Customer Reviews

Exile

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A self cleansing project filled with Oryema's life story. Includes the haunting tracks like Makambo which talks of his exile from his native Uganda and Solitude a song of comfort to his widowed mother. Makambo and Solitude are featured in the Pure Moods collection and also in Zalman King's movie Red Shoe Diaries.

This is my all-time favorite CD of African popular music. The tracks are alternately infectious and uptempo, and deeply moody and sorrowful -- apparently informed by Mr. Oryema's heartsickness over the political turmoil in his homeland. The result is a consistently tasteful and affecting blend of cultural influences that has remained a top fave on my CD rack for many years. (I actually played it for my boyfriend, a musician, on our first date, and we've been together almost ten years -- he found it to be a revelation as well.) I haven't felt quite the same connection with Mr. Oryema's later work, but "Exile" is a gem.

I give it 5 stars for the thumb piano, the guitar, the vocals, and the melodies. This music is beautiful, soothing, and relaxing. However, behind the calm, the rhythms and patterns created by the instruments are complex and almost hypnotic.
This is not rock music; rather, I would call it a mix of sophisticated pop and traditional Eastern African music. This album may be a bit too 'Pure Moody' for some people; however, I don't particularily like new age music, but I like this: I feel the intricacy of the music rescues it and keeps it from being too bland. As well, the lyrics are hardly the stuff of easy-listening music, dealing as they do with the assassination of the composer's father, and Oryema's exile from his homeland.
Of course, the meaning of the songs is obscured from most of us in the West. Only one song is in English; the others are sung in Swahili or Acoli. The liner notes provide a summary in English of each song's meaning.
This is a beautiful cd. From experience playing it at work, most people like it on first hearing, and, due to its complexity, the music will continue to grow on you.

Oryema is one of a very small handful of artists that hail from Uganda that can be had on cd, and we are blessed for that.

His unique introspective style is what makes this album as special as it is. You can hear the intense melancholia and pain that he has endured in the lyrics, including his exile from his homeland, his yearnings for his land of Anaka, his attempts to soothe his widowed mother. It's all right there for the world to hear.

Add to his poignant vocals the additional help from both Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno, whose studio textures add immensely to the songs he works on, and the album is an instant gem. The use of a few of these songs on the Pure Moods series of cds will hopefully help to enhance Oryema's reputation as a master craftsman and songwriter.

A wonderful lp.

I first heard this album 6 years ago and it is still one of my all time favorite albums. Its soothing melancholic melodies are wonderful.

This was one of the first Realworld releases I listened to and is also one of my favorites. Oryema has a smooth voice that covers a lot of emotion. This recording has a lot of "traditional" feel to it with the enhancement of Peter Gabriel and Daniel Lanois. Makes it a little more atmospheric, I guess. Oryema makes the upbeat songs sound so joyous. With the sad songs, you can hear his sadness over the turmoil in his homeland. This is a great album to settle into and marinate with awhile.

Geoffrey Oryema is a relatively new artist for me. I became a fan of his work from a music sampler (song was Market Day- another album). I bought 3 of his albums, this being the last...I was not disappointed. I found this album a bit different from Night to Night and Beat The Border, meaning it had some more "traditional sounding" stuff on it. By that I mean stuff I deem as more traditional African music via beat and style. Not bad, but not what I love about G. I fell in love with the somber low voice of Geoffrey, and this album continues that style. I am glad I found him as an artist, and this album continues to solidify him as a wonderful and powerful singer. Simple can be better! If you have any of his albums and want more this is a great addition to your collection.

His rhythms are impeccable. His voice is a smooth & gentle hero. Get this cd & let it take you away.

His rhythms are impeccable. His voice is a smooth & gentle survivor. Get this cd & let it take you away.

Also, the deeply heartfelt music on this cd isn't as sappy new age as some other Oryema music. I don't think "rock" applies either -- it sort of does for one song but not for the album as a whole. This is the Geoffrey Oryema cd that feels most essentially meaningful to me. I mean other CD's by him are great works of art, but THIS! THIS! This is amazing! The true experience of true exile.

Ahhh!!!

My weekly massage therapy isn't the same without the soothing and haunting music of Geoffrey Oryema. My favorites being tracks 2, 6 and 10...

Ladyreporter