Gumboots

Great value for a classic I probably wouldn't have purchased anywhere else. It was delivered promptly and I have enjoyed several songs. Definitely will recommend to a friend.

The original cast recording of <Gumboots> on RCA Victor (909026-63724-2) derives its title from a secret code beaten out on the gumboots of black mine workers who were not permitted to converse with one another. From a necessity it became an art and then in the 1970s into a show designed to preserve the cultural traditions of South Africa. Now that the show is one tour, RCA has issued this CD with its 22 tracks of music from the show with sufficient narration to raise this disc several notches over similar recordings of shows in which the visual aspects are as important as the musical ones. While I generally find recordings of "traditional" African music somewhat monotonous (in the strict sense of that word), I have nothing but praise for the vitality and variety offered up in these selections. At the time of this writing, PBS plans a special on the Rishile Gumboot Dancers of Soweto; and this CD has certainly made me look forward to it--which is more than other such recordings have done. This is a winner!

I recently saw this show live, and was a trifle hesitant to purchase the CD, for I was concerned that losing the visual would detract too much from the experience. However, the music of Gumboots can stand - or rather, dance - on its own. If anything, the CD has given me the opportunity to concentrate more on the rich harmonies and soaring melodies of the tradtional music featured. Though I would recommend that anyone with the opportunity to see the show should see it in order to get the full effect of Gumboots, this CD makes a great contribution to any collection, with or without the ticket stub!

GREAT MEMORIES OF THE MUSIC OF SOUTH AFRICA