Lerato • Lerato
Atlantic Records ATH 4053
33-RPM LP
Lerato (Sotho for love) was a trio from South Africa (with Steve Woycieh on drums and percussion; lead vocalist Wally Fry; and Vuli Yeni on bass, sax, and vocals) and is also the title of their eponymous debut LP.
Lerato contains eight songs (most of which were penned by Yeni) in a style that I would describe as “ethnic South African”, similar to some of the songs on Paul Simon’s Graceland. Even though I don’t speak a word of Sotho, I enjoy listening to this record; the music’s rhythms and melodies transcend all language barriers.
As for the sound quality: the record is quite well recorded. One might argue that the bass is a bit thick, but I think that this was an artistic choice. The snare drum has a great “wet” sound to it, and the cymbals have a wonderful shimmer after they’re struck. The wide dynamic range (especially of instruments like the cymbals) indicates that minimal compression was used.
All in all, if you can find it this record is definitely worth a try if you feel like trying something new.