Best of Ladysmith Black mambazo
Whether they are singing hymns or secular songs, Ladysmith Black Mambazo always raise their voices in glorious harmony. They are the unmatched masters of the South African a cappella form known asisicathamiyaormbube, and this CD demonstrates their vocal prowess. The Zulu songs are ornamented by trills, yips, humming, and tra-la-las and punctuated by the rhythmic clicks that are particular to the language. The English-language songs instruct and advise on the fine moral points of human relationships. While thembubesong form lends a certain similarity to the pieces, this group is so good that the music never seems redundant, and the generous selection of 16 songs seems to go by too quickly.--Jeff Grubb