Customer Reviews

The Very best Of the Manhattan Brothers

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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.

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!