Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Raise Your Spirit Higher (2003)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 50:23 minutes | Scans included | 3,17 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 978 MB
It’s been 17 years since Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s gorgeous vocal harmonies poured the foundation for Paul Simon’s landmark 1986 album Graceland, an album that catapulted the South African a cappella gospel group into the international consciousness and led to worldwide stardom, a Grammy, film soundtracks, and candy commercials. Fans of the group’s intricately arranged vocal landscapes will be pleased to know that all that ensuing attention hasn’t diluted the group’s appeal. Their latest album, Raise Your Spirit Higher, is as strong as anything the group has recorded in its now 30-year career. Ladysmith has always defined itself by merging Christian gospel music with a native South African musical tradition called isicathamiya, which was developed by mine workers who sang to entertain themselves after their grueling work. That tradition continues here, with several tracks like “Uqinisul’ Ubada (Lord is the Light and Truth)” and “Udidekil’ Umhlaba (Lord’s Work)”, devoted to Christian themes. Since the group sings in their native Zulu, however, Ladysmith’s international appeal has always been in the stunning variety of sounds they are able to produce with their voices alone, and Raise Your Spirit Higher is no exception. The percussive clicking sounds on “Selingelethu Sonke” and Wangibambezela” are otherworldly, and the gorgeous call-and-response between leader Joseph Shabalala and the group on “Wenza Ngani?” shows that the group’s polish hasn’t lost anything since “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.” The most moving track on the album though, is the closing “Tribute”, sung by Shabalala’s grandsons in tribute to their grandmother, tragically murdered in 2002 during the recording of this album.
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Long Walk To Freedom (2006)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 53:58 minutes | Full Artwork | 4,29 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Artwork | 1,06 GB
For more than 30 years, South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo has infused its township sound of Isicathamiya with rich gospel harmonies. LBM’s unique sound was brought to American audiences thanks to Paul Simon’s landmark Graceland, and the group has toured and recorded tirelessly since. Long Walk To Freedom is a new retrospective in which the group rerecords new versions of songs from throughout its career with help from such guests as Emmylou Harris, Sarah McLachlan, Taj Mahal, and Zap Mama as well as several popular countrymen. As with the Simon album, the North American guests’ voices fit hand-in-glove with the group’s warm harmonies. Highlights include “Nomathemba,” which was the band’s first hit in 1973, the popular “Hello My Baby,” and the Graceland tunes “Diamonds on the Soles Of Her Shoes” and “Homeless.” Though ostensibly a career retrospective, this new recording actually proves that Ladysmith Black Mambazo has never sounded better.
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu (2008)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 50:51 minutes | Scans included | 3,19 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 0,98 GB
2008 album from the Grammy Award-winning South African vocal group. Ilembe is a tribute to the South African cultural icon Shaka Zulu. In the late 1700s, Shaka Zulu united the Zulus with various neighboring tribes into a single powerful force that helped give birth to a proud nation. Today, Shaka Zulu is regarded as one of the greatest leaders in African history. His combination of warrior discipline, visionary leadership, innate creativity, and unshakable belief in a united nation continues to resonate to this day in South Africa. He is revered as the single figure who gave birth to the indomitable fighting spirit of the Zulus: the same spirit that enabled South Africans to persevere amid the European domination of their homeland for nearly two centuries of apartheid. Ilembe celebrates not only Shaka Zulu but the sense of perseverance, creativity and pride that he has inspired in generations of descendants.
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