| Two Worlds One Heart | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Genre | Isicathamiya [1] | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. [2] | |||
| Ladysmith Black Mambazo chronology | ||||
| ||||
Two Worlds One Heart is an album by the South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, released in 1990. [3] [4] The first single was "Township Jive", which the group had performed on the Graceland tour. [5] [6]
The album peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's World Albums chart. [7] The group supported the album with a North American tour. [8]
Several songs contain instrumental backing, a first for a Ladysmith album. [9] Ray Phiri wrote two of the album's songs. [10] Marvin Winans produced "Leaning on the Everlasting Arm", on which the Winans sang; group leader Joseph Shabalala was inspired to record the song after hearing Sweet Honey in the Rock. [5] [11] [12] George Clinton cowrote and produced "Scatter the Fire". [13] Anton Fig played drums on the album. [14]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [15] |
| Calgary Herald | B [16] |
| Chicago Tribune | [6] |
| Robert Christgau | A− [17] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [18] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [19] |
| MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide | [20] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [14] |
| Ottawa Citizen | [11] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [21] |
Robert Christgau wrote that Shabalala "has the lineaments of a pop visionary, and here he arrives at a crossover that does the style proud, moving gracefully from Zulu to English within and between songs and pumping the a cappella rhythms with instruments on three cuts." [17] The Austin American-Statesman concluded that "the most intriguing musical meeting of minds ... is undoubtedly 'Scatter the Fire', a song that melds Zulu dance and American mutant funk." [13]
The Calgary Herald deemed the album "another haunting collection of spirituals, ballads, and Zulu traditionals." [16] The Los Angeles Times determined that "much of LBM's music is based on hypnotic, not-quite-mainstream-sounding harmonies sung by voices so beautiful as to be not quite of this world... No one is making music more heartfelt than this." [19] The Houston Chronicle praised the "dreamlike, a cappella harmonies and uplifting messages of faith and hope." [22]
AllMusic wrote that "this is one of the most ambitious albums Ladysmith has ever done, and its risk-taking pays off handsomely." [15]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Township Jive" | 4:40 |
| 2. | "Ofana Naye (Nobody Like Him)" | 4:51 |
| 3. | "Bala Ubhale (Count and Write)" | 4:14 |
| 4. | "Love Your Neighbor" | 4:02 |
| 5. | "Leaning on the Everlasting Arm" | 4:53 |
| 6. | "Rejoice" | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Hayi Ngalesiskhathi (Not Right Now)" | 4:10 |
| 8. | "Emhlabeni (In This World)" | 3:44 |
| 9. | "Isikhathi Siyimali (Time Is Money)" | 3:35 |
| 10. | "Nami Ngaze Ngamthola (I Found Him)" | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Ngomnyango (By the Door)" | 1:51 |
| 12. | "Scatter the Fire" | 3:22 |
| 13. | "Cothoza Mfana (Tip Toes Guy)" | 1:17 |
