Gospel According To Earthworks South Africa (1998)

"Since gospel in the U.S. from Tommy Dorsey to Sam Cooke to Kirk Franklin has been closely linked to musical developments in blues, soul, and contemporary R&B, it comes as no big surprise that gospel in South Africa is much the same. Gospel According to Earthworks drops a handful of familiar names from the South African pop sphere like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and protest poet Mzwakhe Mbuli into a valuable document of religious music focused on the Zulu language material in the Gallo catalog. Some tracks recall the mbube vocal style, others generate a lively mbqanga feel, but the emphasis is on massed vocal ensembles with a church organ dominant in the music. The music is very similar over the long run, but the skillful shifts between groups gets a lot of mileage. Little things like the female voices mixed in to the Ladysmith-style mbube of Izikhova Ezimnquini, or the simple voice/organ/percussion sound of Moruti Ndlovu really stick out." (Allmusic)

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