Miriam Makeba
Mama Africa 1932-2008
Gallo
Rating: 5/5

When Makeba died on stage last year – the way she had always wanted to go – she was mourned all round the world. As a political activist, she spent 30 years in exile from her native South Africa, and endured a second semi-exile from America for her marriage to black activist Stokely Carmichael. This double CD reflects the whole of her career, which started in earnest with a group called the Skylarks. Her blues-singing timbre was true and pure, and the tone she brought to traditional songs was the essence of township vocal art.

Download: 'Thulasizwe' (I Shall Be Released, with Nina Simone)