Latin Quarter - Modern Times
Ripped from a compact disc album released on Rockin' Horse Records/RCA (ZD 70840) to high quality lossless flac audio. Steve Skaith's Latin Quarter project still perform and record to this day. If it wasn't down to one huge hit Radio Africa, many would have missed out on the band's unique style of agitpop.
His lyrics are deeply political, yet the melodies are smooth, commercial and poppy. Many of the band's audience in 1986 would have been lost in the true messages of Toulouse - pleasant synthpop expose of the French plundering of it's North African colonies for the benefit of it's own economic might. The Truth About John - a slap in the face of the gutter press for digging up kiss'n'tell stories following the death of John Lennon. America For Beginners - the rise of the right-wing in the USA under the veil of Reaganomics. No Rope As Long As Time is a poignant reminder of what South Africa was like under apartheid.
These are the politics of tackling real causes rather than the modern politics of straight left or right, and how can make their voice the loudest. You have to look deep into the lyrics to understand Skaith's stories and perhaps his poetic irony has been lost on too many of his audience. I wonder these days how he would now write about South Africa, or even the USA - if the wrong blonde was to get into the White House?
1 Modern Times
2 No Ordinary Return
3 Radio Africa
4 Toulouse
5 America For Beginners
6 Eddie
7 No Rope As Long As Time
8 Seaport September
9 New Millionaires
10 Truth About John
11 Cora
