Review:
A question that has often perplexed me is why does the word 'funeral' begin with 'fun'? The Radio Rats' 'Music for Funerals' does nothing to answer this question as it is not fun, but neither is it an album of dirges. Chief Rat Jonathan Handley and his pack have crafted 16 tracks that are dedicated to the memory of all who might've died accidentally this last century.
Opening with a 'wailing across the prairie' harmonica, the album maintains a wild west feel to it, but it seems that the Rats had spent a fair bit of time listening to Bowie records circa his Ziggy Stardust period as there is more than a hint of that glam rock sound involved. Over and above this, room is made for some blues workouts, especially in 'Don't Shoot the DJ'. All this makes for an intriguing mix of sounds and a highly listenable to album.
The Wild West influence is strangely mixed in 'Trouble in Tombstone' which for me is the stand out track. The music is decidedly rock, while the lyrics tell the story of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and friends who fought in that famous gun battle. The song is dedicated to the dying mining towns of the Wild West of Johannesburg and in particular the Rats' native Klerksdorp. This song should possible have been subtitled 'Gunfight at the OK Bazaars'.
Recently the Digest lamented the fact that the English musicians were not singing about local issues, but there are enough references to SA here for this to satisfy those craving for English songs with a domestic flavour.
Mention should be made of Paul (Botha), a friend of the band who died in 1997, who is buried in track 2 ('We're here today to bury Paul') and then is exhumed for a reprise of the song at track 7 to be buried again, only faster (according to the sleeve notes).
'Music for Funerals' shows that there is much more to the Rats than 'ZX Dan' (their Radio 5 #2 hit from 1979 which is on their album 'Into The Night We Slide'). Those who enjoy the gem that 'ZX Dan' is, would do well to check out this album, it's a musical journey I recommend you undertake.
-- John Samson, May 2002
|
74,796 MP3 tracks available @ R7 per track ($0.88) and growing daily!
. Click on 
play buttons to hear samples.
