26. Miriam Makeba | Miriam Makeba (1960)

Wikipedia entry

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Tracks

1. The Retreat Song
2. Suliram
3. The Click Song
4. Umhome
5. Olilili
6. Lakutshn, Ilanga
7. Mbube
8. The Naughty Little Flea
9. Where Does It Lead
10. Nomeva
11. House of the Rising Sun
12. Saduva
13. One More Dance
14. Iya Guduza

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Miriam Makeba is a pleasant album. Miriam Makeba has a beautiful, disarming and happy-sounding voice. Yet, her voice is very powerful. The songs are simple and mainly consist of Ms. Makeba singing with either a supporting chorus, a guitar, or drums or a combination thereof. That there is so little musical accompaniment demonstrates her talents, but also demonstrates how powerful an instrument the voice really is.

This album really grew on me the more I listened to it. I was ready to dismiss it at first, but now I really enjoy it. The first half is much stronger than the second half. I think it loses its focus with songs like The Naughty Little Flea, One More Dance and even with House of the Rising Sun. They aren't terrible, just distracting.

The songs that stand out are: The Retreat Song, Suliram, The Click Song, Umhome, Olilili, Lakutshn, Ilanga, Mbube and Iya Guduza.

★★★★★★★★★☆