*** 1/2 LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO “Two Worlds, One Heart” <i> Warner Bros.</i> :<i> Albums are rated </i> f<i> rom five stars (a classic) to one star (poor). </i>

A sense of purpose and deeply rooted humanity permeates this album. You can hear it on “Rejoice,” a touchingly soothing expression of spirituality, and on “Township Jive,” a song that celebrates life even in the face of crushing adversity.

Led by Joseph Shabalala, this nine-member group from South Africa sings with an expressiveness that can move you even when it’s in a language you don’t understand. Gospel group the Winans joins LBM on a modern reworking of the traditional gospel hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” while funkmeister George Clinton brings his manic panache and energy to “Scatter the Fire.” Their input is practically deferential. It never overshadows that of the group, although Clinton’s signature style is joltingly different from everything else on the album.

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. Including the Winans and Clinton on this project may be an attempt to make the group even more accessible to American audiences in general--and possibly to African-American audiences in particular--but the tracks that ring the truest are the a cappella selections performed in the Zulu language. No one is making music more heartfelt than this.