King of Bongo

AMG Review of King of Bongo

Don Snowden
All Music Guide

King of Bongo showcases Mano Negra as a straightforward ock band, downplaying its trademark eclecticism and turning up the guitars. The manic rhythmic drive is throttled back, and the broad range of styles the group explored on Puta's Fever only pop up sporadically to spice the ock context. The almost all-English lyrics embrace the outlaw rocker stance, and the material is largely geared toward emphasizing Mano Negra's connection with the punk side of the ock spectrum. The ranting rave-up "Letter to the Censors" isn't that far from Motörhead, and the acoustic guitar and organ on "Out of Time Man" has a feel close to Iggy Pop's "The Passenger." "Don't Want You No More" even lopes along at a country & western-flavored clip. Mano Negra can ock hard and convincingly -- notably on the steady, rolling title track or when blending dub reggae and ap elements into "Bring the Fire" -- and the music still offers much more variety than the ock norm here. While King of Bongo isn't a bad album (and its English-language ock orientation might be easier for many people to connect with), it is the least distinctive of Mano Negra's career.