Miriam Makeba

Miriam was a joy. Very uplifting. Beautiful voice.

Got the thumbs up from the surfing Kooks.

Another artist I’d not heard of and enjoyed. Not sure I would have it on repeat so maybe a slightly harsh 3*

Great voice, beautiful harmonies and occasionally foot tapping rythms. But it's covering too many bases as it ranges from traditional African songs through novelty outings and western jazz, none of which quite hits the spot for me. The realisation that The Lion Sleeps Tonight was originally a bloody good song nearly gives it an extra star, but it's still 2*

A very pleasant, relaxing listen. Heard it before? ❌ Listen again? ✅ Rating out of ten? 7

Spectacular. First track is an instant classic. One of those albums where im like, yeah, this is music that sounds so good to me! Made me think Paul Simon was chasing some of this sound in the production of Graceland.

Just delightful!

Great voice, great songs. Just all around enjoyable to listen to.

Could have been really great if it weren't for just too many novelty tracks on it. Like, I'm listening to this and I'm hearing what someone like Linda Perhacs would only be catching up to 10 years later! But then I also have to listen to some dumb song where a guy can't even stop laughing for a second, and it really does a lot to ruin all the goodwill I've been building up.

not that enjoyable personally but 100% deserves a spot on this lit

This was amazing music

This was certainly interesting and it made me smile. Something I would never have listened to outside of this list. Interesting reading up on her life too.

1. 4 2. 3.5 3. 5 4. 3 5. 4 6. 4.5 7. 5 1. 4 2. 4.5 3. 3.5 4. 5 5. 4 6. 2.5 7. 4

Great album. Easy listening. 4.5

Nope

Mama Africa delivering

😃

Listenable

Ok

Bit long for me.

This one is so far out of my usual wheelhouse, I have no clue how to properly rate it. I’ll give it a 3/5 only because a 2 feels too low and a 4 feels too high.

nice voice

Has some iconic tracks pretty standard with some weird ones

Not my usual listening, but pretty enjoyable. Good to have on in the background

One of the most beautiful singing voices you will ever hear.

Interesting listen. Naturally a lot of historical context. High 2s.

She's a very good singer. The choir has a great voice range too. A little jazzy. 2.4/5 Favorite Songs: The Naughty Little Flea Where Does It Lead House Of The Rising Sun

An enjoyable listen! She has a beautiful voice and I enjoyed the vibe.

When Mbube started I immediately stopped and had to read and confirm that yup, that's where The Lion Sleeps Tonight comes from. Didnt expect to hear a cover of House of the Rising Sun either.

Not really my cup of tea, but I can definitely recognise this for it’s quality and undoubtedly cultural value, and I don’t even throw those words around randomly. It’s a pretty chill album to listen to when you want a different ambience. Favourites: The Click Song, Where Does It Lead and maybe that version of the lion sleeps tonight

Stunning. Beautiful. Strong. Bold. The album starts with a bang and it just doesn't stop. Such an amazing voice, and with songs so suited to it. Loved hearing where the Lion Sleeps Tonight comes from, and fascinating to hear something as different as the Click Song. I'll need to explore more if Miriam's work.

I enjoyed this album, Miriam Makebas voice is wonderful. It's definitely a nice inclusion on the list, and i was not expecting it to take the humorous turn that it does near the end of the album. Favourites: Suliram Holilili The Naughty Little Flea

Another entry in the category called 'i'm sure this is really good but it isn't really for me'. She had a lovely voice but it wasn't really a style of music i am ever going to go back to. Highlight was totally House of the Rising Sun..which genuinley might be my favourite version of that song. I also had a pleasant suprise when i realised what Mbube was. Where Does It Lead has vibes of Billie Holliday's Strange Fruit. As i said, lots to appreciate but i can't see myself returning to it.

Lots of different styles on display here. The naughty little flea obviously iconic, but the dying husband had me pissing myself. Twas at its best when it had the backing choir vocals I thought

Like going to church.

Got boring fast. Miriam has a lovely voice, and stands for a great cause, but this put me right to sleep.

5 for the voice 3 for the compilation

Fascinating to learn about Miriam and her role in the anti apartheid movement but her music was just.. Fine.

Would I be wrong to say she’s like the South African Nina Simone?

Very relaxing, wouldn’t listen to it in the regular but pleasant.

Марко 2,5 Сара 1,5

Really good

This was ok. A few pleasant songs

Miriam Makeba was a genuine star in the former GDR. The South African civil rights activist visited the now-defunct country several times and was—naturally—held in high esteem due to her political activism. As a result, I am reasonably familiar with her music. However, I am not familiar with her debut album, released in 1960. Her songs tell the stories of the oppressed Black population during the apartheid era. She was regarded as a voice for her homeland, having been forced to leave the country early on. Harry Belafonte supported her along the way. Later, she was often simply known as "Mama Africa," as she sang in several African languages—though, of course, in English as well. She possessed an incredible vocal range, which she frequently employed with great intentionality. To the uninitiated ear, this record might pose a challenge, but for those with open hearts and ears, it is a revelation! This album comes highly recommended—provided you are willing to engage with it. And don't forget: this music was created 66 years ago. Thanks to *1001 Albums* for this reminder!

631/1089 - Very intelligent guitar playing. Some cool songs and interesting takes on standards.

Good to get a sample of music from other countries so I don’t feel like such an uncultured swine.

I do think this is an essential listen. I actually really enjoyed hearing something so different than what is normally fed to me from this list. Beautiful voice. So much emotion. I thought the production was actually pretty great for 1960. 36 minutes is about perfect, don’t know if I would want to listen too much longer. 3.5/5

6/10

There are a couple songs that I found interesting, the first one for example. It felt so tribal, so roots. But most of them are just ok. 2,5/5.

Fun! 4

Good

Hoy es miércoles, se fuma makeleleee

6.5/10 - Very pleasant and I like Miriam’s voice. It felt a bit like a Standards Album. Something you would hear out of James Taylor. It wasn’t bad but it didn’t grab my attention.

Her vocals are great but I don't see myself coming back to this often. 5/10

I liked it, felt like sitting hearing someone sing in a living room or something.

7/10 Really rather good. Kinda made me reassess Graceland

I respect world music and other cultures. This is not for me tho.

Está interesante y chévere, pero no es el tipo de música que yo escucharía normalmente

The Retreat Song (Jikele Maweni) - 4/5 Suliram - 3/5 The Click Song - 4/5 Umhome - 3/5 Olilili - 3/5 Lakutshn, llanga - 3/5 Mbube - 4/5 The Naughty Little Flea - 3.5/5 Where Does It Lead - 3/5 Nomeva - 3/5 House of the Rising Sun - 3/5 Saduva - 3/5 One More Dance - 2.5/5 Iya Guduza - 3/5 Thank you Harry Belafonte for somehow allowing Makeba to make an album as a black woman during the Apartheid. It's a good mix of original stuff and folk and western covers, and she has the voice to make some of them really shine. Nice hearing (a cover of) the originator of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, which I guess makes sense in translation since it means "Lion" in Zulu. This feels like more of a standards album so it gets an "eh" out of me overall. Overall: 3/5 Favorites: The Retreat Song, The Click Song, Mbube

I think I just have a hunger for world music. Everytime any African music comes up in the generator I thoroughly enjoy the album from start to finish. I can't tell is it's Miriam Makeba specifically that I enjoyed, or I just love this genre / style of music, but this was another great listen. The rhythm and vocal range just feel some warm and colorful, it feels like music of celebration and good times. I think I should really get my stuff together and do a deeper dive into this stuff

She's got a phenomenal voice and I loved learning about her history and her music. Very happy to have heard this album and it definitely deserves to be heard before you die, but it's just not something I can see myself coming back to.

Banger of an album. Little English boys heard this album and said "lemme just make worse versions of these songs". Why was the dude cracking up laughing during that one song? Absolutely iconic.

Nice. Aber werd ich wahrscheinlich nicht nochmal hören

Really interesting album, beautiful songs and an intriguing life story for this artist

felt okay about this

This is going to make me even more judgemental of every mediocore white man in the 80s who tried to imitate this sound (count your days, Paul Simon)

First off, well played Alexander for having this album the day after Graceland, that is funny and poignant as fuck. I absolutely loved this. I love her vibrato in the English songs, it's so wonderfully nostalgic. And the non-English (not sure if they all were Xhosa or not) were so cool. The choral parts were so complex and absolutely mesmerising. Now I know what "the lion sleeps tonight" really sounds like!

Chill and happy album.

Probably my first encounter on this list where the artist's impact is much more significant than the art itself. This is still just a 1960 debut album from a rising star vocalist. Great voice, some interesting African-influenced songs, but destroyed by baffling album sequencing and questionable covers. And that laughing on One More Dance is wild... I appreciate that I learned about Miriam Makeba through this list, and I would be interested in hearing her later career works (particularly from the 1980s). But I did not particularly enjoy this album. Rating: history lesson/10

Very beautiful. Recording sounds better than I would expect for 1960

Never heard her before, but I liked her sound.

That’s enough of that by the end of the album, but it had more energy than so much on this list even if it was just as lowkey at moments. Like, does in 1960 what so many artists did worse later on. I kinda just gotta like the albums on here with songs I could be tortured with. WHERE DIE THE FLEA GO.

Give me more 60’s music from around the world

5/10 - I was expecting more from this but it was middle of the road

Not terrible, but not my cup of tea.

Beautiful.

Se apaga en la segunda mitad

Under the eye of Harry Belafonte, Ms. Makeba's debut is pleasant and a window into South Africa at the time. I think a black woman making a record during South African apartheid is significant, even though she would not get into writing protest material until later in her career. She has a very strong voice that seems to jump out of the arrangements at times.

Very Africa, very good.

Such fun sounds! I really enjoyed this album.

Not really my jam, but I can see the appeal

south africa

After so many 80s 90s dull guitar bands it was refreshing to be exposed to this artist. Released in 1960 it has the hallmarks of the mainstream late 50s production, novelty tracks aside when she's allowed to let loose then her voice shines

Please more of this this was surprisingly fun. Way exceeded my expectations.

Pretty easy and fun listen

Wow Raro bueno

African music that has elements of 50s/60s pop. She has a fantastic voice and the songs are mostly upbeat and easy to listen to. It was a perfect palate cleanser and I really enjoyed listening to it. I ended up adding The Retreat Song, Mbube and The Click Song to my playlist (although I wish the latter had that intro as a separate track). It was interesting reading about Mbube too and how it evolved into The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

Easy listening, gentle, tribal

i liked the dead husband song

Very pretty, but this is like listening to nursery rhymes or hymns at its best. And then there’s one more dance, which honestly lost this a star.

Huh?

An artist I had never listened to before and I’m glad I got to discover her, both because of the context and because she doesn’t necessarily belong to the dominant Global North of the music industry. It’s essential to consider when this album was released and its historical context, following Makeba’s exile from South Africa due to her activism against apartheid. You can clearly hear her intention to bring traditional African music, including its original names, to Western audiences, blending it with international pop arrangements of the time. I enjoyed discovering the song Mbube and its influential connection to The Lion Sleeps Tonight, which is directly related to it. I’m left with the experience of discovering one of the most important African artists of all time. My favorite song: Where Does It Lead.

Not my stuff at all.

First time listening to an album from Miriam. Lovely to hear the Xhosa language with its characteristic click sounds. The interpretation of House of the Rising Sun also really stands out among other covers of the song. At the same time I think the album didn't move me too hard 2/5

que mierda es esto!? no me desagrada pero rarooo

⭐⭐ Vacker röst men jag upplever inte att det är ett album som åldrats bra. Och det är inget som flyger för mig även om jag inte tycker det är direkt dåligt förutom One more Dance som var irriterande. Kommer inte lyssna på det igen så det blir en 2a. att lyssna på. Bäst är The retreat song, Suliram, Mbube, Saduva, Nomeva

Gorgeous singing. Relaxing chill vibes. Would be excellent come-down music. Once again the list opens my eyes and teaches me.

A pleasant album, nice listening.

Really cool album, she's got a great voice and these are some nice songs. Not keen on a few songs near the end which is why it's gonna be a high 4 rather than 5

Inoffensive African/world music. Cool for diversifying musical exposure, but not something I'd qualify as groundbreaking or overly special. Probably due to a limited perspective, but still not overly captivating for me. Top tracks: Olilili, Mbube