Take One

Hallelujah Chicken Run Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 11, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alula
• ASIN: B000EOTVLG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,774 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

"Thomas Mapfumo is one of his country’s most influential musicians, with hard-driving rhythms, politically tinged lyrics, and gutsy vocals." -MUSIC HOUND WORLD

"The Lion of Zimbabwe," Thomas Mapfumo is Zimbabwe’s biggest star, one of the most legendary and best-selling African artists of all-time. In 1973, Mapfumo helped form the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band and, for the first time, began to shift his music away from Western-influenced rock and explore the traditional music of his Shona people, transcribing the scale of the traditional instrument mbira (or thumb piano) to guitar with his guitarist Joshua Dube. The HCR Band was one of the first to develop the staccato style of guitar for which Zimbabwe is known today, and was also one the first modern groups to sing in the traditional Shona language – a major act of liberation and an act of protest against the Rhodesian government. This compilation presents 18 of the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band’s biggest and most influential hits, recorded from 1974-1979 and all painstakingly remastered. A series of singles in Shona by the HCR Band recorded by Teal Records (many of which are found! here) produced eight gold records in a row beginning in 1974! Take One is a wonderful mixture of songs of liberation alongside poignant love songs. Carefully prepared 24-page booklet is absolutely overflowing with a complete history of the band (edited by renowned critic Banning Eyre), a full detailed discography, and numerous extremely rare photographs and artifacts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, June 19, 2011

By 

Thaddeus J. Quintin "Nerd" (Chagrin Falls, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Take One (Audio CD)

A friend of mine bought this for me, because it made her think of me, and I must say she was right!

This is a pioneering band in what has become the "sound" of recent Zimbabwe music. Hired to entertain workers at the Mhangura Copper mine, their music took on a life of its own. They began by playing soul music as well as rumba and cha cha songs, but found that they weren't engaging the mine workers. They started playing more traditional songs, mimicking the sounds of the mbira or kalimba on the guitar.

This is the sound that echoes in throughout much of Paul Simon's "Graceland," but it wasn't until I heard this album that I was truly inspired the the intricate guitar work of this style of music.

Highly recommended. Also check out Spirits to Bite Our Ears by Thomas Mapfumo, the singer on this album. It's just as enjoyable.