South Africa - The Kings And Queens Of Township Jive

Of the many compilations of township jive (or mbaqanga) recordings that hit the American and European marketplace in the late '80s following Paul Simon's blockbuster Graceland album, this is surely one of the best. Subtitled "Modern Roots of the Indestructible Beat of Soweto," it rides the coattails of that very successful album but also stands well on its own. The Kings and Queens of Township Jive prominently features two of South Africa's finest and most popular ensembles, the Soul Brothers and the Mahotella Queens (both with and without their male frontman, Mahlathini). Several of the other featured artists are singers in the "groaning" style that Mahlathini popularized -- Mbazo's "Okwami Okwezandla" and Abafana Baseqhudeni's gorgeous "Mubi Umakhelwane" both come clearly from that tradition, especially the latter, which features multiple voices in the basso profundo groaning range. There are also a couple of examples of instrumental "sax jive." This album is just about as good an introduction to South African pop music as you could hope for. ~ Rick Anderson|