African Folktales product reviews

M'zungu tells of a far away place. The mythical dark continent, where elephants and lions coexist with man and domesticated beast. The stories are traditional folk tales that M'zungu re-tells on CD for the pleasure of western ears to enjoy, learn and treasure.

However, these tales fell a little flat with me. I found them more than a little repetetive for my liking - it might have been the simplicity, repetition and the vocals that my daughter enjoyed so much.

Yes, so much that this CD has been played nightly so far, with no sign of wanting it changed to something more tolerable to me.

If you have a hankering for an Africa and the tales that come from the people. If you want to bask in an African dream with the savannah sun beating down on your face whilst you sip a colonial G & T and listen to the natives sing their songs and tell their stories, then this CD may be for you.

Alas for M'zungu, this was not for me.

When I was in highschool, I met a travelling storyteller who kept me (and the rest of the class) spellbound for 3 hours with tales from around the world. A stunning man, with a stunning ability to expound culture vocally.

So it was with this mental image in mind that I approached this cd... acknowledging that without the whole 'in the flesh' and body language aspects, it would be somewhat less... and sure it was, but it managed to exceed my expectations despite it's limitations.

Overall, though I found the songs a bit repeatitive, the stories were full of wonder and delight, with some strong morals woven in. This is far more than just fairytales for kids, these are life lessons wrapped up in fantasy from a master storyteller. If you spot this at your local music retailer, you should consider it.