I'm not, personally, a huge fan of the South African gospel/group vocal style... (Living in Berkeley in the 1980s, I kind of got overexposed to the secular version, exemplified by groups such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, et al...) Still, I can recognize a class act when I see one, and this collection of harmonically rich, dense, soulful religious songs, sung primarily in Zulu and Sotho, is an excellent introduction to the genre. Drawing on the archives of several record labels, this concentrates mainly on recordings made in the 1980s and '90s, but also dips lightly into the '60s and '70s, when the music was going through a period of intense development and modernization. If you like the style, or you're just curious what it's all about, this is a fine disc to try out.

Here are the groovy guitar riffs, the low groan of singers like Mahlatini to the high tremolo warble of Joseph Shambala leader of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

 South Africa is justly famous for its vocals, especially its group singing: ROUGH GUIDE TO SOUTH AFRICAN GOSPEL shows why and how.