Shaka Zulu

The songs influenced by christianity were annoying. And paul simons influence, though as a producer, still felt omnipresent. That being said they have amazing voices and some of the techniques they used were borderline ASMR. 3.5/5 -> 4/5

This is something I respect more than I like. A cappella music is cool in concept but it's not something I ever want to listen to.

Realising I'm probably just not a fan of a cappella, just sounds a bit empty to me. I could really do without hearing the lip smacking on every other song as well.

Calming

beautiful, but a little monotonous

Shaka Zulu by Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a stunning record. Like most English speakers listening to this, I can’t understand the majority of the lyrics, but it really doesn’t matter. The voices and harmonies are so beautiful that the music completely wins you over anyway.

The a cappella singing is incredible. The way the different voices come together is probably the highlight of the whole album for me. At times it’s lively and uplifting, and then suddenly it becomes hauntingly beautiful. You don’t need to understand the words to feel the emotion in the music.

There is naturally some repetition to the sound and it can become almost hypnotic at times. My attention wandered slightly towards the end, which is probably what stops this being a 5-star album for me. Thankfully, it doesn’t outstay its welcome, and the running time means the repetition never becomes a major problem.

This is exactly the sort of album I’m glad this challenge introduces me to. It’s completely different from most of the music I would normally choose to listen to, but it’s beautifully performed and absolutely deserves its place on the list.

Favourite track: Difficult to pick one. Every track is beautifully put together and the harmonies are stunning throughout.

Least favourite track: I couldn’t pick one. Nothing on the album is bad.

Album artwork: Stunning album cover. Simple but really striking.

1.6

Just didn’t get into it at any point.

00:30 - holy shit, what an intro. This should be awesome
36:30 - still waiting for the intro to end

Amazing voices, quite nice to listen to

Not bad. Didn’t understand much, but was interesting to listen to. 3/5

This album wasn’t on my streaming service, but I was able to listen to the greatest hits. Instantly recognizable from Graceland. Fun to hear this group on its own.

It's important to remember that when this was recorded, Mandela was still in prison and Apartheid was still operating in South Africa. This is the sound of an oppressed people.

The act of recording this, of perpetuating Black Culture was a political act. If it isn't the politics of rebellion, it certainly is the politics of Cultural Survival.

Of course, it's intensely beautiful, with the voices perfectly blended in gorgeous harmony. Whether you want to listen to it as a complete album or as something to dip into now and then is up to personal preference.

It's hopeful, it's defiant and it's strong.

Not for me

I quite enjoyed the first five minutes, and it was a pleasant change to be exposed to some world music. The vocal harmonies are undoubtedly outstanding. But, perhaps because I’m not accustomed to this musical style, it quickly turned from pleasant to monotonous. So much so that I needed to listen to the album in two sessions, three days apart, to finish it.

By the end, the individual songs had merged in my mind into one long track of chanting, clicking and lip-trilling.

I can imagine enjoying five minutes of this from time to time, but a whole album is not going to be something I return to very often.

It's a pleasant sound. The voices are obviously gorgeous but I'm unlikely to return to it.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s “Shaka Zulu” isn’t really comparable to most of the other albums on this list. It’s an absolutely excellent - but also exceptionally mellow - a cappella album, and the harmonies, which are based on fourths rather than thirds, create a sound that feels unusually open to me as a European.
Otherwise, I don’t have much to say here; the production is absolutely professional, and I find the songs generally too quiet. There simply need to be more comparable albums suggested to allow for a meaningful evaluation.

Pretty chill album. Even though I barely understood a word :D

It's a relaxing listen, but I'm not sure if there'd ever be a moment in my life again when I'd go "I wanna relisten to Shaka Zulu!"

The album has a pretty interesting background though, and is produced by Paul Simon, so I'm not opposed to it being on the list. It's just that it doesn't really hit me on a musical enjoyment levels as much as it hits me on the musical intrigue levels.

Zulu is a very interesting language. The singing is amazing. I guess that's all that matters about this album. I really liked it.