Three Versions of Oliver Mtukudzi's "Cheka Ukama"

The upbeat electric version, the live version, and the acoustic remake of a Tuku song.

I've been listening to a lot of Oliver Mtukudzi's music lately. I recommend it. I keep waiting to run across a dud, but it hasn't happened yet. I suppose there must be one out there in the nearly five dozen albums he released in a 40-year career. But we'll see.

One of the songs that really grabbed me is called "Cheka Ukama." I liked it so much I thought I'd share it here and so I tried to find some background on it. Which got a bit confusing. But here's how it goes (take all this with a grain of salt).

It seems that the song first came to life on an album called Africa (1980), which is credited to Oliver Mtukudzi and The Black Spirits. You can find it at Bandcamp, along with a bunch of other Tuku music. It's the kinda funky, upbeat electric piece that first grabbed me. It's the first video embedded below.

The song was later re-released, in 1997, on an album called Ndega Zvangu. It's more than twice as long and it's acoustic - just Tuku and his guitar. It's the second video embedded below. I prefer the electric version just a bit, but the acoustic version is nothing to sneeze at. Version three is a live version of the electric version. It takes things at a slightly slower pace than the initial release but it's just fine too. Enjoy them all.