today that they release you
That you had paid your debt
Nomzamo in her own damn country
How much more boorish can these people get?
But you refuse to get the message
Of waving whips, in bloody semaphore
Where only gunfire's indiscriminate - as always
One People! One Cause!
One People! One Cause!
Nomzamo! Nomzamo..."

~ ~ ~

Latin Quarter "Modern Times" (1985)

Modern Times [debut]
release date: 1985
format: digital (1989 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Pete Hammond & Latin Quarter
label: Rocking Horse / RCA - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Modern Times" (4 / 5) (live in 2012) - 3. "Radio Africa" (4 / 5) (live in 2012) - 5. "America for Beginners" - 6. "Eddie" - 10. "Truth About John"

Studio album debut by London-based Latin Quarter released on the smaller Arista-owned company Rocking Horse (reissued in '89 by RCA). The band has been through various line-ups over the years but here they count eight [!] members fronted by Steve Skaith as lead vocalist and guitarist, Richard Wright on guitar and backing vocals, Greg Harewood on bass, Yona Dunsford as vocalist and on piano, Steve Jeffries on keyboards and backing vocals, Carol Douet as vocalist and on percussion, Richard Stevens on drums and percussion, and with Mike Jones, who alone is credited as songwriter.

The music is characterised by a solid (left-wing) political stand as well as a socially-engaged attitude with roots in reggae, world music but still framed in a pop / rock kontext with stress on 'pop'.

I believe, the first tracks, I ever heard on the radio by this band were the title song and "Radio Africa". Both still hold quite nicely, although, they are shrouded by stemming from another period, mostly due to their strong political content and the use of synthetic drums. Other songs have aged with lesser success and mostly appear as naive. Stilewise, the band could sound as a pop-clone of music by Peter Gabriel, Men At Work and the later, and likewise politically and socially engaged collective, Chumbawumba.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]