Johnny Wakelin

English South Coast comedian Johnny Wakelin certainly drew a lot of activity out of what was, at least in commercial terms, little more than a one-trick pony. He liked boxing, he sang about boxing, and he had hits with songs about boxing. Take him away from the ring, however, and he also takes the musical gloves off -- African Man, almost titled for Wakelin's lament for the age of slavery, is a surprisingly versatile album, packed with the singer's previously unsuspected love of tribal rhythms and Afro-Caribbean rootsiness, all crossed with a remarkably skewed vision of pop, mid-'70s-style.

Whether the ensuing hybrid is actually any good, of course, is entirely in the ear of the beholder. "Africa Man" itself is a superlative effort, but elsewhere, too much of Wakelin's delivery retains his schooling amid the hard knocks of English seaside cabaret, leading to over-exaggerated mannerisms and over-stated end games. "You Turn Me On" and the hyper-outrageous club hit "Dr Frankenstein's Disco Party" (think Funkadelic-meets-"Monster Mash"), surely the album's most noteworthy cuts (the title track notwithstanding), both founder after one listen too many...unless, to pull a punch line that Wakelin himself would appreciate, you really need to be knocked about by some Ali-sized puns. ~ Amy Hanson, Rovi