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Toni Childs — Zimbabwe
Album: Union
Avg rating:
6.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 362









Released: 1988
Length: 6:08
Plays (last 30 days): 0
what you gonna do zimbabwae
what you gonna do zimbabwae

zimbabwae is a man who tried
to teach his children what was right
but then there came a time when war
split the family from inside
he said no fighting no more

what you gonna do zimbabwae
what you gonna do zimbabwae

the old man sits and shakes his head
while the multitudes insist
where is the cause of unity
with just one thought there could be peace
men gathered in silence the same

can there be some peace on earth
can there be a love
greater than the world we see
greater than us all
it's the last station home
it's the last station home

you ran your heart in those days
when no-one could see days
you want to run in the wind
you want to go back inside
see no more crime in your lifetime
zimbabwae, zimbabwae
no more crime in your lifetime
zimbabwae, zimbabwae
Comments (71)add comment
Powerful !!
 Steely_D wrote:

This is from TEN years ago
 
SHE IS TOURING THIS YEAR!!  30 years since this album.  I wish I lived in Australia so I could see her.  She was an important part of my 80's.  

This brings me back to WAY better times, for me and for the WORLD!!!
Omg I Loved her in the 80s! So under rated! Her voice is spectacular. I love Don't Walk Away the very best!
have the CD
totally forgot
seems like another life ago
I had this album way back when, I really liked her voice, great character and songs.
If there's a prettier song, I can't think of what that would be at the moment. 
I had a crush on her back in high school.  I made sure I had all her albums. On cassette, then on CD.
 luckywhitegirl wrote:
Kornmann wrote:
She was sick for a while and left the business.
oh no! :-(
She moved to Hawaii and is getting set to relase some new music.
https://www.tonichilds.com/
yay!! I'm so glad she's doing well. I can't wait to hear her new stuff!

 
This is from TEN years ago
This was such a good album. Shame she kinda veered away and we lost track of her.
Ditto all of this...care to join me in my Nissan Pulsar where we can listen to it on Memorex?


Middleton

(Pleasantville)
Posted: Jul 06, 2009 18:49
 

sine-quinn-non wrote:

ditto.  i loved this album - cassette I mean ...... time flies ...
  
count me in, too

 


I remember her, that voice is unique.  never had the album tho,  anything uplifting gets extra points.
 

Haven't heard this since the late 80's...reminds me of a crazy love triangle I was one angle of...thank God that's over. {#Pray}
 sine-quinn-non wrote:

ditto.  i loved this album - cassette I mean ...... time flies ...
 
count me in, too

 kencav wrote:
Haven't heard this in a while and it's a good album...bought it on cassette, way back when.
 
ditto.  i loved this album - cassette I mean ...... time flies ...


Haven't heard this in a while and it's a good album...bought it on cassette, way back when.
Stop arguing about the voice and listen to the words.  This is a truly troubled nation whose plight needs to be highlighted in any way possibel.
I completely agree. I thought this was Celine Dion when it first started. Like Celine, every vowel Toni sings sounds like an "r" . Bloody annoying!

 
agnes wrote:
I'm sorry, I must dissent. She sounds like Celine Dion in that they both swallow their sound by dropping their soft palates, as opposed to letting it resonate in the front sinuses and mouth. I hate it, for the same reason I hate Celine Dion. Get yer frikkin' tongue out of the way.
 


 vit wrote:
Singing muppet (kidding kidding!)
 
The cliche is that there's a grain of truth in every joke - and yours is no exception.  Yucky voice IMHO.  What, she holds her nose while singing?
Walk and talk like Angels is my fav off of this CD
Brings back all sorts of memories.. still think it could be improved with rhinoplasty
EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  One of my favorites!!!!
Singing muppet (kidding kidding!)
Wow... quite a variety of comments.  I remember when this came out... wow, I thought it was great!  Now, I think it's... good!  

This is something good from that era, along with David and David's "boomtown."   
Yuck
Childs stated in a 1988 article for Time magazine that she and her three brothers "were not allowed to listen to pop music or rock or even go to the movies. There was a lot I missed out on."<1> At the age of 15, Childs ran away from home and became a blues musician. In 1972, she saw Pink Floyd in concert and decided to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter."<2>

Good Job Floyd.  another one lost to the evils of rock and roll

ew. yuck. even the cover makes me say yuck, too.
nookie wrote:
Do I hear Shakira?


Hahhaaa, I swear, I hear the same {#Eek}


Wow. This is approaching Dengue Fever levels of suckitude.
Do I hear Shakira?
I'm sorry, I must dissent. She sounds like Celine Dion in that they both swallow their sound by dropping their soft palates, as opposed to letting it resonate in the front sinuses and mouth. I hate it, for the same reason I hate Celine Dion. Get yer frikkin' tongue out of the way.
This is a great song. I remember listening to this a lot when I worked at the Knitting Factory when it was still on Houston street.
Comparisons to Celine Dion make no sense here. The only similarity I can find is they're both female. For lack of a better word, Toni's voice has "balls"...Celine sounds like she sings from somewhere deep within her nasal cavity. I'd kill to have a beer with this lady, whereas I'd kill Celine for a beer. Listen from beginning to end to Union then come back here and call her Celine. You won't. And I haven't even talked about the people who've begged to work with her (Dave Rhodes, Peter Gabriel, Robert Fripp, Karl Wallinger). I sorely miss Toni and wish her a speedy recovery and return to music and RP. Excellent tune.
MadPercolator wrote:
You guys, if you took Celine Dion, and made her perform a concert from inside Shakira's mouth... it might sound like this.
Good God, that's EXACTLY what I was thinking.
Kornmann wrote:
She was sick for a while and left the business.
oh no! :-(
She moved to Hawaii and is getting set to relase some new music. https://www.tonichilds.com/
yay!! I'm so glad she's doing well. I can't wait to hear her new stuff!
iggy33 wrote:
Anybody knows whatever happened to TC..?
She was sick for a while and left the business. She moved to Hawaii and is getting set to relase some new music. I actually had the pleasure of working with her to design the CD. She was wonderful. To find out more or hear some new songs check out: https://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=79004941 https://www.tonichilds.com/
If the world complains about Celine Dion, I don't see how this song should be any good.
puke
themotion wrote:
that's never, ever, ever ... ever a good thing. i think i could kick celine dion in the face and not feel bad about it.
yes...that's definitly acrobatic nonsense.
A majestic track, indeed.
MadPercolator wrote:
You guys, if you took Celine Dion, and made her perform a concert from inside Shakira's mouth... it might sound like this.
I love Toni Childs, but this totally cracks me up. It's true really ...
No, I definitely did not listen to the whole cd. I'd listen to another track if it was on RP, I just didn't care for this at all... Nabla wrote:
Maybe, you didn't listen to the whole CD? It's a great one! For example: Tin Drum...
joyjoy wrote:
Ough. It reminds me of Celine Dion. And that's not a good thing.
that's never, ever, ever ... ever a good thing. i think i could kick celine dion in the face and not feel bad about it.
joyjoy wrote:
Ough. It reminds me of Celine Dion. And that's not a good thing.
Maybe, you didn't listen to the whole CD? It's a great one! For example: Tin Drum...
This song is hauntingly beautiful. It gives me chills. It's one of my all-time favorite songs ever. The one mentioned below, "I have to go now" is also amazing.
Ough. It reminds me of Celine Dion. And that's not a good thing.
lotus_65 wrote:
who's daughter is she?
Here is some more information about her: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Childs ...
You guys, if you took Celine Dion, and made her perform a concert from inside Shakira's mouth... it might sound like this.
who's daughter is she?
This song is ok. Don't Walk Away was awful. The Toni Childs song that I really loved, though, was "I Have to Go Now." It was a song (I think) about an abusive relationship, and it was strongly emotional. Does anyone have that song to upload? I would love to hear it!!
GOD I love this song - in fact, this is one of the greatest debut albums ever. Every song is wonderful - I played the hell out of this for years, and still listen to it. Walk and Talk Like Angels.....
Well said. I played this CD to death years ago. TC is unique - judging by the other comments maybe even an acquired taste EleventhMan wrote:
Thank you thank you thank you thank you to whomever uploaded this...and thank you to BillG for playing this..it took me waaaaayyyyyy back....to someone who's voice is very unique and I love!
If I wanted to listen to Celion Dion, then I wouldn't be listening to Radio Paradise... Please make it stop.
For some reason, this tune is just gag-inducing to me. Maybe if we heard something else of hers sometime....
Thank you thank you thank you thank you to whomever uploaded this...and thank you to BillG for playing this..it took me waaaaayyyyyy back....to someone who's voice is very unique and I love!
drife wrote:
For those of you interested in finding out more about the whereabouts of Toni Childs, .
I don't care where she is, I just hope she's not on Radio Paradise anymore
Sorry All Greatest voice or album of all time...hardly Strong effort probably worth owning, and a unique voice? Probably more to the point. I like the song, and I played her a lot when I was on college radio back in the late 80s and early 90s. She has shown no 'in it for the long haul' in my opinion, whether her later efforts were corporate driven or not.
Platypus wrote:
while its definitely not horrible, I dont see where everyone is getting this "greatest voice in the world" from. pretty average, if you ask me. I'm with deadline - she needs to take the marbles out of her mouth.
Boy, she has Natalie-Merchant-marble-mouth more than Natalie herself! I agree about the voice.
For those of you interested in finding out more about the whereabouts of Toni Childs, check into the www.allmusic.com Webpage. They have some good info.
dmax wrote:
Worst moment: watching her on TV stomping around in heavy boots trying to convincingly sing "Just WALK away." Ew.
The song is called "Don't Walk Away." I add my voice to those who ask: Where is she now?
Anybody knows whatever happened to TC..?
Please, how could this possibly be called "singing"? It sounds as though her voice rolled down a washboard and across some corrugated siding and then went through a long, long underwater pipeline.
while its definitely not horrible, I dont see where everyone is getting this "greatest voice in the world" from. pretty average, if you ask me. I'm with deadline - she needs to take the marbles out of her mouth.
Come on Toni, spit out whatever you've got in your mouth.
Originally Posted by markw: Indeed! I listened to it many, many times in the late 80s / early 90s. Her later efforts (at least the two I heard) didn't come close to this one, unfortunately, but this one's a must-have if you like this song.
I think I read somewhere that her first album (her best) was a work of passion for Ms. Childs. She was able to make the album she wanted and even traveled to Africa for inspiration. I think the rest of her albums were corporate driven, hence not as good.
Originally Posted by splendy: The entire CD is great too. :)
Indeed! I listened to it many, many times in the late 80s / early 90s. Her later efforts (at least the two I heard) didn't come close to this one, unfortunately, but this one's a must-have if you like this song.
The entire CD is great too. :)
Finally.... :-) Thanks, Bill! ;) One of the greatest voices in the world! :D :D :D