Customer Reviews

Poles Apart

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The wonder girl of South African rock. From busking in Johannesburg to national treasure to ultimate superstardom. Karen Zoid's first album POLES APART was a massive success and attracted an audience of wide range. Her incredible voice, both tender and Joplin-like powerful, pared with her gift for lyrics, takes her up there with the best of international rock.

POLES APART include some of my favourite Zoid songs. Her first and greatest hit, Afrikaners is Plesierig, was a radio and TV phenomenon. Engel ( Angel ) is quite possibly the most beautiful love song ever written in Afrkaans. It reminds me of good old days. On the upbeat and funky track Waitress, she sings about the ups and downs of working in a restaurant : I'm just a waitress/the food here is tasteless/I'm smiling 'cause it pays/I cry on my off days/You better be nice to me/I'll spit in your coffee/I'll spit in your tea. She really is the best. And equally brilliant live. A live show by Karen Zoid is an unforgettable experience. I'm hoping Amazon will sell Zoid's 2002
2nd album , CHASING THE SUN, soon. It really is another winner.
Favourite tracks : Callback, Waitress, Engel (Angel), Southern Sky.

Long live the Zoid !

I brought this album back from South Africa after a recent
trip, and I can't believe she's not exploding on the US
scene as well.

She has Sheryl Crowe's voice, to some extent, but is better
in the high register. She also reminds me a great deal of
Liz Phair, in her sense of straightforward musical fun, although
I think she's got a much better voice.

The album has excellent diversity, with some slow guitar ballads
(Southern Skies) and some good straightforward rock songs (Set
of Wheels). She plays briefly with Hip Hop on 'Afrikaans is
pleserig', and the album doesn't get old -- I think I've listened
to it about four consecutive times on the car stereo.

-Boyce Byerly

This South AFrican Diva first came to attention when she was busking on a street corner in Melville, Joburgh. Ever since she has rised above all expectations, crowned with various music awards, including album of the year and best new artist.
The album kicks off with a rocking "Set of Wheels" which is inspired by the national main route ,the N1. Karen then builds up to viby, modern and cinic atmosphere in "yuppie scum" in which the lyrics go "all my friends are yuppie scum/they got the money and i got the fun/ the labels on my cloths say made in taiwan/theirs say versace and dolce cabanna."

Karen seem to remind you of someone like Sheryl Crow, and then again, not realy. SHe is truly the only South African Rock artist with true export quality.

Rock on Zoid!

I first saw Karen Zoid perform two years ago at a dingy little rock club called The Abelarde Sanction in Brixton, Johannesburg, to about 100 people. That night she electrified the joint with her anthemic songs and her magical presence. She was billed as Karin Zoid and the Understatements then, and has since become the hottest rock property in South Africa.

The bilingual album Poles Apart is a colourful tapestry of poetic lyrics and engaging melody. It kicks off with Set Of Wheels (Karoo Anthem), a brilliant on-the-road song in which she fuses the desolate expanses of the African desert with the spirit of rock `n roll, where the loneliness of life on the road becomes a metaphor for the journey of life.

The catchy All My Friends Are Yuppie Scum with its calypso infusions moves the listener to an urban setting, and then the Afrikaans number Afrikaners Is Plesierig mixes social comment with personal relationships in a deft blend of rock and rap.

The soft ballad Southern Skies, a massive radio hit, is followed by Waitress with its aggressive lyrics, and I couldn't help comparing this song with one of the same title by another favorite of mine, Canadian singer Jane Siberry. Zoid's is the more immediate, fired up by tangible frustration.

Maak Nie Regtig Saak Nie (It Doesn't Really Matter) is a skittering, jazzy number that once again juxtaposes social comment with the personal, identifying stuff like good friends and a night in the African veld with friends around the campfire as those that are really important in a society where so many things are going wrong.

The elegiac Katriena starts with a deceptively happy tune that belies the mournful lyrics, about a friend lost to narcotics abuse, and the arrangements are as brilliant as the words - in my mind it evokes the same sad sound as early Eurythmics or The Tourists.

In Inspector Holmes Zoid sings of a guy with one foot in bohemia and the other in the mundane, with a clever and amusing use of words reflecting everyday South African reality. The song Engel (Angel) pays tribute to earlier Afrikaans musicians and is one of the most beautiful intelligent love ballads in the language. In the enchanting but sad Vleesbaai she sings of memories and love, comparing the rural peace of the bay with the greyness and alienation of the urban landscape.

The final cut, Taxi, describes a humorous confrontation between a taxi driver and a traffic cop over the urban African rhythm called Kwaito, and delivers social comment aplenty on a wide range of issues, including the fact that television continuity presenters are huge celebrities in South Africa.

The musicians deserve applause for their expert backing: Zoid's winning team includes Jono Hall on percussion, Don Reinecke on classical and electrical guitar and backing vocals, Woody Swart on bass guitar, while Karen herself plays steel string and additional backing vocals are by Rhynie Greeff.

I am very proud of Poles Apart, the first South African rock album that compares well with the best in US and UK rock, in both the quality of the compositions, the instrumentation and the delivery. This is a classic, the album that has launched a thousand bands and has taken the Afrikaans language to places it's never been before.

This chick has the BEST voice!!! HOT HOT HOT!!! If you like to listen to music that is "different" and voices that are unique... THIS is THE ONE!! 100 % Pure South African rocker - some songs are in Afrikaans. You don't have to understand the lyrics! Just LOVE the music!!