South Africa music reviews

I bought this cd on a whim and was pleasantly surprised, especially at the sound quality. This cd is a collection of the Skylarks' best from the late 1950s. Nevertheless, the sound is quite good; in fact it sounds less dated than similar American recordings from the same era.
Miriam Makeba is a well-known singer from South Africa with a lovely voice. The Skylarks sound a great deal like American girl groups from the 1950s and early 60s, but I have to say that in my opinion the Skylarks are better. Perhaps because I was unfamiliar with the music, this cd sounds fresher and more interesting, and the songs themselves benefit greatly from their less produced sound.

When I first met my husband, he played this record (!) for me. Now, after 25 years of being together, it's still one of our favourites. Our children know this record by heart.

When I first met my husband, he played this record (!) for me. Now, after 25 years of being together, it's still one of our favourites. Our children know this record by heart.

Great CD for all lovers of jazz. The music is totally refreshing and really represents raw feeling.

This album fuses the sounds of inner africa with soulful improvisation by Dr.Ibrahim,accompanied by Jhonny Dyani on Bass. The Solos are calm and serene,with some burst out of energy,yet not running away from each other,they coproduce melody and harmony in soulful sense.The Light Vocals on top of the improvisation is a total plus point.Highly Recommended.-Ganesh.

Like many politically-minded black South Africans, Miriam Makeba spent several decades in exile during the apartheid era. Following the 1961 Sharpville Massacre, where dozens of people -- including several of her relatives -- were shot to death while protesting the repressive "pass laws," Makeba broke her silence on the evils of apartheid rule. The South African government responded by revoking her citizenship and permanently refusing to let her return to her homeland. It was really the government's loss, though: Makeba was a widely regarded international celebrity, and in the face of such bitter treatment by the Afrikaaners, she became one of the most effective public speakers in opposition to apartheid rule. At the end of the decade, Makeba returned to Africa, but instead of her mother country, Makeba moved to Guinea, where she and her husband Stokley Carmichael sought refuge from political persecution in the United States. In Guinea, Makeba hooked up with some of West Africa's greatest musicians, including the likes of Sekou Diabate and Famouro Kouyate. She recorded about thirty songs for the government-sponsored Syliphone label, about half of which are included on this great collection. Makeba sings in English, French, Arabic and numerous African dialects, including Xhosa, Nyanja, Shona and Guinea's local Maninka. The music is expansive and experimental, fusing her South African folk-pop style with soul music the lavish guitar work that the West Africans were perfecting at the time. Many of these tracks have languished out of print for decades, but now world music fans can hear a master musician singing at her peak.

I first heard this record in South Africa. I taped a copy and have been looking for a CD ever since. Really nice Afro-Dance music. Good for cleaning the house and dancing around. I don't have any of Brenda Fassie's other stuff, so I can't compare it to her other stuff.

In what might be her most far-reaching and sophisticated recording yet, Miriam Makeba reaches way back to the 1950s, and all the decades in between, re-recording some of her biggest hits and mixing them into an international stew of lovely, well-written songs that show off as never before just what a great singer she truly is with REFLECTIONS.
The arrangements are slick, but only occasionally too slick for my taste (i.e. violins on the fadeout to a Mbaquanga song).

Makeba revisits many of her older hits -- "Pata Pata," "The Click Song" and others -- with glitzy, big, modern world-pop arrangements. It's a surprisingly strong, fresh-sounding set, and even old-timers who are devoted to the old, original renditions should be cheered to hear Makeba still in such fine form. She also includes a couple of songs by Brazilian superstar Jorge Ben for good measure. More power to her!

Fans of great South African music need no introduction to the Mahotella Queens. Simply put thier music is uplifting in any language. Here, instead of their usual Zulu tunes, they take a stab at the English language market. With their ever-present partner Malanthini the groaner (RIP), they do an English version of their hit "Kazet" entiled "Won't You Sing Along." The real masterpiece here are the final tunes "Pray the Good Lord/God Is On Our Side" (they kind of blend into each other for good effect). Very uplifting, no matter what you believe. Only minor drawback is that it is clear that they are not accustomed to singing in English and the lyrics come off as a trifle stilted in some places, but overall it's a good effort and a fine intro for novices of S/A music.

I bought this CD along with the Tsotsi soundtrack. (Which I don't suggest -- Amazon shipped them seperately and it took over a month for this CD to arrive.) I was blown away by the music featured in Tsotsi and expected the same out of this. The CD's strongest song is the first on the disk. The songs' beats are too slow to be interesting and not danceable. The recording quality can vary, and the bass overpowers most of the songs. The music is repetitive, mediocre, and just not fun -- even unauthentic. A lot of the songs have some English thrown into the lyrics, about nothing interesting in particular. There are a few good songs, mostly on the first half of the disk, but you're much better off getting the Tsptsi soundtrack, even if it doesn't have as many different artists featured on this one.

As hard as it may be for us old Afro-pop fans to swallow, "The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto" is now old school, its artists and songs as much as of an artifact to native South Africans as, oh, The Clash's debut record is for us. Hence, dig the new breed! The amalgation of disco, hip hop, and township music threw me off at first, but, as with much African music, with proper immersion I'm learning to love this stuff more with each listen. Pounding electrobeats throughout, and let give three cheers for my fave rave, the endlessly repeatable "Make 'Em Bounce," which samples an old Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens song, and whose title serves as a manifesto for both this record and the style of music it exhibits. If I may quote: "This is a kind of rhythm in Africa / We send our messages through music / This is our tradition in Africa / Come on let's get together now." Indeed. In a word, glorious!