Shaka Zulu

Incroyable vibe mais rentre pas dans mes playlist

Good for what it is. All acapella. I imagine this music being better to witness live than on record. Like Doo Wop in many ways, but I’d rather listen to The Penguins. Wouldn’t return to it.

Yeah not sure if I can do this one. Just not my thing.

Very talented, glad to have listened.

pleasant...but got boring very quickly..not it for me, maybe cause i wasn't in the mood for soothing, repetitive vocals idk..but dint do it for me.

One week before the 1001 Album deadline “Oh shit we have 800 British shit bands! What do we do?!” “Here’s some African chant/gospel, that probably counts for 10 non-British bands. Just pick any of their albums, the most exotic name the better!”

really not for me

This actually grated on me quite a lot. It was traditional African music dressed up for a white audience. The type of thing Jools Holland would put on to show how diverse his taste is. I also really disliked the clicking noises which triggered my misophonia. When they did keep it traditional it was pleasant, though even then it got a bit repetitive.

Nice enough but I feel little else better represents my affiliation with the tofu eating wokerati than listening to an album of Zulu acapella over dinner. Just too little variety, and although the harmonies are nice, needed some additional percussion or something to carry it more. Good to have something off the beaten track represented on the list but if I was going to pick music from other less represented cultures to feature, I probably wouldn’t have chosen this.

The songs are pleasant. I just couldn't connect with an a cappela album. It isn't for me. 2/5

Ok 2/5

This album does have a pretty chorus of singers. I could never take that away from it. However, speaking from personal enjoyment, it just wasn't really for me. I wasn't totally sure where the songs even transitioned. It felt like I was listening to one song for an hour rather than 10 different songs.

I appreciate the craftsmanship and the cultural identity, but for some reason I can’t sit down with this album and say, “this is really good!” Maybe it’s my ethnocentrism, maybe I’ll come around to it someday. But for now, it just doesn’t captivate me. 4/10

Not really for me, but that's okay. Best wishes

Cultural, spiritual, ceremonial...perhaps.  I just found this was pleasant for the most part but its crime to my naive ears was it was just that and it didn't really shift.  In the end I found it irritating which is not a good sign. Maybe if I listened and gave it a little more time my appreciation would shift but cant work out if the style, the cultural difference to my norm or the language were the problem.  In the end not captivating in any new and interesting way.

Just not my thing

Sounds relaxing with some soothing voices. 0/10 liked

I am really glad albums like this are on the list, given that they are exactly the sort of thing that wouldn’t be on my radar to listen to otherwise. And the songs are beautifully sung and performed. That being said, every song started sounding very similar as the tracks went on, and by the end it just got kind of boring to listen to.

Pretty good background music for like, a safari or walking through the Africa section in Animal Kingdom. Don't see myself seeking it out otherwise.

What in the lion king beetlejuice is this. We reached kinda far for top 1000 albums.

I didnt know they had podcasts on this list wtf

Turns out I like my South African a capella music in small doses like on Graceland and less for 40 minutes straight. It's very beautiful but not in my q zone

396/1089 - Samey and flat. At least mess with the reverb tail a little on the different songs to imply different spaces for the various subjects!

Fairly unremarkable.

2,0/5

Beautiful, but kinda boring. Loved Graceland and thought this was just kinda meh.

Thought I’d find this more interesting and compelling than I did

3 - BAD

I'm sure this is good for what it is. It's just not really my vibe

I immediately heard the inspiration and contribution that led to Paul Simon’s Graceland, an album I personally love. This album, while not bad at all, can only get me so far as a spoken word album that’s in a language I can’t understand. The harmonies and melodies are the music, which is very interesting…it’ll be playing in the background and you don’t even recognize there’s no instruments.

Pleasant enough but was a bit background-y for me after a while.

Inoffensive, but not for me. I am open minded when it comes to music. I even played some George Michael the other day. But this isn't part of my world. I recognise that it's important for others. But sometimes I just want to listen to some dumb rock 'n' roll and wave my willy in the air.

for a project that's supposed to be about the heritage of the Zulu people, this particular album of theirs sure does seem to be targeted to white people who want to feel "cultured"

I’m glad this album was on the list so I could be exposed to music I wouldn’t seek out. But I found this really boring even though I tried hard to appreciate the soft harmonies. Tainted by Paul Simon.

Very much reminded me of Paul Simon and then it turned out that’s because they featured on an album from when I was small. Or perhaps even before that. Good facts.

Aldri hørt om denne gruppen før, men de ble visst nok kjent verdenskjent etter å ha sunget på Paul Simons Graceland. Sjangeren isicathamiya. Enklere sagt en form for afrikansk a capella. Et realt mannekor. Må dessverre meddele at det blir litt tynn suppe for en som er glad i litt fart og catchy rytmer. Skal likevel ha stjerne i boka for hvor behagelig det er å lytte til. Dessuten stilig med de tidvise Løvenes Konge-vibbene. For øvrig vanskelig å plukke ut de tre beste sangene her, da det er mye som er veldig likt her. Top 3: Golgotha; Unomathemba; Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain

I know there is lore here that makes people think this is a masterpiece. Its not for me. Did I listen to this album? No, I dont own it and its not on streaming. Did I listen to the remake of it from 2017? Yes I did with headphones in while lying in bed. I thought it was soothing and interesting but I will never listen to it again. Unsure if I needed to hear this before I inevitably croak.

# Album Name: Shaka Zulu # Artist: Ladysmith Black Mambazo # Rating: # Comments: 2/5 Nice vocals and harmony. Was alright. Not the kind of thing i would listen to for 30 mins so gets marked down. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No

Seminal album but not my music at all

In lack of better understanding of this kind of music I would describe it as African choir music. I like it but not for the length of a whole album.

Nice album of South Africa rhythms and probably their most accessible album. Feels like this only happened on the back of Graceland and Paul Simon did produce this records. A bit too samey for my taste.

#815. I don't really like this kind of shit at all. There's like a 50/50 chance that it being in an unintelligible (to me) foreign language makes it more tolerable, but that didn't really work out this time, still sucked. 2/5: nah

2.5 I heard two Ladysmith Mambazo references this week after never hearing the name uttered once in my life. This isnt something that floats my boat to listen to again.

Not offensive but not my bag

A soundtrack to Simba dying on the Lion King

It is impressive, and good to hear music from other parts of the world. That being said, I dont know when I would want to listen to Lion King soundtrack a cappella.

I was hesitant to compare this to Paul Simon's Homeless (and the rest of the Graceland record) because it can be racist to equate all of a country's music to a stereotype. But nope, turns out these are literally the same people. I still have Graceland to thank as a sort of gateway into Shaka Zulu. The opener, Unomathemba, might've turned me away if I'd listened to it five years ago. But here, it comes across as warm, beautiful... and familiar. That element of familiarity is something seriously underappreciated in the psychology of music enjoyment. Unfortunately, that enjoyment doesn't last as long as I'd like. After the first couple tracks, you definitely start to yearn for something more exotic, texture-wise. Even some simple percussion would go a long, long way in up-tempo songs such as Golgotha and Lomhlaba Kawunoni (The Earth Never Gets Fat). Also, the commitment to an extremely limited harmonic palate – only using chords I, IV, and V for the album's entire duration – also limits audiences' ability to remain engaged. I have a complaint like this for quite a lot of world music, which suggests that either I'm not familiar enough with music from that region to notice all the musical intricacies and development, or (more likely) the music really is just that simple and I didn't grow up with it enough to enjoy 40 minutes of it. I also get the feeling some of the other reviewers are virtue-signalling their enjoyment of the album. 2/5 Key tracks: Unomathemba, Rain Rain Beautiful Rain

The whole album sounded like one song...

Going to do my best here. I hate a cappella music. It's my fault for engaging with this album while in traffic on the way to work. But the vocal arrangements were so the same throughout this thing. So many of the same melodic runs and almost everything feels like it's in the same key. This is a very interesting ethnomusicology entry on the list; the influence of Paul Simon producing a traditional Zulu album and everything that happens as a result of that is very interesting, but my enjoyment of this album is pretty low. I feel like I got it on the second song and then there was 40 more minutes of the same. 2 is too harsh but it's where I am.

the description was promising but i didn't find anything interesting for me here

I don’t know if this is good or not. I do know it is boring.

Interesting album, but not something I'm super interested in listening to again.

A tough one for Karaoke...

Mostly just African singing, which is not bad, but I wouldn't really listen to this again.

Two starts to mean fine, inoffensive, nothing exciting.

It's like the beginning of The Lion King on loop

Not for miu

106/1089 this is a prime example of why i’m doing this project. I love to hear music from different cultures and this acapella folk album from South Africa is a perfect candidate for that. It’s just a really warm and friendly record and a relaxing listen. The score/rating feels irrelevant for this one. I enjoyed my time with it and that’s enough. it’s a bit too relaxed and choral/gospel-ish for me to want to return to it and it blended together quite a bit which is nice for a full run through but meant there wasn’t really standouts for me 49/100

I'm probably uncultured and biased towards Western music for this but it felt like the filler music of The Lion King...I just didn't get it. Tracks to Track: Unomathemba

Not for me

⭐️⭐️ 1001 ALBUMS-# 95 🌎 World Beats 🌎 Interesting that I should land back to back World music albums the last two days, this one not impressing me as much…very Lion King vibes here 🦁. The album showcases isicathamiya, a Zulu a cappella style characterized by: Deep, resonant bass lines, Smooth call-and-response patterns, Gentle foot movements (“tiptoeing”) — part of the performance’s tradition, Rich harmonies and spiritual warmth. Paul Simon’s production also gives it a polished sound without losing authenticity, helping it cross into Western and global markets. Shaka Zulu is built entirely on the human voice, but the variety and depth make it feel orchestral. The group layers bass, tenor, and falsetto harmonies with effortless precision, creating a texture that’s both meditative and joyful. 🎧 Classic Track: Unomathemba 🎧 Deep Cut Gem: All tracks flow together The album is a spiritual experience. Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing about: Faith and perseverance in times of struggle (“Unomathemba,” “How Long?”). Love and community (“Hello My Baby”). Reflection and redemption (“At Golgotha,” “King of Kings”). Connection to nature and the divine (“Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain”). It’s music of peace and dignity in a time (the late apartheid era) when South Africa was deeply fractured. 🖼️ Album Artwork: African Pride Shaka Zulu may be more than an album as a cultural milestone as it carries the soul of Zulu tradition, the spirituality of gospel, and the universal language of harmony. Nearly four decades later, it still sounds timeless. Having said that, it didn’t move me personally in a way that would have me revisiting it.

I'm probably like most others, I only know of this group because they were featured on Paul Simon's Graceland. I suppose this kind of thing scratches an itch but am I ever going to have that itch? I was skipping through the songs and I couldn't tell the difference.The next song always sounded like it was part of the song I just skipped. I skipped through 5-6 songs thinking it could have been the same song.

(2.5) feeling spiritual

Afrikkalaista maailmanmusiikkia. Propsit erikoisuudesta, levy oli (lähes) täysin acapella viimeistä kappaleesta jossa tuli hiukan rytmiä taputuksista ja tömistelystä. Tästä myös pisteet, koska toi pienen mielenkiintoisuuden käänteen loppuun. Mutta muuten levy ei valitettavasti tarjonnut mitään minulle. Kappaleet kuullosti aika samoilta. Parhaat: Wawusho Kubani? - Who Were You Talking To?

Ganske streit, egentlig

bit too dull for me

Just not my type of music

Nice harmonies and it’s easy to the ears. However, it’s very samey, both across the album and within each track. No variation at all

# 581: Shaka Zulu Shaka Zulu – Technically Brilliant, Emotionally Meh This one’s not for me. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it—I just kind of endured it. I remember people getting very excited about this back in the '90s, but listening now, it’s more “respectful nod” than “standing ovation.” It’s unique, mostly a cappella, and the performances are undeniably tight. These guys are very good at what they do. But good technique doesn’t always equal a good time. I struggled to get through it, and not once did I feel the urge to hit replay. The best thing about it? It’s short. Half an hour and done. Like a polite guest who knows when to leave. Verdict: ★★ for skill. File under “albums you admire more than enjoy.”

It's fine for what it is. Not really my thing.

More admirable than interesting. The technical skill required to sing in close harmony like this is astounding (especially without accompaniment) but the material itself isn't compelling - the songs seem to blend together over the course of the record.

Very annoying.

Basically everything to know is summed up in the opening line of the wikipedia page where it says "a cappella group" It's pleasant and listenable, but it doesn't really change up much or do anything to interest me

Fine, but really not my thing

Nice harmonies but overall a dull novelty album.

Perhaps I should have let this one steep for a bit, but I found it totally lacklustre.

Potentially good music, just not my taste.

Enjoyable, but certainly not in my wheelhouse.

it's very nice to listen to, but i feel like i have to be in a particular mood for it.

2 the vocal layering sounded magical. however, the entire project did sound similar throughout. i would recommend this album to someone who wants to hear amazing vocals.

It had fun moments but a full 36 minutes of a capella was a little tough to sit through.

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: 13/1001 Don't take this rating seriously. The album didn't captivate me like Songhoy Blues did. Being in a foreign language with a acapella sound just doesn't connect with me, though the beginning tracks certainly weren't anything worth skipping. The groups vocals harmonize well, but the music is just fine overall. I'll give Shaka Zulu by Ladysmith Black Mambazo 2/5 stars with that in mind.

They're clearly very talented. It's just not for me. I learned that today, and thats a positive takeaway for my personal knowledge.

i respect the culture and can imagine this album did a lot of its genre but it’s not to my taste. also didn’t know these guys were on graceland

I'm very happy that such unique music on the list. Didn't really like it, though.

Did not like it. But it was interesting.

I get it, but it doesn't turn me on or get me moving.

Lion king choir style music. Short and to the point

Sounds like the intros of many of the Lion King songs, but without ever getting off the ground, perpetually staying in the state of intro, leaving you to want them to finally progress, or stop.

Nothing really super noteworthy imo. This is not Graceland.

I definitely appreciate the uniqueness of this and recognize the importance of capturing music from different cultures. However, I would probably never listen to this ever again. It’s just not something you pop on to jam to.

Best nice

My favorite of all the African A Capella groups I have ever heard. 2.75

A very unnecessary album if we're being honest. Don't need to listen to 10 songs of straight African acapella. But it feels racist to give it a 1, so here we are. Cool that this is produced by Paul Simon though.

Very repetitive. Reminds me of the song Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes by Paul Simon, but I’m missing the part where he starts singing. I gave it a two instead of one because at least it was not instrumental and I understand it’s importance.

It's nice to experience music from other cultures and less represented music but is this a must hear? it''s nice to have in the background but get's pretty repetitive and forgettable, that is why i wouldn't call it a must hear.

world, 1987 -> 2

2.5

What I assume to be the traditional sounds of South Africa echoed loudly throughout the album. I could easily imagine people being gathered around and singing these songs a cappella. I admired the creativity required to create a fully a capella album, you have to find new ways to use your voice and body to create the sort of fullness you desire. My ear picked up on some of the little mouth sounds, like the smacking of lips or a lip trill, and I wondered how they decided on those effects. However entertaining, I don't think this album was anything super special to me. Many of the songs blended together, it felt like each song melted into the next. This is something I would play if I wanted an inoffensive piece of music to be in the background while I cooked or hosted people, not something that calls me back to listen again.

Don't You Meditate, Sing 1001 Albums Generator 39 (05/27/2025) Ladysmith Black Mambazo are one of the most popular African groups in the Western hemisphere. Hailing from South Africa, the Zulu vocal group are known in the West for a few things. Firstly, they are the group that Paul Simon prominently featured in his magnum opus Graceland where he aimed to explore African styles of music through the group. This was the Western world's introduction to Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Secondly, they were featured on the soundtrack for The Lion King 2, which, like the first movie, featured music from African artists doing this a capella Mbube style. Shaka Zulu, named after a 19th Century king of the Zulus, is an album released by Ladysmith Black Mambazo shortly after their prominent features on Graceland, and Paul Simon even produced it, so this was their opportunity to capitalize on their newfound popularity in the West. Here's where I let my bias show. I struggle with a capella music. While I am a sucker for a good vocal harmony, I find an entire album of nothing but that to be hard to get through, despite how pleasant it is. A few months ago, I listened to Compostela Ad Vesperas Sancto Iacobi by Ensemble Organum, which is a Gregorian Chant album, and I had the exact same issues. I will say that my enjoyment of Shaka Zulu was slightly higher than that of the Gregorian Chant, since Shaka Zulu has a very upbeat sound and relatively short songs, but I still wouldn't classify my feelings here as "enjoyment". It's a completely competent album and for what it is, it really is done quite well, but the songs all blend together to me. My favorite songs, which really just stand very slightly above the pack, are Unomathemba, Yibo Labo, and Wawusho Kubani? Unomathemba is a good introduction to the album, with its call and response structure and sliding vocal chords. Yibo Labo has an extremely catchy outro and features some extended vocal techniques that are a lot of fun. Wawusho Kubani?, which is the last song, features some in and out percussion, which feels extremely cathartic after an album that had been essentially fully a capella. Overall, even these songs that are my favorite are only a hair above the rest of the songs, or they just have some specific moment that I liked. This album feels like one big song in a way, even though the songs do have beginnings and endings. It's not bad, but similar to some other "world" music I've heard on the list, I do not think that it is a great representation of the country/region that it comes from. African music can be so much cooler than this. 2/5. Favs: Unomathemba Yibo Labo Wawusho Kubani? Least Fav: Ikhaya Lamaqhawe

Interesting, but not something I'll probably ever come back to

This is Shaka Zulu and not Chaka Khan? Chaka mad! Yep, this is not for me, Clive. I’m not really a worldy or spiritual guy and I’ve already listened to Graceland for this project. This pile of very gentle and smooth completely snoozy South African a capella sounds like sessions and outakes from Graceland that were not used because they were too boring. 2 stars.

1.9 2x decent enough background music but all of the sonds sounds the same more or less

Of course the acapella singers are very talented. But honestly, an entire album of this music gets boring quickly.

Definitely think that the work here has some merit to it, but it also feels very repetitive

It's something new but not really my cup of tea

-alright so this isn’t terrible and it’s interesting that Paul Simon worked with them. idk I just… don’t know if I can get into it? Acapella has never really been my thing -it certainly did not help that I could not really find this on streaming and had to individually track down each song.. perhaps it soured my enjoyment -these guys have beautiful voices though I’ll give them that -Favorites are Golgotha and Wawusho Kubani

Het juiste antwoord is dat je dit 5 sterren geeft omdat je een verlicht persoon bent, waardoor je dit helemaal snapt en echt op waarde kan schatten. En je draagt ze stuk voor stuk een warm hart toe die mensen daar in Afrika, het vergeten continent. Het eerlijke antwoord is dat dit allemaal niet zo indrukwekkend is. A capella traditionele Afrikaanse volkszang. Om in het echt te zien is het waarschijnlijk hartstikke mooi, maar zo als opname is het toch wat kaal en is het, door het ogenschijnlijke gebrek aan afwisseling, ondanks de 36 minuten toch een aardig grote portie die je moet wegwerken. Ik mis toch iets van een klein trommeltje en iets van een gitaar-achtig snaarinstrumentje misschien. Het is knap, het is kwalitatief echt enorm goed ook, het is weer eens wat anders en daardoor is het eventjes ook wel interessant. Het is ook niet dat ik het onprettig vind ofzo, maar als geheel zal dit bij mij niet blijven hangen. Ik kom eigenlijk niet hoger dan een lullige 2 sterren.

This was very different to anything ive ever listened to, it was very peaceful but I don’t think I was in the right mood for it because it was kind of boring for me.

definitely something different, I enjoyed my listen but I do not see myself coming back to this

Coro de tribo africana ? Procede produção ? Doido, mas passo pro próximo.

Booooooring. ⭐⭐

At first I was like, this sounds like the non-instrumental parts from Graceland. Wait a second, it IS the non-instrumental parts from Graceland, or at least it's Paul Simon who produced this album with the group that did those parts. I didn't really like this. Never got to the point I wanted to turn it off, but I really wanted Paul Simon to come in at some point.

I like the idea behind this one and the story is pretty neat, but to me the music comes off as kinda samey. They are obviously very talented, but I don’t know what they are saying and there no instruments and very few melodic ideas in the background to keep it interesting. Favorite songs were King of Kings and How Long.

Meget pænt, egentlig lækkert nok at lytte til men efter en halv time har man godt nok også hørt det. (Sådan ville jeg nok have det med alle slags rå a capella albums)

Lion King encore

The harmonies are nice but there’s basically nothing else to it unfortunately

This has beautiful harmonies, no doubt, but after a few tracks it just started to feel like I was stuck in the intro of The Lion King for 40 minutes. Peaceful? Sure. Memorable? Not really. It’s not bad music—it just didn’t hold my attention. I appreciate the cultural importance, but it’s not something I’d revisit.

Rating: 4/10 Nah, this a capella style does not work well for an entire album. This group was amazing on Graceland though.

Gets. Little repetitive but it’s interesting and unique

i didn’t like this very much at all. just not what i enjoy listening to really

Cuando vi la portada, me esperaba algo similar a Penny Penny. Cuando oí la primera, pensé que me iba a empezar a gustar cuando cogiese el ritmo. No lo cogió durante las otras nueve canciones. Muy decepcionante. Aún así, mejor que los Beatles.

This kind of vocal/acapella music is really not my favour.

Not for me

Good music. Thanks for introducing me.

not a big fan, i understand the appeal but its not for me

Lord this record is one note. Like literally every single song sounds identical and that may come from me not understanding the language, but tbh I dont give a fuck.

Didn't really like this record. Don't hate it, but don't like it either.

Can it just be noted that Ted gave this album of lion king sing alongs a 5 and JIMI HENDRIX and LED ZEPPELIN 3s. Just want to make sure we all saw that.

Not my thing

Groupe inconnu. Très original : tous les morceaux sont à capela. Très belles harmonies vocales, mais l'album devient lassant sur 10 morceaux. Je n'y reviendrais pas. =>2/5

So this isn't my speed. But it's good. The arrangements are all nice and they really use every ounce of the vocal ability that everyone in the group has. That being said it's too one note. If you are someone who is endlessly fascinated with the human voice this will be dense material. For me though, it's too much of one thing no matter how good it technically is. Not bad but no saves and I'll probably never hear this again in my life.

Entendí poco.

I usually read a bit about the album and artist right as I’m starting my listen. I didn’t do that with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. So I didn’t fully know what to expect, and probably made some assumptions, and then was waiting for something that never came. I didn’t know it was a cappella. They use their voices beautifully, but to my ear there didn’t seem to be a lot of variety, and I let it fade into the background as I went ahead with my tasks. It was nice in the background, but I very regretfully at one point thought “a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh” and then dwelled on how that is likely stereotyping and offensive. And then I thought “Omabadee, seemoobadeeyah… send me on my way,” and couldn’t decide if it was worse that I thought of “Lion Sleeps Tonight” or that I thought of Rusted Root. And all this was possible because Ladysmith Black Mambazo didn’t command my attention. Mostly a language thing, and no fault of their own. But I think I listened to this album like an over privileged tourist passing through, not stopping to appreciate or understand the culture. I give myself ⭐️⭐️ for the way I listened. “Shaka Zulu” probably deserves more.

The opening track ‘Unomathemba’ was featured in a Nescafe Gold coffee ad in the late 80s that seemed to be on TV all the time when I was a child. I didn’t know that it was by Ladysmith Black Mambazo until hearing it again today for the first time in like 30 plus years. Look, this album is nicely recorded, and the harmonies and vocals are all beautiful, but it just doesn’t do it for me. There’s other African artists and music that I like and that I would listen to before I would ever listen to this again.

most of the album wasn't available on Spotify

Already didn't care for Acapella, I'm sure I'm missing some context but this album did nothing for me. They sing nice at least.

Nice for a while, a bit samey

2 sterne

Miércoles de escuchar algo completamente desconocido que, por lo que leo en la reseña, responde mucho al momento de mayor auge de la World Music. Con este disco pienso automáticamente en un documental de NatGeo o una película de Disney de esos años. Sin mucho más para decir, me despido hasta mañana jueves.

Not for me.

Spotify only has three songs, so what I could listen to was limited. I’m not usually a fan of a cappella and this was just not for me. It was relaxing to listen to but did not move me and was a bit boring. 2

Interesting album, didn’t think it would be an acappella. Not my thing really.

I didn't use a private session for Spotify, though Spotify didn't let me listen to the whole album. I think I got a feel for it, not my thing.

Pristinely produced by Paul Simon. However, I found it a bit too soft for my taste.

Uhhhh...nice sounding voices. I dunno. Just, not for me I guess

They are probably great at what they do, but this is not for me.

De culturele afstand tot dit album is simpelweg te groot om hem op de juiste manier te waarderen, en schieten de metrics die ik normaal meeneem in een beoordeling gewoonweg te kort. 'Hello My Baby' heeft nog wat ''Westers'', waardoor die wat beter klikt in het geconditioneerde Nederlandse brein. Het meeste sub-Sahara Afrikaanse werk wat we in Europa meekrijgen is toch vaak wel de fusie met Westerse stijlen, zoals jazz, funk en house. Neem bijvoorbeeld Highlife en Afrobeat, twee West Afrikaanse genres die diepgeworteld zijn in Amerikaanse stijlen die over zijn komen vliegen. Daardoor zijn dat twee takken in de muziek van Afrikaanse bodem die veel beter rijmen met wat je al kent, en dus ook makkelijker op te pikken zijn door je receptoren. Of de verscheidene Afrikaanse blues-genres in de Sahel, die muziek van een John Lee Hooker of Lightnin' Hopkins in een Malinees jasje stoken. Dit daarentegen is ras-Afrikaans, en lijkt volledig ontsnapt te zijn aan kruisbestuiving met populaire muziek uit andere continenten. Anders dan dat ik kan zeggen dat het enorm organisch klinkt, en best wel rustgevend is, weet ik niet goed op welke elementen ik dien te letten om het van een eerlijke review te voorzien. Met een 6 kom je eigenlijk altijd wel weg. Het mist dan toch een beetje een climax waar je als Westerling schijnbaar naar op zoek bent. Het lijkt nergens heen te gaan. Misschien doet dat het wel, mja, weet ik veel. 6/10 Highlights: Hello My Baby

Dit was aan het begin best geinig. Prachtige melodieen en de harmonieuze samenzang is erg mooi zacht. Om bij weg te dromen. Dat gebeurde een paar keer waarna ik ontwaakte en realiseerde: 'waar luister ik eigenlijk naar'? Toen was ik er ook echt helemaal klaar mee. Leuk voor in the Lion King of op een Paul Simon album, maar meer is niet nodig hoor. 5/10 Geen highlights, ging allemaal aan een stuk door.

This was aite. Not my cup of tea. 'How Long' caught my ears.

Fine but not my cup of tea

C'est aussi mélodieux que chiant

Ordentliche Afro-Rhythmen, die ein etwas an König der Löwen erinnern und ein bisschen an Urlaub i. Kenia. Richtige Ausreißer nach oben hab ich nicht gefunden.

Thought I might enjoy this initially, but the music never went anywhere and stayed in first gear the whole way through. It got very boring very fast.

Not for me. On a positive note it was quite short

South African vocal music. The vocal harmonies are excellent, and that’s 90% of what the album has to offer. The sound is very pleasant and actually quite astonishing. There’s a peace, a beauty, a serenity in this music. It’s calming, it’s soothing. There’s much talent here, but it’s also kind of boring. Maybe that’s my problem…a tendency to enjoy instrumentation or wanting to understand lyrics in a Capella album. Appreciate more than enjoy…Might be nice once in a while but I’ll forget about it by tomorrow.

Very nice just not something i want to listen to a whole album of.

Lovely music to work to, boring music to listen to.

Can't say I was a huge fan

Nice but not my cup of tea

Enjoyable album, though personally I'm more of a fan of African music with instruments.

Great voices of course, but am not sure if I would listen to this album again.

One of the more unique albums on the list. Definitely bias here, but even if it’s fun to sing stuff like this, I’ve never really enjoyed listening to this kinda music. I thought it was fine, but in regards to the list, I didn’t feel anything groundbreaking from it.

I guess if you love choral music or pride yourself on eclectic tastes this is a brilliant album. But there's not much entertainment value here for me. It's sort of Graceland without Paul Simon - but hey, it's better than Marilyn Manson. I listened to all of this.

Meh.

Kaunista ja määrätietoista, mutta jään janoamaan rytmiä.

This one just slipped into the background, so much I forgot the album was on. I’ll forget this album come next week.

Thought this was mid and all the songs pretty much sounded the same. Understand the importance of the band and their influence was why Graceland was so good but not my kind of thing, nice enough relaxing instrumentally kind of choirs but it went on too long

I feel slightly bad for saying it. But it didn't take long for all these songs to sound the same. Sorry LBM

Heel knap maar niet m'n ding

My least favorite part of Graceland. Ladysmith Black Mambazo are clearly very talented, but just not my thing. This album displays the boring, whateverness I get from the group. I kept waiting for the music to kick in like Diamonds on the Souls of He Shoes. Instead, I want to skip the whole thing like I do for Homeless every time I listen to Graceland.

mééé

This one was a struggle. I can understand how someone might like it, but it just felt very repetitive and bland. Every song kind of felt similar to each other and also just sort of repeated themselves lyrically. 2/5

not into this fully 5/10 not terrible but im never going to come back to this out of enjoyment

Nice.

There’s parts of this I enjoyed but overall kind of a banal listening experience. Very plain and muted.

kind of like barbershop, really

I'm sure it's important and all.

Desde los años 60 el grupo coral sudafricano Ladysmith Black Mambazo había estado recuperando la espiritualidad de la música tradicional zulú (isicathamiya) cantando a capela. Cuando en 1986 Paul Simon grabó su afamado "Graceland" recibió algo más que la colaboración de alguno de sus músicos y decidió producirles el disco "Shaka Zulu" en el que cantan algunas canciones en inglés. Es el caso de "Hello My Baby", uno de sus temas más conocidos. El título del álbum hace referencia al jefe tribal zulú que a principios del siglo XIX dirigió la guerra contra el imperio británico.

Erm, not really my thing. It’s ok tho. 2/5

Objectively really good music but not something I could see myself listening to again

Soothing music but sometimes monotonous.

Listened Before? N It was an impressive display of artistry. However, world music is not my thing. I'll give it 2 for the musicianship. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: This Little Light of Mine

It was cool and nice! I don’t have much else to say about it!

1/5 Just vocals; first song reminds me of an AWOLNATION song?

Le fait que ce soit 100% a cappella rend l'écoute un peu drabe. D'une pièce à l'autre j'avais toujours l'impression c'était la même chose. Je suis très content d'avoir eu la chance de découvrir de quoi de complètement différent de ce que je suis habitué, mais ça ne restera pas dans mon répertoire. 3/10

Sure it’s great for its genre but not my bag

This was definitely a switch from what we had yesterday so it was very calming. It’s not the type of music I would normally enjoy but it was peaceful to listen to. I don’t think I would listen again to be perfectly honest.

It's fine. Not really something I'll ever feel the need to listen to again.

Like a shit version of The Lion King soundtrack

Mmm sticky

Beeaaaauutiful sound but just too repetitive for me personally

Background humming voices. Ambient. Its fine. Not crazy about it

Graceland without the good bits

I’m not sure if this is supposed to be ground breaking, influential, or just a personal favorite of the guy running the 1,001 list but it’s not my thing.

Something different. I kept thinking there are no instruments but it feels like there are

37/100 Based on this scale: 1 star - 0 to 19 2 stars - 20 to 39 3 stars - 40 to 59 4 stars - 60 to 79 5 stars - 80 to 100 They're good at what they do, but what they do is a cappella. Granted, it's more interesting than most a cappella, but it's still a cappella. My patience for it is thin.

Pleasant enough to the ear in theory, I guess, but for whatever reason I found myself deeply, deeply bored by this one. 36 minutes felt like 3 hours. It was painful.

Meh. I don’t feel like I NEEDED to listen to this. Just made me tired on my way home from work.

Very pleasant noises but not something I’ll ever be listening to again

not our cup of tea fr

Not for me

They sound good, not anything I would ever listen to again though

Not the best. Not available on spotify. Only 2 songs.

Interesting

Only had a few of the songs, wasnt bad

Cool but not something I'd listen to. Fav: King of Kings

Couldnt find the whole album but lots of good spirited sound

2.4/5, vackert att lyssna på men melodierna lät så lika varandra på alla låtar

Apparently the theme for this week is me getting gradually lower quality albums of African origin each day. If I end up getting the African version of Kollaps on Friday I'll be convinced that the guy running this site rigs more than just Christmas albums and albums on days when English royalty dies. This doesn't deserve a 1 because it was good a capella I guess but I didn't enjoy listening to it really at all. I didn't feel like the tracks held up with only a capella and even at 36 minutes it still felt really long; plus I had to listen to this one youtube which is another ding against it.

Hm not my bag

Hele rustgevende gospel. Ik denk dat dit veel meer indruk zou maken als je dit in een kerk in Zuid-Afrika live zou meemaken. Dat durf ik zeker op mijn bucketlist te zetten. Maar nu beluister ik het uit de goedkope speakertjes van mijn computer en dan is het niet echt muziek om lekker te luisteren. Het is het complete schouw- en luisterspel wat het tot een unieke belevenis maakt. Zoals het nu aan me is voorgeschoteld, is het dus maar 2 sterren waard (want het irriteert niet en is prachtig gezongen). Live at the source misschien wel een dikke 5 sterren.

Good to know

It's a capella. That's about what it has going for it. I don't think it's significantly any better or more industry changing than any other a capella group.

It was an ok album, I can appreciate that they are a great African acapella group but really not my cup of tea. Without wanting to offend anyone it reminded me of the soundtrack to The Lion King. Best: Hello My Baby Worst: Wawusho Kubani?

There is no doubting that these songs are beautiful, but 46 minutes of acapella is not really engaging to me. Took me 3 days to listen to this in parts. A lot of these songs would be cool as interludes in a non-acapella album. Fun note; it was produced by Paul Simon! Overall takeaway: good album objectively, but subjectively I was ready for it to be over after 2 songs because acapella was just not my jam.

Not for me

Pretty enlightening stuff listening to this early in the morning while at work. Feels like a Lion King song that goes on too long though. It was good for what it was. But 99% chance I don't come back.

Was nice to hear something different even if I didn't like it much

meh, not actively unpleasant but very boring

No disrespect to traditional folk music of any kind, I think this stuff is really cool. That said...I didn't really like this album all that much. It's basically just an a capella record, and the vocal harmonies are good, but there just isn't much of substance that I really gravitated to. 2.5/5

Nice voices, but A Capella music never really did anything for me.

Fun. But very samey.

Unjust that this has stayed in the book while Songhoy Blues got cut

Good on them for cashing in on Paul Simon's Graceland success, but if I'm honest, there's was always the song I skipped on that album. Talented? Without a doubt. It's just I wouldn't listen to acappella music in English so I wouldn't here either. Best Tracks: Unomathemba; Hello My Baby; How Long?

Shaka Zulu is fabulously produced but a little samey and doesn't really go in some of the directions we know they can based on their collabs. Soothing but not interesting.

Lyhyt levyllinen leijonakuningasta. Ei tarvitse ehkä toise kuunnella, ellei sitten ihan vitsillä.

Rauhoittava, sellaisenaan itse asiassa tosi hyvä, mut ei tää kahta enempää saa

Not bad exactly, but very much not my style

tssk smooch trrrrrr

When you put on the Lion King, but only the audio works.

I like to hear the odd track, but this album became monotonous after a while and I definitely didn’t want to listen again.2*

3 2 I'm sorry this gets really boring

I don't have a lot on this. The group got popularity from influencing Paul Simon on that record, and this is all foreign a cappella.

Ik vind dit echt geweldig klinken. Maar een heel album met dezelfde zang is wel echt teveel van het goede. Zoals vaak is 1 nummer leuk maar is een album gewoon niet leuk. Een verzamelalbum met af en toe een nummer van Shaka Zulu zou wat mij betreft de voorkeur hebben. **

I can see the beauty in this album, but it’s not for me. Rating is based off personal enjoyment; rather than objectivity.

Not my style of music. Interesting as a new listening experience, but not something I enjoyed, unfortunately.

not a big accapella fan

The sound is gorgeous and haunting but I’m not sure I’d want to listen to a whole album of it

A capella. 4/10

Serene and happy. It would be nice as background Sunday music, but this is just about the last album I would choose to actively listen to

Certainly an album worth listening to once before I die. Pleasant, but not my thing, thank you.

Certainly interesting but I'm not sure it's something I'd really listen to much. I feel like the Paul Simon influence is noticeable. Seems a bit like Americanized African music which seems almost vaguely exploitative at this point?

Intéressant d'avoir un album de ce genre dans cette liste et ça a tout à fait sa place. Par contre, ce n'est pas dans mes cordes, mais je suis tout de même content d'avoir fait cette écoute.

I can appreciate it for what it is,but would I relisten? No.

Good to hear something different, not bad, but not really my cup of tea

What was interesting as counter to Paul Simon just fades to humdrum on its own.

African choir. Beatiful harmonies, but boring

I didn't enjoy this but I didn't hate it. It's definitely out of my wheelhouse and it's hard to really judge it. I definitely don't have any desire to ever hear it again.

I respect a lot the tribal or traditional local music, but I can't stand listening to a whole album. It's boring for me. Sorry.

15 years prior to Graceland came this. Pretty tiresome

This album is hard to determine how good it actually is since I don’t really have anything similar to compare it to. Sounds like Graceland which is a classic. But this isn’t Graceland and it’s not Paul Simon. It sounds good but it’s nothing I’d revisit. 4.4/10

Ovo je simpatično. Mogao bih gledati nekakav film ili pak dokumentarac gdje ovo svira u pozadini. Kroz sve pjesme bar jednom mora proći zvuk paljenja skajpa što netko proizvede - desetka za to.

Afrikanske acapella sange. Lyder egentlig smukt, men bliver meget ensformigt, meget hurtigt

Nothing personal against this album, acapella/choral stuff has just never been my thing. Extreme props to the performers and recording engineers on this LP - the hint of natural reverb lifts the delivery of this album beyond a recording into an almost hypnotic aural vision.

Primer disco a capella que escucho. No me veo escuchando mas.

Not my jam

Interesting album, never listened to anything like it.

Harriet and Ken are really into this band. - 1 track in and not really my jam so far. Not bad at all, just not something I'd choose to listen to. I made it 4 tracks in and going to stop - not bad music but there sounds like little to no variety in style between songs. They all seem to be sung at the same pitches and style throughout all the songs so far and it really isn't my kind of thing. Would be fine as background music but even whilst working, having it on in the background was noticeably dull.

I admit I didn't hear of this album before. When it started playing, I thought "great, here's an authentic take on Graceland's themes". However, as songs came and song went, I grew tired of the theme; by the end, I couldn't tell one song from the other.

The harmonies are well done and performed but a cappella music just isn’t my jam.

I always like hearing different languages and accents in vocals because it can lend different texture to vocals. That said, I can only take so much a cappella.

Asså, coolt sound men jag skulle ju aldrig lyssna på det själv

Quite odd but definitely unique...

Unfortunately completely ambivalent, nothing wrong but nothing I'd want to listen to on my own?

begin ik niet aan

Het is wel mooi, maar ik mis de Afrikaanse roots om hier echt hard op te kunnen gaan geloof ik.

Dit doet me denken aan Coming to America. Maar verder doet het me vrijwel niets. Een nummer geluisterd en toen had ik het wel gehoord

Alright this is way different than anything on this list so far. The harmonies are crazy but theres no other instrumentation. Can't give it a high score because I won't return to it.

Not really my thing but I appreciate the style.

Not for me.

Muito específico isto, não sei se isto não esta aqui por ser música africana ou pela sua qualidade, no geral não posso criticar muito, mas não é algo que queira ouvir. Nota:4/10

Not my kind of scene

One of my favourite films involves Michael Caine having a big bloody battle with these individuals

Its tö cöökl of laiv. Leppoista kuorottelua, mutta vähän tämä levy on yksiulotteinen sisällön puolesta. Kun oli ekaan kappaleen kuullut, niin oli kuullut jo kaiken. Komean ja jylhän kuuloista, ei siinä mitään. Levylle kiitos käynnistä ja kaikkea hyvää jatkoon.

A priori interesante y a la larga monótono y aburrido

Música étnica africana. Sin más. Ritmos típicos. Tranquilos, dentro de lo que se supone que es. No es mi estilo (en absoluto), pero se puede escuchar

Musically, it's very powerful. However, in my system for rating, I'd likely not listen to this more than once a year.

it was okay but not my thing...at all

1000 movies you must watch before you die: lion king

it just tribal sounds

Veo que lo calificaron muy alto, a mí no me enganchó-

Well it’s pretty cool and all but let’s be real I’m never listening to this again. Can’t wait to see the average rating to see how many people are lying to themselves.

World music is not for me, but the harmonies are nice.

The album was very different from the normal music I listen to it not even close, even so, the lack of instruments wasn’t missed. The start of the album was very strong especially the second track ‘Hello My Baby’ which had a more upbeat backing and vocals. The issue for me was similar tracks in the middle until ‘How Long?’ which was a nice change of space, but after this track, they sounded very similar again. It might be me expecting more as I’m not experienced in Cappella, but the group are talented as shown in the more dynamic track ‘Wawusho Kubani?’ by far the best track on the album, but left me wanting more of the overall album. I might look into some of the newer albums and see if they fulfil a dynamic album that I would be looking for to dive into Cappella.

meh....

one song I can accept. A whole album? you're pushing your luck

fully vocal african music reminiscent of lion king esque ambiance, im sure some people find this beautiful but im not one of them

Just not into Shaka Zulu...

Just not really my cup of tea.

Ye nah

???

medio simba pero esta bueno

Not a fan of this genre. An OK album for me.

No thanks

No thanks

Cyclical, repetitive and boring. All the songs sound identical. Same key, same sound. 30 minutes have never felt longer. 1/5

I can't judge if it's good in it's genre because it is not my genre. I respect it. Great harmonies and some fun moments. But it all sounds the same to me and even though it does have a calming effect, I mostly find myself being bored. this is just a very subjective rating, but I am pretty sure I won't listen to it again.

No instruments = no stars! The first song I liked was the one when I didn't realize the album was over, and YouTube started playing something from another artist.

This was definitely way out of my comfort zone, no musical accompaniment, just some guys making noises in a language I don't understand. I think I was done with this halfway through the first track. I can't recall half an hour that went by so slowly in recent memory. Truly an awful experience. I didn't like Graceland and this feels like the worst parts of that dialled up to ten. I'm sure there's some cultural significance or something I'm missing out on here, but this was just the same noise for each track, nothing of any interest, just people vocalising. One star for possibly the worst album I've heard so far on this list, and that's saying something!