|
|
 |
CD Review
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Dallas Morning News , CD Review >>
By MATT WEITZ / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
It's kind of odd when you think about the way in which things that wereonce unique now stand for a whole movement in taste and appreciation.Ladysmith Black Mambazo was once one of a few signature African pop groups,rubbing elbows with the likes of King Sunny Ade
Ladysmith Black Mambazo brought its signature sound to Southern MethodistUniversity on Tuesday night. To Westerners it may have seemed as if therewas little difference between these kinds of music, but the longevity of LBM makes the group a favorite.
Tuesday night at its TITAS performance at Southern Methodist University'sMcFarlin Auditorium, the eight-man a cappella group showed about 1,800 fansthat it has lost little of its vocal chops.
"Awu Wemadoda," the first song of the evening, paid tribute not only to thetraditional song structures of Zulu music but also to the expectations ofan audience raised on the world-music accents made famous by artists likePeter Gabriel.
The breathy enunciation and sibilant harmonies showed that the men wereutterly comfortable in their own skins, yet still foreign to the audience.
They proved this when they tried to get an audience member to sing withthem and introduced him to the series of clicks that make up their nativetongue.
The group's latest album, Long Walk to Freedom, was well-represented by thetitle track and another tune, "Hello My Baby."
Throughout the show, the message seemed to be the cleansing effect ofpolitical and artistic action.
The South African group was cool when Paul Simon turned us on to it via1986's Graceland, and, with songs such as "Phalamende" and "Nginethemba,"the singers proved that music doesn't necessarily need oppression to soundwonderful.
LBM has a rich, breathy sound that transmits struggle, fortitude andcourage to listeners.
Tuesday night, the layered beauty of Ladysmith Black Mambazo's deliverytranscended even the most pointed political concerns. 04/13/06 >> go there
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
