SOMEWHERE IN AFRIKA

This is a powerful pop-rock album with some thematically linked songs, but it's definitely not a work of progressive rock. There are some real duds like Demolition Man and Rebel, but they are outnumbered by the killer hook-laden songs like Third World Service, Runner, the ethnic Somewhere In Arika and a joyful cover of Al Stewart's Eyes Of Nostradamus.

One important contribution that gives this record its stature is the beautiful Africa Suite which is an extended piece that is preceeded by a superb (and thematically linked) cover of Bob Marley's Redemption Song. It contains some gripping original material like Brothers And Sisters Of Africa and blends ethnic music with the odd burst of vintage synth in a majestic manner. Mann, himself a South African exile, made an impassioned statement about the then prevalent apartheid system that was operating in his home country, and vast portions of this epic song still give me chills. "No Kwazulu! No Boputatswana! Amandla Awethu!"

I think Somewhere In Afrika is well worth a listen, and is arguably one of the most resilient albums of the 80s, but I must repeat that the "prog" moments are few and far between. I should point out that I own the "Arista" version of the album. ... 53% on the MPV scale