v/a: Next Stop...Soweto, Vol. 2: Soul, Funk & Organ Grooves from the Townships 1969-1976

Label: Strut

The first volume of Strut's Soweto-themed compilation series was great; this one's even better if you're a connoisseur of cross-cultural pollination, as the mix of Western R&B styles and South African flavor is both super-fun and super-funky, with some familiar riffs appropriated (for instance, Philip Malela & the Movers' “Intandane (Part 1)” sounds suspiciously like Herbie Hancock's “Chameleon” near the end). Mahotella Queens and Mgababa Queens return from Vol. 1, but otherwise this is a new artist lineup, and as usual Strut mixes in plenty of material on CD for the first time. There's a huge amount of stylistic variety, running the gamut from a few tracks bordering on garage rock, to organ-powered instrumentals Booker T would be proud of, to funk grooves that could jumpstart a party anywhere, to vocal-heavy tracks that could have been on Vol. 1 but (barely) qualify here based on the rhythm guitar riffs. The one characteristic that seems constant is that the music's played by small combos, not sprawling Parliament-Funkadelicesque collectives, and horns are relatively scarce, usually just one saxophone. Recommended for both Afropop and soul/funk aficionados. (Steve)