From South Africa To South Carolina (with Brian Jackson)

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From South Africa To South Carolina (with Brian Jackson) album cover
Album Information
EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 12   Total Length: 72:22

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Indispensable

miggon

You haven't lived until you've drunk from this cup of jazz-funk whuppass. Though Gil has become a tragic figure since his decades-long slide into substance abuse and, ultimately, incarceration, his first decade of recorded works (arguably) peaked with this album. The bonus tracks are equally indispensable. Gil and this band performed "Johannesburg" on Saturday Night Live during its inaugural season (1975-76); and when I saw that ... good God, I was like twelve years old ... my life changed. Some critics contend this music doesn't stand the test of time. I couldn't disagree more vehemently. Given today's geo-political daily nightmare, this music needs to be heard again ... for the first time ... with the beginner's ear.

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They Say All Music Guide

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/reflective 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. – Ron Wynn