Can You Feel It?

So often mentioned as South Africa's greatest soul jazz band The Drive have never had a proper re-issue or taken their proper place in the ongoing unfolding and retelling of South Africa's musical past and future. Maybe our efforts here at Electric Jive can tip the balance in favour of The Drive. Certainly we can feel it!

The Drive (L-R): Bunny Luthuli, Temba (?), Tony Soali, Nelson Magwaza, Lucky Mbatha, Mavis Maseku, Stanley Sithole, Danny Sithole & Henry Sithole.(Photo © David Marks, Orlando, Soweto)

The band was started by Henry Sithole and Bunny Luthuli in 1971. As Matt over at Matsuli put it a few years back "The Drive represented an articulate black urban vision of a future at odds with Apartheid's engineers." Over the course of their six years of existence they travelled the length and breadth of Southern Africa playing festivals and what venues were still available. Their recorded output is to the best of our knowledge a total of eight LPs. There was a poorly remastered attempt at a reissue on a budget around ten years ago but it sunk into the budget racks.

Discography* (Updated July 2011)
- Slow Drive to Soweto (c1971, AYL 1009)

- The Sky's The Limit (1975, RCL 1201)
- Can You Feel It (1975, RCL 1202)
- Drive Live (1975, RCL 1203)

- Coming To The End of This (1976, RCL 1208)
- Zone 6 (1976, RCL 1215)

- A Tribute to Henry Sithole and Bunny Luthuli (1977, RCL 1216, recorded just two weeks prior to Henry and Bunny's fatal traffic accident)
- Lets Cool it (1980, BL271)

The Drive are probably best known for their track Way Back Fifties which appears unabridged on the LP we are sharing today. Enjoy the ride!

The Drive - Can You Feel It (1975, RCL 1202)
Way Back Fifties
Together
Can You Feel It
Produced by David Thekwane

MF (new link as of 30 Dec 2014)