Latin Quarter Trio – The Colour Scheme

With three studio albums to its credit and a bona fide hit with "Radio Africa" (from Latin Quarter's debut album, Modern Times), this politically minded worldly pop band decided to call it quits, leaving behind this compilation of oddities, rarities, unreleased demos, and re-recordings. For those looking for the hit, "Radio Africa" (album version) is here in all its splendor, but most of the remaining tracks are exclusive to this release. The ones that have been released elsewhere include the beautiful "The Colourscheme" (sung by Yona Dunsford), which was a B-side, and "The New Millionaires," which is the same version as the one on their debut.

Named after Latin Quarter's most popular song, Radio Africa compiles tracks from the group's three '80s albums – Modern Times, Mick and Caroline, and Swimming Against the Stream – none of which had yet appeared on CD when this collection was released in 1997. Latin Quarter's heavily political lyrics may not be understood by some, especially when the band's references are too obscure or forgotten in the passage of time. When the music is taken into focus, Radio Africa sounds best when the group strays from their folk-rock origins. The ghostly keyboards and woeful vocals of "No Rope As Long As Time," confronting apartheid and violence in South Africa with sadness and anger, hasn't lost its punch even when lyrics like "Nelson Mandela in the prison" make it outdated.

Modern Times is the first album by the British band Latin Quarter. It reached the top 20 in Germany and Sweden and spent two weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at Number 91. It includes the songs "Radio Africa" which reached Number 19 in the UK Singles Chart. and "America for Beginners" which was covered by Toyah on her album Minx.

When Latin Quarter released their debut album, Modern Times, in 1986, it was so musically diverse, it seemed to be a compilation of several different bands. When Mick and Caroline was released the following year, the band was essentially the same, but their different approaches began to melt together, making this album more cohesive, if not as interesting. Late-'80s pop once again mixed with world rhythms and socially charged lyrics (courtesy of lyricist Mike Jones), creating a sound that could have made a commercial impact had it not been for the inability to pigeonhole the band into a clear musical genre.

Where does one begin to praise this CD? The bitter-sweet lyrics, the brilliant intertwining of piano and guitar, the perfect vocal harmonies, the atmospheric texture, the magic of the melodies? "Bringing Rosa Home" is the sixth and strongest CD so far from the English band Latin Quarter. The richness of ideas of joint band- leaders Steve Skaith and Richard Wright is overwhelming, their musical taste undeniable. The twelve pop-songs on their new CD sound smooth and effortless almost as a matter of course. Like all really first-class things.

For its third outing, Latin Quarter served up more surprises for its fans. Trimmed down to a quartet (half the band it used to be?), the band was more musically focused on this album than ever before. Choosing to keep the world rhythms to a minimum, the album's backbeat was clearly lush acoustic pop with a few touches added for flourish and flavor. Without completely altering their approach, the bandmembers were able to simplify their sound without giving up their identity. In doing so, they finally created what could be considered the "Latin Quarter" sound. Steve Skaith (vocals and guitar) served up some his best melodies to date, while lyricist Mike Jones proved to be as thought-provoking as ever, challenging the listener with each song.

Latin Quarter first burst onto the scene with their singles "Radio Africa" and "New Millionaires" - songs that stayed for months in the German single charts in the 80s, with the album "Modern Times" selling more than 300.000 copies worldwide. The band then went on to make 5 more albums before splitting up in 1998. However, in 2011 five of the original band members are back together with a new acoustic-pop album, entitled "Ocean Head". The album, was released in Europe on February 17, 2012, contains 10 new and 1 older song, and combines the political and the personal themes for which Latin Quarter have always been renowned.

Latin Quarter first burst onto the scene with their singles "Radio Africa" and "New Millionaires" – songs that stayed for months in the German single charts in the 80s, with the album "Modern Times" selling more than 300.000 copies worldwide. After splitting up in 1998, five of the original musicians got together again in 2011. Unlike other bands they didn’t rely on previous fame but released an album with new songs, reflecting private and political life today. „Ocean Head“ was released in 2012, the follow up album „Tilt“ in 2014. This album gained a lot of response and respect and led to the reunification of the band Latin Quarter.

When Latin Quarter disbanded in 1990, they left behind three fine studio albums and a compilation of hits, and odds and ends. Three years later, out of the blue, came this new release by the band, now slimmed down to guitarist/vocalist Steve Skaith, guitarist Richard Wright, and lyricist Mike Jones. Unfortunately, the spark that seemed to ignite the band in the past had left with the former band members. Skaith's melodies aren't as memorable, and the overall mood of the album is darker. It doesn't help that some of the nicer moments on the album resemble their past glories. Jones' lyrics are as biting as ever, and there are some gems to be found here, including "Bitter To The South," "Phil Ochs," and "Desert Rose" (featuring a guest appearance from former member Yona Dunsford).