Mahlathini: King of the Groaners

A nice collection of recordings from 1972-1977 from Mahlathini (Simon Nkabinde), the king of groaners. He specializes in a deep bass style of singing in South African township forms. Accompanying him on this album is a plethora of backup singers and musicians. What a listener will notice is the layered vocals dousing every track — the hallmark of South African music. Another noticeable item is the unstoppable half-soukous guitar that bounces along in the background of every song. For a fan of South African music, an album devoted to Mahlathini's hits would certainly be a pleasure. For a casual listener, or someone new to the genres encompassed by his work, one may wish to start out with something else from the same Earthworks label, perhaps — the Indestructible Beat of Soweto series would probably cover all bases.