Mighty roar
Pieter | Johannesburg | 04/22/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This brilliant album by one of South Africa's top bands of the 70s and 80s is one huge listening feast. It opens with the hit title track, which is a celebration of this style of music that is also called township pop and is built on pulsating rhythms with exuberant vocals in Zulu. The magic lies in the vocals, with Mahlatini (the Lion of Soweto) roaring in his gravely voice against the uplifting voices of the queens. Jive Motella is another of my favourites with its lilting beat. I also love Josefa, Noluthando and the ode to the township of KwaMakhutha. But all the tracks have something to offer. Together with Thokozile, this is the best album by Mahlatini and the Queens, one that ought to appeal beyond the boundaries of the World Music category. Simon Mahlatini passed away some years ago but his music lives on and this album, the aforementioned Thokozile and the Best Of collection are the places to start investigating these talents that shone so brightly beneath the southern cross."