Various Artists, Jive Soweto (The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto Volume 4)
The rare sequel that's as good as the original.
They say sequels never top the original, and The Indestructible Beat of Soweto was as untoppable as they come, an ideal primer to mbaqanga, the urbanized Zulu folk-pop that soundtracked South African townships in the age of Apartheid. And that compilation's first two sequels were no slouches either. But Volume 4 demonstrates that the beat is as inexhaustible as it is indestructible. The finest musical fillips here, aside from the rubbery bass and the briskly surefooted drumming throughout, emerge from Sipho Mabuse's titular hit: a great piano hook and even greater sax hook.
But even more than the storied Sowetan beat, each compilation has been defined by the grain of the voices, and Volume 4 is no exception. Just as the earthy groan of Mahlathini and the ethereal tenor of Ladysmith Black Mambazzo's Joseph Shabalala put their stamp on the first entry in the franchise, here the sound is dominated by the smooth tenor of David Masondo, as the close harmonies and swift beats of the Soul Brothers take over six of the fifteen tracks. And yet, the final say is reserved for the calm spoken baritone of political renegade Mzwakhe Mbuli, who takes a moment on "Tshipfinga" to repeatedly admonishe the liberated blacks of the new South Africa: "Think of those who died."
