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Critic's Review
Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
A collection of songs spanning the full extent of Miriam Makeba's long career as a singer. This album attempts to bring out highlights from each era, with a number of hits with the Manhattan Brothers, a larger lump from her days with the Skylarks, a few from the King Kong musical, and a number of highlights from her solo career. The album starts out with a couple of hits from her role in King Kong, followed immediately by her most recognizable songs: "Pata Pata" and "The Click Song." From there, it moves into a long stretch of Skylarks pieces, including "Sophiatown Is Gone" and "Hush," featuring her working with a full-fledged groaner in a nice display of counterpoint. After some time spent in the Skylarks' years, it moves into her days with the Manhattan Brothers (both before and after the Skylarks' years), starting out with "Laku Tshone 'Ilanga," her debut single. Quickly enough, it moves into her solo years, featuring a couple of jazzy duets with Dizzy Gillespie and Nina Simone in "Don't Break My Heart" and "Thulasizwe," respectively. The album finishes on a string of her solo recordings, including "Ha Po Zamani," which shows off some powerful vocals in full force. It's a nice album in that it provides a more or less chronological look as Makeba (and South African music in general) moved slowly from big band jazz to something based more in bebop and South African styles, into a vocal pop based on all aspects that led up to it. As such, it makes a nice introduction to Makeba's stylings, as well as a decent piece of a starter set of South African music in general. Pick it up as a Makeba fan or as a newcomer.
