"We?ll be ringing the bells, when you come back. We?ll be beating the drums, when you come back."

Vusi Mahlasela may have written these lines from 'When You Come Back' to celebrate the exiles returning after the fall of apartheid, but they could just as easily apply to the 'Voice of Mamelodi' himself.

Fresh from two few years touring heavily throughout America and Europe, Vusi Mahlasela?s latest album ? 'Naledi Ya Tsela' ? is a wonderful homecoming for one of South Africa?s most famous musicians. Chock-full of heartwarming, uplifting songs about the people of a continent the globe-trotting Vusi still calls home, it?s 70 minutes of inimitable Vusi which will have fans wishing he?d come home more often.

Translated as 'Guiding Star', 'Naledi Ya Tsela' is a rich combination of his experiences touring the globe and new friends made on the road, many of whom appear on the album. Most famous is good friend, and part-owner of ATO records who released the album, Dave Matthews on 'Sower of Words', along with Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks ('Tibidi Waka'), Australian didgeridoo star Xavier Rudd ('Chamber of Justice') and longtime friends and touring mates Ladysmith Black Mambazo ('Heaven In My Heart').

Thankfully, his time in the States hasn?t seen Vusi fall into the trap of making his music more commercial to reach a wider audience, and it retains all the African warmth and simplicity that has endeared him to audiences across the globe. Far from moving to the mainstream to appease his new-found American audience, Vusi?s celebratory hybrid of African folk (he sings in five different languages on the disc), world music and blues still manages to appeal everywhere from Mamelodi to Manhattan.

While the style on the album is the same as ever, the substance has made a subtle shift. Although he?s always been able to gently drive home issues surrounding apartheid and reconciliation, perhaps the most striking aspect of 'Naledi Ya Tsela' ? his first album in six years ? is the move towards less political, and more personal, material.

'River Jordan' ? sung for his mother who died when he was barely 20 ? won?t fail to bring a lump to your throat, while 'Sower of Words' laments one of his main inspirations; poet and writer Ingoapele Madingoane. Vusi even gives us a peek into his light-hearted side, with the playful 'Moleko' and a cover version of Miriam Makeba?s famous 'Pata Pata'.

Recorded mainly on a farm in rural South Africa, with long-time producer Lloyd Ross at the controls, it?s an album firmly rooted in Africa and filled with the hope for a brighter future.

As Nadine Gordimer famously once said: "Vusi Mahlasela sings as a bird does: in total response to being alive. Music was at heart at the struggle for freedom; Vusi was there. Music is at the heart of reconstruction: Vusi?s music is here to stir and delight us. He?s a national treasure."

After three years spent winning audiences in Europe and the USA it?s good to have him back? even if it?s only on CD.