Name: Putumayo Presents: South Africa [Digipak]
Brand: Putumayo World
SKU: 1081272
Availability: OutOfStock

Putumayo Presents

Rating

Album: Putumayo Presents: South Africa [Digipak]
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Ujaheni - Soul Brothers
2)	Mbombela - Bholoja
3)	Oxam - Mahube
4)	Nkosi - BLK Sonshine
5)	Beautiful Feet - Nibs Van der Spuy
6)	Mananga - Steve Dyer
7)	Orlando - Miriam Makeba
8)	Tiki Tiki - Phinda
9)	Halala Afrika - Johannes Kerkorrel
10)	Work - Zoro (previously unreleased)
11)	Vulamasango - Kaya
12)	Ngahlulele - The Soweto Gospel Choir

Album: Putumayo Presents: South Africa [Digipak]
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Ujaheni - Soul Brothers
2)	Mbombela - Bholoja
3)	Oxam - Mahube
4)	Nkosi - BLK Sonshine
5)	Beautiful Feet - Nibs Van der Spuy
6)	Mananga - Steve Dyer
7)	Orlando - Miriam Makeba
8)	Tiki Tiki - Phinda
9)	Halala Afrika - Johannes Kerkorrel
10)	Work - Zoro (previously unreleased)
11)	Vulamasango - Kaya
12)	Ngahlulele - The Soweto Gospel Choir

Performer Notes

Liner Note Author: Jacob Edgar.
Illustrator: Nicola Heindl.
Photographers: Ralph Lee Hopkins; Andy Phillipson; Jane Sweeney ; Gavin Furlonger; Andreas Pastor; Rab‚ Hama; Jason Norris.
It's so easy to underestimate these Putumayo compilations. They have that little hint of smugness about them, that whiff of Starbucks multiculturalism -- the kind that suggests you're a slightly bad person if you fail to buy. You see the faux-na‹ve cover art, the simplistic representations of other cultures, the faintly imperialist "Putumayo Presents" album title, and you think "This collection is going to consist of nothing but touristy ethno-pop." But then, as often as not, you end up surprised. Putumayo Presents: South Africa is one of the best entries in this long series of compilations. Yes, there are some familiar names: Miriam Makeba is here (singing something other than "Pata Pata," to the compilers' credit) and so are mbaqanga pioneers the Soul Brothers. But there are also fine contributions from the up-and-coming Swaziland crooner Bholoja (whose "Mbombela" is a lovely example of the emerging "Swazi soul" sound), anti-apartheid folksinger Johannes Kerkorrel, soul-reggae artist Zoro, and rapper/beatboxer Blk Sonshine. Inevitably, there are some clunkers: Nibs van der Spuy's "Beautiful Feet" is anemic acoustic reggae, and Steve Dyer's "Mananga" is pleasant but boring three-chord jazz. The album's 44-minute length also feels skimpy, and in a few cases seems to have been achieved by premature fadeouts (why give us only 2:40 of Makeba singing the wonderful "Orlando"?). But overall, this album is much more triumph than failure. ~ Rick Anderson