African Playground

I bought this to teach students more about music in different African countries and found the music very addictive and upbeat. One thing that would have made this (and many other Putumayo CDs) better would be if Putumayo provided full translation of the lyrics. Some songs (e.g. Jambo Bwana, Battu, etc.) only had translations for one paragraph of the lyrics while other songs did not have any translations at all (e.g. Mbube, Hello Hello).

My daughter has loved this CD since she was 3 months old. Now she is 7 months and she dances to the music. I often use it to put her in a good mood. All of the songs are fun and wonderful.

After seeing "The Last King of Scotland" (decidedly NOT for the kiddies!!!), I desperately wanted some African music, so I went online and found "African Playground". I listened to the samples, ordered the CD, and upon receiving it, was surprised (and somewhat embarassed) to see that its intended audience was children.

"Oh well," I said to my dog, "what the heck. I'm pretty immature anyway..." So I tried it out, and became completely addicted.

There is such a wide variety of styles, instruments, and languages throughout the disc, one could never become bored listening to it, and there's not a bad song in the bunch. What unites all of them is their unquestionable beauty and contagious happiness. One of the songs (Track 3, by the Mahotella Queens) is so beautiful it actually made me cry the first time I heard it!

While I have no doubt that kids would enjoy it, adults shouldn't be afraid of falling in love with with this gorgeous, cheerful, utterly charming CD.

P.S. My dog likes it too :)

My daughter and niece love this CD. They want to hear it all the time.

I found this in a grocery store of all places and bought it on a whim. My 13 month old likes it, but even if he didn't, I love it! I "car danced" all the way home! It is so up tempo, it's the perfect driving CD and I've got it in the house now to clean to. It's a little traditional African, a little dance club, a little disco but it totally works. Can't wait to check out the other CDs in this collection.