Two Worlds One Heart
1990 studio album by Ladysmith Black Mambazo
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Two Worlds One Heart is an album by the South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, released in 1990.[3][4] The first single was "Township Jive", which the group had performed on the Graceland tour.[5][6]
| Two Worlds One Heart | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Genre | Isicathamiya[1] | |||
| Label | Warner Bros.[2] | |||
| Ladysmith Black Mambazo chronology | ||||
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The album peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's World Albums chart.[7] The group supported the album with a North American tour.[8]
Production
Several songs contain instrumental backing, a first for a Ladysmith album.[9] Ray Phiri wrote two of the album's songs.[10] Marvin Winans produced "Leaning on the Everlasting Arm", on which the Winans sang; group leader Joseph Shabalala was inspired to record the song after hearing Sweet Honey in the Rock.[5][11][12] George Clinton cowrote and produced "Scatter the Fire".[13] Anton Fig played drums on the album.[14]
Critical reception
Robert Christgau wrote that Shabalala "has the lineaments of a pop visionary, and here he arrives at a crossover that does the style proud, moving gracefully from Zulu to English within and between songs and pumping the a cappella rhythms with instruments on three cuts."[17] The Austin American-Statesman concluded that "the most intriguing musical meeting of minds ... is undoubtedly 'Scatter the Fire', a song that melds Zulu dance and American mutant funk."[13]
The Calgary Herald deemed the album "another haunting collection of spirituals, ballads, and Zulu traditionals."[16] The Los Angeles Times determined that "much of LBM's music is based on hypnotic, not-quite-mainstream-sounding harmonies sung by voices so beautiful as to be not quite of this world... No one is making music more heartfelt than this."[19] The Houston Chronicle praised the "dreamlike, a cappella harmonies and uplifting messages of faith and hope."[22]
AllMusic wrote that "this is one of the most ambitious albums Ladysmith has ever done, and its risk-taking pays off handsomely."[15]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Township Jive" | 4:40 |
| 2. | "Ofana Naye (Nobody Like Him)" | 4:51 |
| 3. | "Bala Ubhale (Count and Write)" | 4:14 |
| 4. | "Love Your Neighbor" | 4:02 |
| 5. | "Leaning on the Everlasting Arm" | 4:53 |
| 6. | "Rejoice" | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Hayi Ngalesiskhathi (Not Right Now)" | 4:10 |
| 8. | "Emhlabeni (In This World)" | 3:44 |
| 9. | "Isikhathi Siyimali (Time Is Money)" | 3:35 |
| 10. | "Nami Ngaze Ngamthola (I Found Him)" | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Ngomnyango (By the Door)" | 1:51 |
| 12. | "Scatter the Fire" | 3:22 |
| 13. | "Cothoza Mfana (Tip Toes Guy)" | 1:17 |