Customer Reviews

Canyon Drums

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would like to thank all of you for your reviews. I enjoyed everyone of them-and what`s important for me is that I always learn new things that I can use for my next production.I recorded CANYON DRUMS with very little equipment and hardly any knowledge about technics. I`m a singer-songwriter-keyboarder and drummer and I`ve been at it for 40 years now and hope to go another 40. I will be moving back home to the states soon continuing there.I like to thank you again and please check out my new CD`s. "CANYON EAGLE" released about now by TALKING TACO RECORDS and RAINMAKER released by WOLFSONGS-CHEROKEE PRODUCTIONS. I hope you will like them and my future productions. my family roots are in Ft.Sill, Oklahoma and I have COMANCHE ancestry.

Mr. Wyoming, has really Put an awesome arrangement together here. The music is Spirited and Lovely it is strong and full of Power. Anyone and every one who likes Native American & Or contemporary music will Absolutely Love this CD. Get this NOW don't wait, then tell me what you think Was I right ? ! ! ! ! 7 Star Music. Chief Eaglefeather Sancarlos

As I listen to this CD for the umpteenth time, I feel compelled to thank Peter Bender for it. Thank you, Peter.

Imagine sitting around the fire with others, dancing to the drums all night, as a way to honor the Creator, the Moment and celebrate the joy of shared Life. That's what this CD is like.

Favorite cuts: Spirit Mountain, Drums Before Sundown (which I regard as a true work of inspired beauty & genius), followed by Crow Dog's Paradise (even better, if it's possible, then Drums) and Dedication to Chief Joseph is unrelentingly *positive*--just try to be down after hearing this-- followed by the joy and thankfulness of "Return of Tananka"-- the celebration of the buffalo.

I wasn't sure about this album when I received it as a gift, but thought I'd give it a try anyway. I was surprised by what I heard. Peter "Wyoming" Bender mixes the sounds of his Native culture with contemporary and a touch rock and other genres. The deep drums resonate under the rhythm of horse-bells while flute carries the melody either in a traditional sound, or the sound Bender has learned from his experience of music in traveling through Europe. Native chants add flavor to the songs, making them very authentic. As Enya is to her Celtic heritage, so Bender is to his Native American heritage. He takes the traditional, and colors it with beautiful music.

Several songs stand out on this album, like the deep and slow singing on "Crow Dog's Paradise". "Don't Ever Smoke the Right Pipe with the Wrong Man," has a little more of that Native feel with chanting and drums only in the middle, while the keyboard and flute hint slightly at an Enya feel. The opening "Rugged Roads" is one of the primer songs of the album, although the wind effect is a little too much. My favorite is "Ax-Bi-Zha-Ye (Through the Air)", where the drums have a strong presence in the beginning and periodically throughout as the synth strings adds a haunting color to the flute's melody. The first time I heard this song I mistook it for Enigma's, as it shares a lot of qualities with that particular band's work. "Hole In the Sky takes on a more modern feeling with a big double-bass sound and the opening reed-synthesized keyboard. The flute melody has a feeling of "If the Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me" to it.

Bender is on the right track here combining the sounds of his ancestors with the sounds of today's music. I would like to find more of his work, but I must agree with a previous reviewer about the mixing quality of the album. The sound quality of this album is not deep and full as you would expect, and it becomes very apparent after listening to an album done properly immediately before "Canyon Drums". As Bender has said here he recorded the album with little knowledge of recording techniques. Besides the sound quality, the music is very good.

I was introduced to Canyon Drums by another reviewer, and was pleased to discover Peter Wyoming. I enjoy listening to the different pace & sounds on this CD. the drumming & also some of the more natural sounds (the drums are not at all overpowering as I thought they might be). I love it very much, it helps me to think about the Natives and the way they lived, it also encourages me to think about my faith in God. It is well worth buyng this CD if you like Native American music. Has another album been released yet? I must have it!

I just like to mention at this time, that there will be a new CD coming out in July 2000 . the title will probably be "THE RAINDANCER". released by wolfsongs-cherokee production in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. I`m looking forward to this one because I had the possibility to sing and play three songs from Jim Pepper. I hope you will check it out. there will also be new material released by TALKING TACO RECORDS- please be looking out around spring 2001. at this time I would like to thank all of you that bought my CD. I hope noone expects me to say anything negative about it. I like it and I enjoyed making it. yours pete wyoming bender

This album is fantastic! Very good music...worth buying.

As an affictionado of more traditional NA music I have mixed reviews on this one. It is a contemporary album from a Native American raised in Germany and the European influence shows. That isn't a bad thing, it lends a refreshing twist to the music. However the blending of "nature sounds" is, to my ears, poorly done. The bird and water sounds are so processed and bright that they intrude rather than include themselves in the mix. I find that a negative, hence the 3-star rating. In spite of those flaws there is a definite positive spirit in the music. Track 4 can easily bring you to your feet and make you want to enter the circle with dance. Other tracks are spirited, relaxing, and meditative in turn. It's a good mix and a decent album, but don't expect traditional here. I do hope Peter finds a better mix engineer for his next album.... Live in Peace, Walk in Beauty; Morningfeather

I was totally blown away by this album. Pete Bender expresses his Native American heritage in a way that makes you feel what it is like to be an Indian. In a way I found this album a political expression of the sadness felt by the American Indian (over the loss of their land) that is still with them today. That sadness resonates throughout this album, it touches your soul in a such a way, that it makes you feel what it must have been like long, long ago during the Trail of Tears, The Long Walk; the tremendous emotional pain of that era is so evident yet beautifully expressed and deeply felt by the listener.