The South African Rock Encyclopedia > Rock Legends > 1970s / 1980s > Finch & Henson > Discography > Finch & Henson – At Home In The Dark
Tracks
- Lazy Woman (Finch/Henson) (4:29)
- On The Road (Kokstad) (Finch) (2:56)
- Oh Brother (You’ve Got A Long Way To Go) (Finch) (4:30)
- Naturally (Finch) (4:09)
- Solly’s Saloon (Finch) (4:15)
- The Drifter (Finch/Henson) (5:26)
- Tears of Sorrow (Finch) (4:30)
- Cherry Rose (Finch) (5:20)
- Harmony (Finch) (4:30)
Arranged & produced by Finch & Henson, assisted by Peter Hubner
Engineered by Ton Ten Teuling & Peter Hubner
Recorded and mixed at Emcee Studios, Johannesburg March/April 1980, except
1, 4 & 9 recorded live on the Emcee Mobile at the Keg & Tankard in Pretoria.
Musicians
- Brian Finch: Vocals, Rhythm guitar, Backing vocals
- Ken E Henson: Guitars, Mandolin, Synth, Backing vocals
- Peter Hubner: Organ, Backing vocals, Keyboards, Piano
- Emanual ‘Bageeti’ Khumalo: Bass
- Isaac ‘Vusi’ Khumalo: Drums
- Les Goode: Bass
- Shaun Wright: Drums
- Maureen England: Backing vocals
- Ashley Kelly: Bass
Release information
LP: 1980, Warner Brothers Records, WBC 9014
Cassette: 1980, Warner Brothers Records, ZWB 9014
Review
Finch & Henson are the Chas ‘n Dave of South Africa, except much better. For those unfamiliar with Chas ‘n Dave, they are an enduring duo that play a sort of knees up, Cockney styled pub rock. For those unfamiliar with Finch & Henson… where the hell have you been?
Although they have not endured as long as Chas ‘n Dave, Finch & Henson made great country tinged rock music and were a popular pub band. Like Chas ‘n Dave though, they were a duo.
On ‘At Home in the Dark’, the duo play some tight melodic relaxed rock. It’s the kind of music you can turn up quite loud before parents may say ‘would you mind turning that down a bit’ rather than the ‘will you shut that infernal racket up’ associated with some rock music. Three of the tracks were recorded live at the Keg & Tankard in Pretoria, although other than some applause at the end of the tracks, you hardly notice a difference from the studio tracks, a compliment to the playing talent of the duo and the expert engineering of Ton Ten Teuling and Peter Hubner.
A few of the tracks from the album appear on the greatest hits CD ‘Free and Easy‘, amongst them is the opening track of the album ‘Lazy Woman’ which is a Eagles style country rock song. Another one is ‘Kokstad’ (listed as ‘On the Road’ on the album) which is a great road song. One can almost feel the wind in your face as you cruise down the highway with this blaring from your car stereo.
I haven’t yet heard Brian Finch’s new solo album ‘Hero of Heroes‘, but if this is anything to go by, it should be a treat. ‘At Home in the Dark’ is like an aural massage. It is gentle, yet it rocks, soothing, but solid. So sit back, relax and let this duo ease your troubles for 40 odd minutes and treat you to some of the finest bar rock this side of the border.
John Samson, SA Rock Digest, January 2002