Tony Cox’s new music video, Enormous Flowers, features his family – his wife Debra and children Thalo and Thuli, along with special friend Blessing.
The titular song Enormous Flowers, off his latest album, is about resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. The first single House of Parliament Blues (now known as Voetsek Shutup) has notched up some traction. Already hitting over 50 000 views on Facebook and 5600 views on YouTtube, the song, and black comedy lyric video has struck a socio-political chord with many South African listeners and viewers, evoking much commentary.
The album also features Victor Masondo on bass, Roland Scheepers keys, Godfrey Mgcinga percussion, Barry van Zyl drums, Adam Howard flugelhorn/trumpet, Joe Arthur string arrangements. Plus there’s a cappella group Amavevane, Stella Khumalo, Faith Kekana, Nonhlanhla Mduli, Thuli Cox and Joe Arthur.
MICK RAUBENHEIMER reviews the album
Tony Cox is one of that first wave of instrumental guitarists who brought awareness to guitar playing as art form in South Africa. For near three decades he has graced stages and audiences with his always rich and innovative playing. While this country has produced various virtuoso guitarists, what makes Mr. Cox stand out, and draws specific crowds to his many shows, is that in his playing heart always trumps technique, something which is conveyed in the emotive quality of his compositions and improvs.
When I heard tell of Cox’s new release, I grinned in eager anticipation of hearing what his gilded hands would weave from his guitar’s strings next. To say that Enormous Flowers took me by surprise is an understatement. The production is excellent, robust yet delicately clear, and there is a variety of styles at play – from tongue-in-cheek blues to folksy meanderings, to upbeat romps and funky stomps. But none of this is unexpected – Cox’s musical palette has always been highly diverse. What makes Enormous Flowers a watershed in his catalogue is that here, for the first time, Tony has unveiled himself as singer-songwriter, one with a sonorous, beautifully textured voice nogal!
The record opens in full swing – Invisible’s sombre theme buoyed by robust instrumentation and a fulsome brass break; said energy rolls into the title track – all strutting bass lines and sassy, honeyed backing vocals.
There is a certain naivety in Cox’s vocal deliveries – every syllable is carefully enunciated – but as a late-career debut Enormous Flowers pays satisfying and promising dividends. Even when couched in a familiar genre Cox’s vocal arrangements are original and left-of-expected, and Tony’s quintessential optimism brims throughout – even when subject-matter, as on central romp House of Parliament Blues, concerns negative energies.
The range of topics explored, and the voluptuous arrangements, indicate that Cox has been fashioning this album/direction for years, waiting for the right moment to unveil this distinct new side to his accomplished artistry.
An unexpected virtue of Enormous Flowers is that, the focus having shifted from fretboard dexterity to a full house of instruments and songwriting itself, the occasional guitar solo or flourish glows in the spotlight of brevity.
Lyrically, nature and Life’s affirmative essence outshines those elements (mostly man-made) that get Cox down, resulting in a perpetually uplifting feel to the album – it’s no accident that the title track observes the graceful audacity of tiny flowers growing on the heads and shoulders of massive buildings..
Highlights include the spaghetti western tango of Swinging in Style, the luminous introspections of Straight Lines and Battle Lost, and Good Morning, where the platitude of the title becomes a touching and personal celebration of family.
A richly colourful, fat surprise of an album!
Who: Tony Cox
What: Enormous Flowers
Review: Mick Raubenheimer
Download:
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/za/album/enormous-flowers/id1204852068
Apple Music: https://itun.es/za/Kvj0hb
Deezer: http://www.deezer.com/album/15334761
Simfy Africa: https://www.simfy.co.za/artists/380537-Tony-Cox/albums/5479460-Enormous-Flowers
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Tony_Cox_Enormous_Flowers?id=Bakh6v6p2oqug25fpykoaah6kuu&hl=en
WS
