Miriam Makeba - Makeba Sings (1965)

Maybe history will remember Miriam Makeba mostly for her activist triumphs. When it came to her music many of her obituaries dwelled on her two most famous songs, “Pata Pata” and “The Click Song,” and mentioned little else. But just as she was an important activist, in many places Makeba was as ubiquitous a pop presence as Louis Armstrong. Accordingly, she has left a huge body of recordings - including 28 studio and live albums, eight greatest hits compilations, and scores of videotaped live performances - that can be mined for lesser-known gems

The out of print RCA Victor LP "Makeba Sings" was released the same year as the Grammy-winning "An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba". "Makeba Sings" finds the bold singer in a relatively straightforward context, delivering heartwarming tunes with fluttering tropical arrangements, the kind typically reserved for Disney scores. What peels this LP away from the bland conventions of retro calypso and exotica is Makeba’s searing voice, which spans at least three languages in 35 minutes and imbues captivating tracks like “Cameroon” and “Kilimanjaro” with an almost startling intensity.


Tracklist:

Cameroon
Woza
Little Bird
Chove-Chuva
Same Moon
Kilimanjaro
Khawuyani-Khanyange
Wind Song
Khuluma
Let's Pretend
Beau Chevalier
Maduna

Miriam Makeba - Makeba Sings (1965)

(320 kbps, cover art included)