WITCH - Lazy Bones!!

8.5 - Zambia - 1975

Over the last couple of decades the psychedelic rock produced by 1970s Zambia has become increasingly popular amongst the beat diggers of the world, which is an astounding feat for such a small and impoverished nation. Whereas the more high-profile sounds coming out of West Africa -- Nigeria and Ghana in particular -- show a marked influence by the funky side of western music, the stuff that came out of the Southern African country of Zambia has a much more "rocky" influence. More Hendrix than Brown. Fuzztones rule the day, and, while there are still grooves to be had, the rhythms are more straight-ahead and there's a general garage-rock, borderline proto-punk, feel to the genre.

The third album from WITCH (an acronym for We Intend To Cause Havoc) is an excellent example of the wonderful genre of Zamrock. A strong collection of ten songs which centre around the interplay between Chris Mbewe's fuzztoned lead and John Muma's wah-wah rhythm guitar There are some wonderful pseudo-Allmanic twinned lead parts on opener "Black Tears" and the psychedelic standout track "Strange Dream". Drummer Boidie Sinkala and bassist Gedeon Mulenga keep the rhythm section locked in throughout, and while singer Emayeo Jagari Chanda may not have the best voice, he does project a certain swagger that keeps things moving.

The main fault with the record is of course sound quality. Whereas West African groups had access to (relatively) top notch recording facilities in Lagos, things in Zambia were not quite as sophisticated (though some more high-profile artists such as Rikki Ililonga would abscond to Nairobi to make their records). As such, there is a fair degree of lo-fi muddiness to the sound of this album. The 2010 reissue by Germany's may have had some restoration but was clearly taken from a vinyl rip (I don't know how the 2013 vinyl reissue by Now-Again sounds). They've clearly done the best they can, and the guitars and vocals do sound bright, but the drums kinda sound as if they were recorded in a cardboard box (although there are a couple of moments where they are run through a phaser effect to pleasant results). Still, the sound quality issue is an unfair criticism that doesn't really detract from the album's worth. In all, along with the work of Rikki Ililonga & Musi-O-Tunya (Now-Again's Dark Sunrise compilation is an excellent place to start) and The Peace's Black Power, this record is easily the best jumping-off point for the wonderful world of Zamrock.