Not the best of its kind

I got this in the 80s in the wake of Simon's "Graceland." This is probably the best known collection of this kind in America. Overall, it's not a bad set, but there are better collections of this kind for the intiate of S/A music. These selections lack the proper mix of rhythm and melody to hook you the first time around. But Township Jive (S/A's equivalent to reggae and R&B), while an acquired taste that never caught on in the US as it should have, has excellent collections such as "Rhythm of Resistance," "Rough Guide to S/A Music," "Rough Guide to S/A Jazz," "Kings and Queens of Township Jive," etc. Try those first, then ork your way back to this one.

One of The Greats of the 80s

Arguably one of the most monumental collection of world music ever recorded paints a sound scope of Soweto heritage so profoundly moving, it will make you weep. It soars and swirls and educates and dances within realms of diversity and poetry. The artists range in style and dialect, sketching a portrait of historic musical significance. Hearing such a tapestry, one could understand why Paul Simon explored [and Sting and Peter Gabriel exploited] his own pop aesthetic. At the risk of hyperbole mixed in for dramatic effect/affect, I will state that this album is a wonder to behold - an absolute must own for any human being who cares one iota about what music could/should/would be. Or what music is. My grade: A+

Such great work, some people start at the top

I like this so much, I think American music, in comparison, suffers from a cult of professionalism which stifles anything that might be a breath of fresh air. I don't speak the language that these songs are sung in, but there was a translation in the CD liner. Selection 4, "The Man in the Black Coat," with the final line, "He demands all my money even when I hide it," as translated in the liner, actually has the word, "money" in English in the song, so the demand is perfectly clear, and the idea that "money" is being demanded in English might be one of the things which makes that song chilling. Another one of the songs struck me as being a perfect topic. The selection by Moses Mchunu is in the middle of the CD, after an instrumental track. When the introduction of the song "Qhwayilahle/Leave Him Alone" or "Ohwahilale" starts, I'm always thinking, Are they going to start singing the funny one yet? The voices sound serious as they do the first line, but an instrumental riff peps things up and the song takes off. The translation is "Just imagine you are the only one of your age group who is not married and your peers are jealous of your girlfriends." There are enough voices involved in the performance to picture what is going on as the group hashes this one out. You shouldn't have to understand what each word means to hear the humor of that song. All the music on this CD was recorded in 1981-84, and I started listening to it when it really was new, but it is so different from the rest of my music collection that hearing it is still a novelty. Some of it seems a bit rough, but it is not an intentional punk type effort to trash their listeners because their listeners think they have heard it all before. These people sing like they have found an audience who can enjoy it, and everybody is digging it so much they are beyond teasing.