The Very Best of the Manhattan Brothers

The Very Best of the Manhattan Brothers Artist: The Manhattan Brothers
Label: Stern's Africa
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 740042301320
EAN: 0740042301320
ASIN: B00004T2DX


Release Date: 2000-05-30

Related Categories:

General General
Related | Africa | International | Styles | Music
South Africa South Africa
Related | Africa | International | Styles | Music
General General
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General General
Related | Jazz | Styles | Music
General General
Related | Pop | Styles | Music
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Africa Africa
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Related | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Tracks:

  1. Yuka Yuka
  2. Mangoane
  3. Tula Ndivile
  4. Be My Guest
  5. Sinners Are Welcome
  6. Jikela Emaweni
  7. Malayisha
  8. Baby Ntsoare
  9. Chaka
  10. Thaba Tseu
  11. Debula Mfanandini
  12. Ntyilo Ntyilo
  13. Hlompa
  14. Manyeo
  15. Unonkisa Kae
  16. Patience And Fortitude
  17. Ulova
  18. Ishumelosheleni
  19. Marie
  20. Laku Tshoni 'Ilanga

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars --.......2004-02-22

The music of the Manhattan Brothers emits such a warmth that it takes you places. Unlike any contemporary music, one can hear critical experience simply in their voices, regardless of the words they're saying. In fact, as with all foreign language musics, it may very well be an advantage for non-natives of Africa to not understand anything they're saying because then all you're hearing is their soulfulness and technique.

The Manhattan Brothers are not just something to be sought out by culture-vulturers, they were top-shelf harmony singers, sometimes singing Western songs - either straight-forward or translated into their native language - but more often songs of native concerns in an American style influenced by black vocal groups like the Mills Brothers. I find the juxtaposition of African themes and American styles to be very satisfying. It's one thing to call music coming from another continent 'world music' but it's quite another to find a collaboration between continents, especially during such an early period of recorded music.

Another thing to consider and appreciate about the Manhattan Brothers and their black South African contemporaries is the way they dealt with and expressed their frustration with their poverty and treatment by Apartheid whites. The music of the Manhattan Brothers suggests a confidence of being that exists regardless of socio-economic situations. They weren't using their music to elevate themselves to the status of the whites, they were doing their thing DESPITE the whites, and often in fear of whites. Of course they wanted the kind of financial rewards white workers and performers were getting but they were making music on their terms for people whose adulation THEY valued - their fellow blacks - and if whites chose to appreciate it, then all the better.

In similar urban environments in present-day America blacks often turn to the violence, chauvinism and revenge tactics of rap music that's fueled by the feeling of having something to prove to those of a higher economic status and education. They have nothing of substance to present to the world when or if they do attain greater resources like the Manhattan Brothers did so they turn to an iconography of rococo materialism that has no reference to a productive culture. The Manhattan Brothers' sense of personal taste included dressing sharply, as indicated in the liner notes, but as a vehicle to simply look good and appear professional, not as a billboard for excess. Would the Manhattans have changed had they become million-dollar recording stars? Almost certainly, but I don't think they would've lost their appreciation for a day's work.

The recordings on this compilation span the period of 1948-59 with a heavy emphasis on the later years, and about half of the songs feature Miriam Makeba in her first appearances on record before she made a go of it on her own. It would've been nice to hear some more of their earlier recordings but the availability of the original records was likely a factor.

5 out of 5 stars If I could give seven stars, I would...!.......2001-10-27

A stunning, joyous set of doo wop-like "jive" vocals from some of South Africa's greatest post-WWII musicians. The Manhattan Brothers were one of the first groups to benefit from a booming postwar economy that brought black South Africans into the cities in large numbers, making their sort of pop success possible. Singing in Shona, Xhosa, Zulu and English, the Manhattan Brothers mixed sleek swing vocals with proto-doo wop and jubilee gospel, and were the group that set the standard for the many vocal groups that came in their wake, including Miriam Makeba's late-'50s ensemble, The Skylarks. Makeba herself first came to prominence as a soloist in the Manhattan Brothers ensemble, and appears on several of these tracks. The feel is playful and glorious, with some of the lushest, most swinging vocals you're ever likely to hear on disc. This is a great record - a highly welcomed addition to the all-too-small pool of similar records that uncover this forgotten style of American-influenced South African pop. HIGHLY recommended!

5 out of 5 stars Be Their Guest.......2000-11-06

The Manhattan Brothers were one of the first South African groups to achieve superstar status, and greatly influenced the fruitful township music scene. This remarkable collection gathers together 20 fabulous songs transferred from shellac 78 rpm discs recorded between 1948 - 1959. Before this CD, their incredible music was next to impossible to find outside of a random song or two on various compilations (such as Music Club's outstanding "Township Jazz 'N Jive" collection). The quartet employed the finest musicians to accompany them, and their backing bands, both in the studio and on stage, produced such South African stars as Hugh Masekela, Dollar Brand (a.k.a. Abdullah Ibrahim), and Kippie Moeketsi. A young Miriam Makeba also got her start singing with the quartet, before moving on to work with the Skylarks and then eventually international fame as a solo artist. She can be heard on four songs in this collection, one of which, "Laku Tshoni 'Ilanga," was released in an English version to the US market as "Lovely Lies" and became the first South African recording to enter the Billboard Top 100 (it reached number 45 in 1956). While only a few of the selections are sung in English, the entirety of the album's irresistable joy comes across regardless of your native tongue. Excellent liner notes lay out their entire legacy, from their earliest days and through the various lineups to their eventual exile and their recent reunion. Put it on and prepare to smile.

Music CD:

  1. Me...
  2. Remixes from Moffou ~ Salif Keita
  3. Eye To The Telescope ~ KT Tunstall
  4. Istoriya: The Best Of The Ukrainians ~ The Ukrainians
  5. Sitar II ~ Shahid Parvez & Akram Khan
  6. Coisas Do Brasil ~ Leila Pinheiro
  7. Madame Butterfly Original Soundtrack ~ Ying Huang
  8. Cornemuses Ecossaises ~ Various Artists
  9. Larcange Plays Legrand/Larcange Plays Aznavour ~ Maurice Larcange
  10. Ritmo de Negros ~ Pepe Vasquez

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Music CD

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Talk About a Fence ~ Rick Lee

Live ~ Deftones

Hoverface ~ Pathos

Lullabies to Paralyze ~ Queens of the Stone Age

All the Wrong People Are Dying ~ Styrenes

Other Side ~ Airborne

Do or Die ~ Nico

Ghost Sonata

The Thirteen Soundtrack [Game Score]

Nothing ~ Certain Frank