Somewhere in Afrika
Occupation
- Manfred Mann - keyboards, synthesizers
- Matt Irving - Bass
- Steve Waller - guitar, vocals
- Chris Thompson, Shona Laing - vocals
- John Lingwood - drums
Somewhere in Africa is a concept album about South Africa during the apartheid of the British rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band. It was released in November 1982 in Germany, the United Kingdom in February 1983 and in the U.S. in an alternative version in November this year.
The album
On Somewhere in Africa Manfred Mann busy with his native South Africa and the impact of the then ruling apartheid there. Especially the Bantustans, the internationally unrecognized Abschiebestaaten South Africa will be discussed. The African songs on the album were recorded by Matt Irving on the spot and later mitabgemischt in the studio. The album contains the usual with Manfred Mann's Earth Band cover versions, such as Demolition Man by Sting, Nostradamus Al Stewart and Bob Marley's Redemption Song, with the rejection of Bantustans in the latter - namely KwaZulu, Bophuthatswana and Transkei - was integrated. Throughout the entire album tags from the Zulu and Xhosa are always distributed as Azania (South Africa), Amandla ( power ) and Awethu ( ours ).
The back of the album cover shows a map of South Africa with the Bantustans, for the publication there is another version was chosen.
Reception
Somewhere in Africa in Germany reached 8th place and 40th place in the U.S.
Said Mike Degagne of allmusic that the album would have earned in the United States a much higher place, and that Lalela and Koze Kobenini, parts of Africa Suite, 's love for his birthplace transmit contrived to act without.
Title list
In the U.S., the album was released only in November 1983 with another compilation of tracks.
The CD release of 1999 nor the following additional titles.