LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO
Long Walk to Freedom
Heads Up
· Goosebump-inducing collaborations and new renditions of previously released tracks mark the 20-year anniversary of appearing on Paul Simon’s Graceland.
Synonymous with stirring melodies and incomparably thick bass and tenor harmonies, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been sharing traditional Zulu folk songs and stamping their unique style on songs for albums, commercials and theatre for nearly 40 years.
Long Walk to Freedom chronicles previous offerings from as early as 1965 to as recent as 2000. With contributions from vocal powerhouses like Emmylou Harris, Natalie Merchant, Sarah McLachlan, Taj Mahal and Melissa Etheridge, and arrangements by the likes of Joe McBride and Zap Mama, nearly every track on the album jumps out and demands full attention.
The seamless melding of McLachlan and lead singer Joseph Shabalala on "Homeless" delivers on intensely personal level, while Harris’s "Amazing Grace" is indisputably spine-tingling. The duets all deliver remarkably despite the wide variations in vocal stylings of the contributing artists, but it is the first song Shabalala wrote in 1965 that ignites the album and shines the brightest. "Nomathemba" haunts and entices while it soothes with whispers, hiccups and clicks through an upbeat lullaby whose title means "hope."
|
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.