Review: Solidarity, It Can't Be Beat

Subject: Review: Solidarity, It Can't Be Beat
From: Big Mick
Date: 25 Aug 06 - 03:19 PM

This is a CD which was recorded by the Solidarity Singers. Mudcatter Bennett Zurofsky announced it's release in THIS THREAD some four years ago. The project, as is also the case with the Solidarity Singers, is a cultural project of the New Jersey State Industrial Union Council.

The Solidarity Singers describe themselves thusly in the liner notes of this CD: We are a street chorus, not a concert choir. Our preferred venue is a picket line. We try to lift the spirits of people engaged in struggle and help them to carry on. Only a few of us know how to read music, but we all know which side we are on. I love this description, and it is a wonderful introduction to what you will hear on this excellent CD.

Let me begin with an overview of my impression. The first thing that caught my attention was that it seemed to have better production values than many of these CD's have. But in saying that, there was no attempt to pretty up the voices of the honest to goodness labor activists singing the songs. The instrumentation, for the most part is very good, the balance and mix is very good, most of the arrangements work very well, and yet the voices are authentic as hell. It is a perfect combination, in my opinion, for this CD.

The voices make this the real deal. When one listens, they know they are hearing real workers singing from the heart. To a reviewer who is hung up on perfection, there would be much to criticize. The voices aren't always on key or in perfect pitch. But to this reviewer, that is the thing that makes this an authentic and well produced effort. You can hear the enthusiasm. You can hear the dedication to the cause. You can feel the belief in the principles they espouse. To say that I love these voices is understatement. They make me realize why I have spent so many years in the movement, and why, when I go, that the one thing I want on my tombstone is "Union Organizer".

You can go to the EARLIER THREAD for a track listing, but let me give you a couple of thoughts on a few of the songs.

Track one - Rocking Solidarity. This one is perfect to open this project. It is a take on Solidarity Forever done to a bit of a rock beat. You know right here that they took their time with getting the levels and mix right.

Track three - Dump the Bosses Off Your Back. This is a IWW/Wobblie parody of Take It To the Lord in Prayer. It is a perfect example of what I am describing. The voices aren't perfect, but Oh How they deliver the message. One of my favorite cuts on the CD.

Track seven - De Colores. A wonderful version of this powerful trad Mexican song.

Track ten - It's a Small Wage Great parody of the popular kids tune, that quite appropriately addresses child labor around the world to satisfy the capitalists greed.

Track fifteen - No Nos Moveran/We Shall Not Be Moved This is a wonderful arrangement which slips back and forth between english and spanish. I will be using this arrangement in the future for rallies.

I have been advocating lately for the modern singers to use their gifts in the historical use of causing social change. To do this, we need to make music that connects with our audience. If you would have just read me the tracklist of this CD, I probably wouldn't have thought much about it. But after hearing it, I would commend it to all you for whom this type of music has relevance. I believe that congratulations and encouragement should go out to Bennett Zurofsky and his band of singers. They have produced a wonderful project. I would hope they are working on taking these voices, finding more great music, new if possible, relevant to these times, and lending their talent to getting it out there.

To quote from Rick Fielding, and the song I have adopted as my anthem (Voices of Struggle): Your fight is my fight, together we are strong, Voices of Struggle shout the power of song.

All the best,

Mick