Released:
1996, Trippy Grape, TRIP001

See also Wingerdrock 2

Review:

As an Engelsman, I battle to pronounce the word Wingerd and would probably battle even more should I partake heavily of the fermented fruits of the Wingerd. But hey, do I care? Not really as this summation of the Stellenbosch music scene of the mid-nineties kicks grape.

Household names like Springbok N*de Girls, Valiant Swart and Koos Kombuis rub shoulders with lesser known bands like The Led, Ark and Drain to form this eclectic collection (compiled by Dirk Uys) that ranges from heavy grunge through to country rock.

A few standout points are Nicole Holm's punky Heather Mac vocals for White Trash, the thrashy guitars of The Led and the quieter acoustic workout of Brollocks en Bittergal. I may be going out on a limb here, but I'm sure I heard shades of a raunchy David Kramer in a couple of songs, Valiant's 'Moelikheid met die Man' and dare I suggest it of the N*de Girls 'Pappa ek wil 'n Popster Word' in particular? Oh well I never wanted the freedom of Stellenbosch anyway.

But the highlight has to be Koos Kombuis' tribute to James Phillips - 'Beethoven is Dead'. With it's bluesy verses and grunge rock chorus of 'Beethoven is Dying, Beethoven is Dead' sung in Koos' distinctive Oom-next-door tones, this poignant tribute is the stuff lumps in the throat are made of.

Koos also has the last say on the album with the funny but close to the bone 'Verslaaf'. It somewhat sums up the feel of the album and, I guess Stellenbosch at the time, with him listing his addictions largely based around the standard Sex 'n drugs 'n rock en roll, including whiskey, tiete en alles met an "ol"... "maar die beste van die lot is die ROCK 'N ROLL".

This well-produced, well-chosen collection of songs shows the early promise of the fast maturing Afrikaans rock scene with hardly a duff note on the CD. Although the liner notes are full of pictures of lute wielding maidens frolicking playfully with Musketeers around the Cape Dutch Gabled houses of the Stellenbosch region, this is not a case of the right place but the wrong time, rather it is a timely album from that cauldron of talent affectionately known as Sweet Stellenganga. A vine collection of tunes.

John Samson, October 2001

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All info supplied by John Samson, March 2003