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Maria Chiguvari
DID Alick Macheso reach the peak of his musical career a long time ago?
Can the sungura superstar produce another album which will be closer, or better than, his yesteryear hits which made him one of the country’s greatest musicians?
Is he now just living on past glory and, like Dynamos in football, has lost the touch which made him such a superstar?
To use a brutal phrase: IS MACHESO FINISHED?
There are mixed feelings over his new album ‘Kupa Kuturika.’
The six-track album was launched last Friday at Alex Sports Club.
‘Kupa Kuturika’ has song like ‘Kuverenga’, ‘Undiregererewo’, ‘Zvichada Hama’, ‘Murangarire’, ‘Kunditaya’ and ‘Hunhu Hwakashata’.
Since the launch of the album, only three songs have been released.
They are ‘Kunditaya’, ‘Kuverengera’ and ‘Zvichada Hama’.
This is the 13th album which the King of Sungura has released.
There has been a steady stream of complaints from some of his die-hard fans that his latest project, like many he has released in recent past, is not up to the standards they expected from him.
Some are even brutal and are saying that he now resembles an ageing boxer who still believes he is still in the prime of his athletic powers.
While Macheso drew a huge crowd for the launch, those who are critical of the album are saying that it did not live up to expectations.
They say his patronage is something he built in the past and his fans are just clinging on to nostalgia.
Some musical analysts, like former Sunday Mail Entertainment Editor, Garikai Mazara, appear to have realised, some time ago, that all was not well with the products Macheso was now giving his army of fans.
Ahead of Macheso launching his 12th album, in June 2022, Mazara wrote a sobering piece, which he reproduced on his Facebook page on Sunday, just a day after the launch of “Kupa Kuturika.”
Mazara wrote:
“Breaking away from Khiama Boys, Macheso was to hit us with Vakiridzo, Simbaradzo, Zvakanaka Zvakadaro and Zvido Zvenyu Kunyanya, compilations which made us believe that the wine was getting better with age, as each release outdid the previous one.
“Then somehow, in the middle of the last decade, that wine lost taste. It wasn’t a sudden loss of taste, it was a gradual decline.
“Macheso, somehow, lost the tempo and there could be as many theories as the grains of hops, malt or barley in that brewer’s mix as to why and how he lost that tempo.
“Anyway, being the genius that he is, probably sensing that his fortunes, musical notes that is, were waning, he roped in the likes of Freeman (in any case dancehall, or Afro-pop, was ruling the roost).
“It seemed to work for a second or two, as his ratings slightly improved.
“Then, he decided to go solo, the result being ‘Zuro Ndizuro’. If it were a theatrical performance, we could all have bowed our heads in shame. Wine tasters would have spat in disgust.
“That’s how low Macheso has, or had, depending on which side of the fence you are sitting, become.
Mazara was writing ahead of Macheso’s 12th album but, two years later, every word that he wrote appears to be true when it comes to the superstar’s 13th album.
And, it appears an army of his fans have also started to embrace the reality that Macheso might not be the same musician he was in the past.
Below are some of the comments from his fans:
Macheso is no longer the Baba Vashero we used to listen to. His first four projects were just a class of their own. I understand though kuti in this industry yaari zvomboita zvichidzika but it’s like he is now continuously “nose diving.” — Harison Manamike
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Nyangwe akapera or akaridza zvakadhakwa or what masongs ake ekudhara iwayo anomupa mari yakawandisa pa show one mari yamunoshandira six months, nyoraiwo masongs enyuka aite ma hit songs. — Monah Tadisa
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Sungura died with Dhewa but however take time to listen to the song inonzi ‘Kuwerengera’ from ‘Kupa Kuturika,’ it’s a gem. — Hens Chibara.
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I am one of those who has followed Alick Macheso even from back in the days when he was backing Nicholas Zacharia. If the truth be said I will continue to enjoy any song from his first five albums, maybe, I can add songs like ‘Tafadzwa’ and ‘Chimoko Changu’ and continue to give Baba Shero his deserved respect for the long journey and the good songs he has produced over the years. His latest offering, to say the least, cannot match songs like ‘Madhawu’, ‘Wemakonzo’, ‘Monalisa’, ‘Zvimiro’, ‘Mundikumbuke’ and many songs from his first five albums. To be honest the wine is definitely losing its taste with age. Maybe, he will pick himself up at some stage, let’s give him a chance. — Gibson Lifa
Online Reporter