Reviewed by James Attlee

On 'Two Worlds One Heart' Ladysmith Black Mambazo are on a cultural crusade to take their infectious, joyful and deeply spiritual township jive from the shanty towns of South Africa, via the recording studios of New York and Los Angeles to the entire globe. The world is grateful. The first track, "Township Jive," sets the dance agenda with a groove it's impossible to resist. "Get your boots on! Do the gumboots dance. It's Township jive time!" we're told. No one's disagreeing. The Zulu lyrics catalogue the countries on the Ladysmith hit-list. "Thina Township Jive. . .Thina sangena a New Zealand, Sangena a USA, Thina sangena a Europe" etc. We get the picture - and the sooner the better. The second song is described as a 'song of praise of Jesus'. The unaccompanied voices of the ten-strong Mambazo provide a symphony of worship of unbelievable richness and complexity - when they do break into English they sing "Longing to see him, He who loves me. Stay with Him, He is my redeemer." The third song "Bala Ubhale," is "to encourage the poets of all countries to write about the amazing events happening in the world today" Again acapella, it employs the tongue-clicks of the Zulu nation and the swooping and diving vocals of mbube style music to a great effect. "Love Your Neighbour" is simply the most beautiful gospel song I've heard all year. It's really impossible to describe what these people can do with the human voice. I would love some of the great black gospel quartets of yesteryear, The spirit of Memphis Quartet or the Hummingbirds perhaps, to have been the ones to collaborate with these guys in a world where such a cross-over is possible. As it is, the Winans are the ones to get alongside them at the mike on a rearrangement of the hymn "Leaning On The Everlasting Arms," with big brother Marvin at the production helm. The results are - well, ordinary. Yes, the technology and production wizardry of the gospel superstars of the Western World manage to strip Mambazo of their uniqueness. Next to Zulu human beatboxes, Detroit drum computers don't cut it and Marvin's voice doesn't come off too well alongside Joseph Shabalala's either. Let's hope that the Winans connection will at least open doors for Mambazo - vocal help they don't need. Things soon return to form with "Rejoice", a statement of faith that Jesus is coming to South Africa. Inevitably the five successive unaccompanied vocal tracks on side Two, with lyrics in English few and far between can be a bit daunting on first listening, but this is an album that improves with repeated listens. One more unlikely collaboration remains - with psychadelic funkmaster George Clinton, no less, he of the blond barnet and stackboots. Veteran of all those crazed 70s deep-funk outfits - Parliament, Funkadelic et al - Clinton's now found a home under Prince's wing at Paisley Park Records. Musically, "Scatter The Fire" works better than "Leaning On The Everlasting Arms." Clinton has always been a musical eclectic and bold experimenter, so perhaps it's not surprising that he manages to juggle the dispirate elements in this track with such apparent ease aided in production, it must be said by Shabalala himself. Elements of Clinton's James Brown derived funk, hip-hop, rap and street talk New York and Zulu style all bounce off each other and somehow hang together. Turn up and enjoy the sound of the streets in the global village, as the combined forces of two continents exhort us to "keep the faith! spread the music and scatter the fire." As the man said "it's time for Township jive." Get your gumboots on and get down.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.