Johnny Clegg with Savuka & Jaluka - Live! and More...
Starring: Johnny Clegg, SavukaStudio: Red Distribution, In
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: Color
DVD Release: July 27th 2004
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DVD Review
Though still relatively unknown in America, South African musician Johnny Clegg has been a significant presence in Europe and Africa for several decades--and deservedly so, as the comprehensive, entertaining Johnny Clegg with Savuka & Jaluka: Live! and More... makes clear. Clegg was born in England but has lived in Africa since infancy, and his commingling of those two cultures began in earnest in the '70s, when he formed Juluka, whose interracial lineup (Clegg himself is white) and politically charged songs made for a heady, controversial brew at a time when apartheid was still the rule. Those days are recalled here via concert footage and early videos (including "Scatterlings of Africa," probably their best-known tune), but much of the DVD is devoted to live and video footage of Savuka, Clegg's next band (which included newcomers as well as Juluka veterans), which he formed in '86 and is still going strong. Many songs are devoted to Africa's various plights, but lyrical content notwithstanding, this music--with its nimble bass lines, West African guitar styles (played by Clegg himself; he's also a superb dancer), and combination of infectious Western pop melodies and traditional Zulu sounds--is downright irresistible. It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to call Clegg the "African Elvis," a musician who adapted black music and made it available to a broad commercial audience. Best of all, Live! and More... will make you smile. --Sam Graham
User Reviews
Really good if it works on your DVD player - Rating: 4/5
Johnny Clegg & Savuka are an amazing band with an amazing history. Their songs are actively political without being obnoxious and preachy, and unlike a lot of political groups they can deftly shift content from politics to romance (sometimes within the same song-"Woman be my country 'til my country can be mine"). The band's one studio weakness is that they sometimes (in this reviewer's opinion) get a bit too chirpy and bubblegummy. That is not a problem on this DVD, because live, these songs are explosive and energetic.
With the full band plus a couple of backing musicians, by the looks of it, the live show in Paris that is the centerpiece of this DVD is a fantastic spectacle. While it's only 13 songs, they are all masterfully executed. The band is technically flawless and full of life onstage, with terrific dance steps to go along with the music, and the band's brilliant fusion of Western pop and African musical traditions has never sounded better. The show climaxes with a stirring rendition of "Asimbonanga" and a charged, fist-pumping rendition of "One (Hu)Man One Vote."
This concert predates "Heat Dust and Dreams" so none of that album's songs are in the set list (that's OK, because "Cruel Crazy Beautiful World" was their best album anyway). The DVD however, is somewhat more recent, so as a side treat this thing is loaded with a number of music videos, most from "Heat Dust and Dreams." (If you're like me, you won't really watch much of these, because the live material is much more engaging.) There are also a number of bonus live gems, such as a wonderfully grainy recording of Clegg's old band Juluka doing an electrictrifying drum-and-dance routine before a packed soccer stadium in the late '70s, and another live take of "Asimbonanga" (this time from the late 1990s) featuring and appearance by none other than the song's subject himself-Nelson Mandela.
My only complaint is that the two copies of this DVD I have encountered have both had skipping problems on certain DVD players. Hopefully this won't happen to you, and this content is worth the risk.
Johnny Clegg - the greatest musician ever. Period. - Rating: 5/5
Johnny has touched my life in so many ways. I use his music to inspire me, to inspire others, to help me get through things - from life to marathons and beyond. I aim one day to meet the great man and watch him live in concert. He is truly brilliant in everything he does - from his lyrics, to his rhythm, to dance, to his beats, his energy, and just the feeling that he conveys through his music so fluidly and so powerfully. To me, he is the epitome of what every musician should be. Johnny Clegg is music. He is energy. He is so much, and he is a South African. Ngibonga kakhulu Johnny!
For Clegg fans, not enough, but better than nothing - Rating: 3/5
I'm a huge fan of Johnny Clegg, ever since I was swept away from the first listen of the opening chants of his album "Cruel Crazy Beautiful World" in 1990. Since that time, I've amassed nearly all of his albums (just one or two rare ones are missing from my collection), seen him in concert four times, met him three times, and I can vouch for him being a very nice, thoughtful, and appreciative person. His talent is amazing, and anyone who has seen him in concert has not walked away disappointed by his high energy performances. This DVD was long awaited and very coveted by many fans.
The reason I give this dvd three stars, even though I want to give it five, is because of the quality of it. Though not a fault of Johnny Clegg, I blame the people who produced this DVD by second-rate standards. The concert video is poorly edited...and as a result, its somewhat jarring to watch. I've seen concert videos that flowed really well and were punchy, this one was edited in a sloppy manner that's unbecoming of the high musical quality of Johnny Clegg. The old Juluka music videos are embarrassingly bad, and I felt bad for Johnny as I watched it. True, those videos were made in the early days of music videos (early 1980s), but I also have Midnight Oil's compiliation of music videos on DVD and their early ones, while primitive compared to latter ones were still quite good. But, I attribute this to a lack of money to produce a high quality music videos. I love the Savuka videos, particularly "Great Heart", "Scatterlings of Africa", "I Call Your Name", and "The Crossing". I consider "The Crossing" video to be his best music video that I've seen. As for the Juluka videos, I like "Fever" the best. The video accurately reflects the beat of the song and has an interesting street scene. The most cringe-inducing moments for me are the "Kilimanjaro" and "Third World Child" videos in which Johnny is too literal in his pantomiming of the lyrics of his song (such as "suit and tie", "the world keeps on turning" or something like that). But that's a younger Johnny, goofing it up for the cameras. The best feature on this dvd is the interview he gives. Its nice to hear Johnny give his opinion and talk about some of his experiences. He truly is one of the most underappreciated and creatively talented musicians on the planet. Its nice to have any video footage of Johnny for my collection and I hope that a better produced dvd of his "South African Story" concerts will be released, and any music videos he might have made for his "Crocodile Love" and "New World Survivor" albums. For Clegg fans, buy this along with "Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees" (featuring 3 or 4 songs by Johnny Clegg and a short documentary of Johnny in a recording studio). They are worth having for your Clegg fix. And to the producers out there, give Johnny your best and make something of the kind of quality he and his loyal fans deserve.
EXTREMELY IMPRESSED OVER CLEGG'S LIVE SHOW - Rating: 4/5
FIRST "CLEGG'S MUSIC" (THE DVD AFTER A COUPLE OF PARAGRAPHS)
When I first discovered Johnny Clegg's music (thanks to Jimmy Buffett's "Hot Water" and the George of the Jungle Soundtrack), I was completely enthralled. Clegg's music came along at a time in my life when I needed something "NEW". While the actual songs were certainly not "new" to the world, the perspective, style and energy certainly were to me personally.
While I tend to shy away from musicians and artists who are political or at the very least have political motivations, Clegg's music while extremely political doesn't leave a bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps it is because his "fight" is so distant by miles in Africa, perhaps it is because the languages (besides English) mask at least up front the politics, perhaps Clegg's intricate weaving of special and spiritual stories make the struggles and fights sound more like parables or perhaps mythology rather than at least at the time a living, breathing struggle to end Apartheid, OR PERHAPS, JUST MAYBE those politics were so awe inspiring and important that that same energy and importance could not be reflected by any other medium other than music.
I am conservative (notice I did not say "a conservative") and I believe that the most stable of changes come slowly and in time, Cleggs music doesn't attack you and pull you out of your stable base. It plays just on the edges of your conscience and beckons you to pay attention to a mystery and for you to peel back a curtain to see what's going on.
NOW THE DVD
This was the first time I have seen or heard any music from Johnny Clegg in a live format and I am stunned and so jealous of every last person who has been able to see his efforts live! So many artists through out Rock/Roll and Pop history have had trouble or no concerns of reproducing their sound in a live setting. There are notable exceptions: Rush, Queen (to a lesser degree), Led Zeppelin (to a lesser degree), Fleewood Mac...
Oh but it isn't just reproducing the records on stage note for note or nuance for nuance. It's about adding and trading energy, it's about emphasizing in places that mean more to the artist at that live moment than they did when they first recorded the track and Johnny Clegg absolutely does that without a doubt.
When you watch this DVD you will hear Clegg's music beautifully recreated on stage, you will recognize the songs and their hooks and most particularly their nuances and idiosyncrasies (thanks to Clegg's band and his own amazing guitar work). BUT you will also hear and see a special kind of energy, the energy of someone (or more than one) FEELING WHAT THEY ARE SINGING. For me its not enough for an artist to put on a good "show", I am sure Britney Spears and some of the modern pop icons put on a good "show" but I really must feel the sincerity and inspiration, an importance to the artist... an importance other than just sexual need or desire. Spears and the pop crews out there could take lesson from the lesser known Clegg who else could have said so much with so little as "thread me though your sacred needle". Come on guys, that ceases to be music and is just plain poetry in motion.
If you know or are a fan of Clegg's music ABSOLUTELY GET THIS DVD. You will even have a few laughs at his Zulu inspired dancing and the accompanying conceptual videos (primarily from the 1980's). It is well worth the money...
So why 4 stars and not 5? Well I would have said 4.5 but they didn't give me that option. Simple... I needed to hear the rest of "I Call Your Name" which was just a teasing bit at the end of the concert!!!
GET THIS DVD!!!
- DSM
Absolutely Amazing! - Rating: 5/5
I can't think of another material possession that has brought me and my family as much joy as this DVD. The main feature is a 65-minute concert during the peak of the Johnny Clegg and Savuka days, filmed in Paris. The band is hot, the audience is enthusiastic from the first notes and the videography is excellent. There are 7 or 8 musicians onstage plus three Zulu dancers for some songs in addition to Johnny, dancer/percussionist Dudu Zulu and vocalist Mandisa Dlanga. The views afforded by the cameras, including overhead shots from a catwalk, make it better than what you could see at a concert. The additional features (another hour or so) are easily worth the price of another DVD. There is a live concert scene from the early Juluka days with its grainy footage that gives a sense of the raw energy of one of Clegg's earlier bands, Juluka. There are a dozen music videos that give a chronology of the bands' phases and are all excellent. There is an interview with Johnny Clegg. There is a version of Asimbonanga, Clegg's song about Nelson Mandela, Steven Biko and others performed in Frankfurt, Germany in 1999. During the song, Nelson Mandela walks out on stage with the band! This scene will bring tears to anyone who remembers the anti-apartheid movement or has read about it. Finally, there is one song (Giyani) that includes the arrangements and band members that are currently with the Johnny Clegg Band that toured the US during Spring and Summer 2004. My only complaint about this DVD is why it doesn't include more of this hot, new group of young talent from South Africa that has joined Johnny and two veterans of the Savuka days. Maybe there's another DVD coming out soon. I can only hope.....
