Soul Taker

To say that South African superstar has a distinctive sound is to put it rather kindly. To put it less kindly, he has one melody -- a big, unabashedly cathartic one -- and he's been singing it for over 15 years. Luckily, it's a very good melody, and he makes it work again and again on his tenth album, in particular on heart-tugging anthems like and He mixes things up stylistically a bit more at the opening and close of the album, with the aggressive -flavored which uses -derived harmonies and a groove to create a sound that has little, if anything, to do with , but everything to do with 's homeland. In between are those big, cathartic gems and a few other noteworthy tracks, including the bluesy two-chord vamp of and a snarling political putdown titled whose message may be aimed at the U.S. or South Africa or maybe Colombia -- it's not really clear which. Fans know what to expect; as for those looking for an introduction to 's distinctive brand of , this is as good a place to start as any. ~ Rick Anderson