Search - John Kongos :: Tokoloshe Man

One of the great lost albums of the 1970s

greg@e-mend.com | Toronto, Canada | 12/11/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1971, South Africa folkie John Kongos tried his hand at rock. This album produced two thunderous singles, Tokoloshe Man and He's Gonna Step on You Again, and all sorts of other goodies. There are two beautiful folk songs (I Would Have Had a Good Time and the countryish Gold), and several other cuts featuring Kongos's distinctive guitar style. This CD also has Weekend Lady, a cut that for some reason was left off the North American version of the original LP. Has various hard-to-find singles, but alas not his impossible-to-find "I#7"/"Slow-Talking Boy" single from 1975 -- both sides of that one are wonderful."

Fresh Rock

John | West Hampstead United Kingdom | 08/19/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"John Kongos was having hits in his native South Africa at the tender age of 16, performing as Johnny & the G Men. He hit the big time when he moved to London and released "He's gonna step on you again" and "Tokoloshe Man", both of which made top 10 in the UK. With their strong guitar riffs and african drum rhythms these are 2 thunderous rock/pop tracks and it's worth having this album for these 2 songs alone. (Both these songs have been covered by the Happy Mondays, the first being re-named "Step On")This CD is his original album "Kongos", the B sides of his 2 singles and the 3 singles after this album. Outside of the 2 singles, the album is quieter, by still features some great tunes. "Tommorrow I'll Go" is a beautiful gem of a song that I found similiar to the Beach Boys' "Forever" (found on their recently re-released Sunflower LP). Like "Forever", this song went unnoticed.Similarities to Elton John around his Yellow Brick Road period are not co-incidental, the producer Gus Dudgeon also produced "Yellow Brick..", and a number of Elton John's backing group feature on this relatively unknown album. This is an album that has not dated and is a must for any lovers of pop rock."