Homegrown and American Legends

AT A TIME when re-releases by major artists have become so grandiose the Bob Dylan Rolling Thunder tour of 1975 has spawned a 14-CD boxed set that runs for more than 10 hours, it’s a slight shock to realise one of New Zealand’s most iconic bands, Herbs, had such a brief recording career.

Hopefully the release of the documentary Songs of Freedom (reviewed in the September issue) will revive interest in their music, which still sounds as vibrant as it did during the eight years from 1981, a period in which the band produced only four studio albums and what used to be called an extended play record, with six tracks, What’s Be Happen?

Their early music was heavily influenced by the political turmoil of the late