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
Next on our list is an album that's more fun than a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Although this album is purportedly African music, it unfortunately falls prey to the sweet sweet lure of crossover success. The songs that aren't sung in English (At least one of the tracks is in Xhosa, but African languages really aren't my specialty) are by far the highlights. After listening to what felt like an eternity of '50s backing vocals, these wonderfully expressive African-style voices are very much appreciated. I have utterly no clue what they're saying, but it sounds really interesting!
The English language tracks drag this LP down a bit, unfortunately. Compared with the other songs, they clash rather violently. It's not like Miriam's a bad singer, I just generally dislike it when my African music is mixed up with incredibly stupid novelty songs (There is a special place in hell, or perhaps Disneyland, for 'The Naughty Little Flea'). I'm willing to give a pass to 'One More Dance' because of how bizarre it is. The song tells the rather gripping tale of a woman who is putting off tending to her dying husband to dance with someone else, a man who cannot stop laughing hysterically throughout the entire song. You can't really make that sort of thing up.
Aside from those tracks, this album is pretty awesome. Although I can't understand them, their voices evoke far more emotion than the often bland material of this time period. 8.5/10
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