Ladysmith Black Mambazo - 'Songs From a Zulu Farm'

Ladysmith Black Mambazo are always a pleasure to hear, and as their music is about as wholesome as wholesome gets, I've always found them to be a kid-friendly choice. Songs From a Zulu Farm, however, specifically takes on children's folksongs, with an animal and farm theme. The catch? The songs are all in the Zulu language, which lowers the singalongability of the album, but works well for kids who like music in general, or whose parents are looking to expose them to multiple languages. Above all, though, Songs From a Zulu Farm is just a great CD, and one that would fit right at home in the music collection of an African music fan of any age.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo are prolific recording artists and performers, and after more than 25 years in the world music spotlight, continue to put out excellent, beautifully-recorded albums. Most of them, at this point, tend to be thematic or conceptual in some way (for example, 2006's Long Walk to Freedom focused on collaborations, while 2008's Ilembe was an homage to Shaka Zulu), and this album is no different.

Focusing on traditional Zulu folk songs about animals and farm life, Ladysmith Black Mambazo have made an album that bridges not only the gap between children's music and grown folks' music, but between lighthearted folk songs and refined choir compositions. It's all at once fun and silly and beautiful, not to mention well-recorded. The songs are all in Zulu, but translations are provided and will offer some illumination as to the themes, though they don't always need translation: the animal sounds that set off most of the songs usually offer a pretty obvious clue.

Highlights of Songs From a Zulu Farm include "Cabhayeye (Puddles)," a puddle-splashing song, "Imbongolo," a tale of a complaining donkey, and the song that every child will like best: a Zulu-language "Old MacDonald."

From bandleader Joseph Shabalala: "These are songs from the earliest time in our lives. When we sing these songs, we're singing from our personal history. We hope that these songs sung to South African children can be enjoyed by families in many other places in the world."

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.